Items On Ebay From China

[mikey4444]

I have just ordered a fountain pen, on Ebay from China. Its only £2.99 including p+p ( ! )

Not sure how this can be profitable for the vendor. My local Post Office say that it would take more than £2.99 just for the mailing costs !

But leaving that aside, has anyone any experience of ordering goods from China on Ebay ? Will I have to pay any customs, duty, etc ? Did you have any other problems ? I have used PayPal.

[mccfluff]

i've ordered batteries, chargers etc that have come form china/hong kong. i've just paid through pay pal & the goods turned up - very quickly as well considering the distance travelled

[B00]

I buy stuff from China often.

It's usually ok, not the best quality, but you get what you pay for I guess. Never encountered any problems, though as you've noticed it does take a while to come.

[dannyk13]

I once ordered a door chime form E-bay priced at 99p post-free and was surprised when it arrived from China.It was also of reasonable quality.

[woofgang]

Provided you keep it below the 18 quid level, there doesn't seem to be a problem. I have bought some stunning costume jewellery and some bits and pieces for crafting, all have arrived without incident, actually a better record than some sellers in the UK. Things do take a while to arrive, 2 to 3 weeks in my experience. The things that I have bought, I have also found available from UK vendors at 5 and 6 times the price!

[retrocop]

The goods I have ordered from china (usually shooting accessories and cheaper knock offs) via Ebay and paypal have always turned up hassle free from duty etc. Delivery time varies. It seems that a lot of gear I order has been sent via Singapore or Hong Kong post offices.

[Prudie]

I have bought a dress from a well known Chinese website (not ebay) and yes when it arrived I had to pay about £27 ish on import duty before the depot in UK would release it. Chris will probably paste the rulings at some point, depends on value.
As it happens when it arrived (after 5 weeks) I hated the colour and the cat jumped up and made a great pull in the satin when I tried it on. Haven't worn it :-(

[mikey4444]

Thanks guys. I am expecting this to take 2-3 weeks to arrive from yesterday, when I put the order in. As its so inexpensive, I thought I would give it a try. But the £2,99 is still a bit of a mystery though !

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/JINHAO-599-Transparent-green-Fountain-Pen-Medium-Nib-Affordable-/271692632554?pt=UK_Home_Garden_PensPencils_WritingEquipment_SM&hash=item3f422491ea

[mikey4444]

Danny...that 99p door chime sounds amazing ! They couldn't possibly have sold that and made a profit surely ?

[retrocop]

It fell off the back of a Yak!

[dannyk13]

That's what I thought Mikey, but that's what happened.

[snags]

''Not sure how this can be profitable for the vendor''

The economics work because Chinese sellers pay for postage by the bag weight regardless of how many packages are contained in the bag. So, for example, they can ship hundreds of small/lightweight items by airmail for one low fee.

[mikey4444]

Well, my pen is costing 3 times as much Danny ! I will report back with my findings !

Can I presume that this is coming by sea ? Is 3 weeks enough time for a ship to get from China to the UK ?

[mikey4444]

Sangs...never knew that ! Thanks.

[mikey4444]

For sangs, read snags !

[beegeebee]

It's also highly probable they ship from within the U.K.. There have been quite a number of complaints that companies professing to be in China do have warehouses in the U.K. but are not V.A.T. registered for some nefarious reason. It is alleged they neither pay import duties nor V.A.T. when the goods are sold on. Strange??

[janbee]

I've had quite a few things from China (off Amazon) and I agree, the quality isn't terrific but, for the money, it's ok.

[dinki]

I buy alot of ribbons and items for crafting from China via ebay and my daughter has bought costume jewellery and I also have friends that regularly buy from China, they come really well packaged but do not understand how they can make any profit. Have had not problems at all most are businesses trying to get into the market.

[Daffy6543]

I have ordered lots of things from China via eBay, I've had no problems with any of them other than they take a few weeks to arrive. I am always careful to read the seller's feedback before placing my order though.

[FrogNog]

I buy most of my crafting bits from China and I've always been happy enough for the price.
I've never had to pay any further costs.

[Answerprancer]

QC is often an issue in my experience, and time for delivery which is often about a month. Ignore the begging letters they enclose when you finally get the item, they are all clambering over each other to get the best feedback.
I usually select "uk only" when making purchases - some of the cheaper stuff from China gets stockpiled over here.
I also look at the supplier's feedback, if it's less than 99% (across a lot of sales) I steer clear, especially if I see 'patterns' in the negative feedback.
I'd also avoid suppliers that have only been trading on E-bay for a couple of years or less.