ebay shops from Asia

Hi, just had a bit of a look around on ebay. There are some really good offers out there from sellers in Hong Kong, Thailand etc.(well, the offers look good anyway). Just wondering if anybody ever bought something off them and how things turned out.
Here's a few I had a look at:

stores.ebay.ie/E-Aquaplant-Your-Aquarium...ZQ2d33QQftidZ2QQtZkm

stores.ebay.ie/bbecoco

search.ebay.ie/_W0QQsassZezfishingshopQQhtZ-1


Or if anybody knows a good, relaible ebay shop with prices like this, let me know

Holger

Hi Holger,

No experience buying fishy stuff, but have looked into buying camera gear. Many have done it with good results. Problem in Ireland is that you will get hit with duty which may make it less attractive. Also, duty is charged on what the product would cost here rather than what was paid for it.

On the camera side, there is also a warranty issue as most of the European agents for the products won't recognise warranties on far eastern gear. Not sure that would be such a big issue on aquarium gear as it's harder to trace and less expensive (generally).

Combined with the warrangty and duty, I decided to give it a miss and bought most of my gear in Germany or on trips to the states.

Hi Ken,
I brought stuff in from the US via ebay and was charged tax and duty on what I actually paid for the stuff not what it cost here. Even if they charge you VAT on most of the items it will cost you still less than buying it here. The threshold is 22€ by the way and that includes the cost of shipping which I personally think is a disgrace.

Holger

fairy shrimp i ordered on the 11th arrived today no problem so far will be posting about my progress.

I have bought lots of things from asia with no real problems.All sellers will offer you a refund or exchange of goods, but the down side is that the postage has to be covered by you and then the \"cheap\" price has now become expensive. research their feedback before hand but from my personal experiance all was good.

jamie

I'm suitably impressed by the plant seller Holger. Shame about the postage being the same add-on amount for each additional item.

Richard

I have used ebay Asia sellers several times. You have to be particularly careful to choose sellers with good feedback (and a good number of feedback) I would not go near anyone with less that 100 feedback and at least 99% positive. Preferably a lot more.

I bought one 11w clip on light for 99c and $6 postage, it arrived safely and worked well so I ordered 3 more, there was no discount for combined shipping, but the lights were still good value so I went ahead. When they didn't arrive a couple of weeks later, I checked for seller and they were no longer registered on eBay That seller had over 1500 positive rating I started the process of a PayPal claim, but the lights arrived safely the next day.

I also bought a Sigma 120-300 f2.8 lens from Hong Kong. I paid £1100 plus about £80 postage. It would have cost €3000 here. I checked it had a worldwide warranty, just as well, when it arrived it was back focusing. Seller offered a replacement, but that would have cost me postage back to Hong Kong and back here again, so I contacted Sigma agent here (in Cork) and they repaired it, still cost me postage and a six week delay. Repair agent said that it was one of the last of that type sold with a worldwide warranty and that in future they would have European, USA or Asian warranty.

So despite a few hick-ups, I have had a fairly good experience with Asian eBay sellers, but would warn you to check sellers rating, postage rates (double check them) and warranty on goods purchased. One more warning, I have not been caught for duty on Asian purchases, but I have on USA purchases, every single time, if the seller uses USPS, their agents for delivery in Europe (not UK though) are owned by Royal Mail and AUTOMATICALLY collect duty for customs and charge you a handling fee for the \"convenience\", can't think of the handlers name but I know that customs here get hundreds of complaints a month about there practices.

I notice that one of those linked sellers has similar lights to what I got at 72c bid and buy-it-now $4.50 or something, but the postage is AU$37.50 - that's about €20!

Happy shopping.

Caveat emptor as we say in the LFKS.

Its normally GLS who deliver here in ireland for UPS and yes they do collect all duties etc. I used to work with their former incarnation a few years ago.

They bought out Williames Logistics.

For your info ..there is no duty or vat paid on books as they are vat free here.

GLS, that's the name. It should be forever engraved on my brain. Always found it \"funny\" that they were owned by Royal Mail but did not have the contract to deliver in the UK, I suppose you don't mess on your own doorstep.

Anyhow, as Ken says buyer beware, but don't let these stories put you off, just check the details of the items carefully and check the postage and any other costs carefully and see does it still make sense.

I find that somewhat confusing. I ordered a lot of stuff from the US over the years and most if not all vendors used USPS and I never got charged for VAT, duty, etc. But the delivery was always made by An Post. And may I add, a pair of shoes from LA arrived faster at my doorsteps than my credit card bill from Dublin.

A pair of shoes may have been under the value that merits duties, I am not sure what the limits are. I know for the three items I ordered over a period over several months, the most recent about a year ago I got stung for each one, once to the tune of €200, thanks to the efficency of GLS.

The limit is very low, €20 or close to that. If it's sent by normal post, you're less likely to get caught for duty, but it takes longer. If it gets sent by courier, you will definitely get caught as they are legally obliged to charge the relevant duty on delivery. That has been my experience anyway.

If you ask who ever is selling/sending you the items to write GIFT on the parcel/package it is immune from any tax or duties.

Cillian wrote:

If you ask who ever is selling/sending you the items to write GIFT on the parcel/package it is immune from any tax or duties.

Somehow, I'd say the authorities are wise to that one. I don't belive a gift is exempt from Duty/VAT.

The limit is 22€(I rang customs), however, shipping is included in that amount. So you will end up paying VAT and duty on the item and on the shipping. Personally I think it's just luck if customs stop a package or not. My wife ordered a handbag from the States and it cost around 50$. It was stopped by customs and we had to provide the item number on ebay so they could check how much it cost. In the end customs didn't charge anything for it since the amount was 'marginally' (their words) over the limit and it wasn't worth the hazzle to collect the money. I wasn't complaining...