Multiple Seller Misrepresentation
Summary: best_value_gadgets shared concerns about purchasing blood pressure monitors on eBay, highlighting sellers' misrepresentation of item locations. They reported two instances where sellers claimed the items were in the U.S. but shipped from China, which caused delays. Despite reporting the issue to eBay, an AI investigation failed to detect these violations. Other participants suggested alternatives like purchasing from Amazon, shared their similar experiences, and advised on identifying red flags such as checking seller feedback and shipping details. They emphasized the importance of verifying seller information to avoid such issues.
A few years ago, I purchased a blood pressure monitor on eBay. I believe it shipped from California, and I received it in Florida within about a week.
Recently, I needed to purchase the same type of item again. I bought one from a seller who stated that the item was located in Skokie, Illinois. However, when I requested tracking information, I discovered that the item was actually shipping from China, with an estimated delivery time of more than a month.
I reported this to eBay, but initially received a response stating that there was no violation based on an “AI investigation.” I subsequently spoke with an eBay representative by phone, who reviewed the situation and confirmed that the seller's listing did violate eBay's item-location policy. However, I was told that I had to wait until I received the item before eBay could take any action.
I then ordered another blood pressure monitor from a different seller, this time because the listing stated that the item was located in Missouri. Once again, I requested tracking information. Although the listing gave an estimated delivery date of October 2, 2026, the tracking information shows that the item is still in China as of October 1—and, again, it is shipping from China rather than Missouri.
Are you seeing this level of seller misrepresentation on eBay? This is not only deceptive; it is an enormous waste of the buyer's time. I have to investigate where the item is actually shipping from, contact eBay, report the violation, and then argue with eBay about whether the seller has violated its own item-location policy.
More importantly, how can eBay's AI investigation fail to recognize the difference between an item being located in a U.S. state and an item actually being shipped from China? That seems like a fundamental distinction when enforcing eBay's item-location policy.
It seems like one or both of these blokes owe me a free BP machine because you cannot just tie up my funds for several months then tell me I am entitled simply to a refund after the fact because they decided to engage in this level of misrepresentation while wasting my time.
mam98031
·1 week ago@best_value_gadgets Ebay has no way of knowing that sellers are doing this unless the buyers report them. Ebay never sees or handles items that seller's ship, so they can't possibly know. So report them as you purchase from sellers that do this.
If the handling time and/or estimated delivery dates met your needs, then you could file and INR and likely get your money back. But if the handling time and/or estimated delivery dates were way out there, you should have likely realized something was wrong.
eburtonlab
·1 week agohow can eBay's AI investigation fail to recognize the difference between an item being located in a U.S. state and an item actually being shipped from China?
When you report the listing, eBay is only looking at the listing for policy violations. eBay can't tell that the seller is actually shipping from overseas just by looking at the listing itself. Even if the seller is registered overseas, the seller could be shipping from a US warehouse.
If you file a "not as described" return, on the other hand, eBay will be able to take into consideration your experience as a buyer, not just the information provided by the seller in the listing.
eburtonlab
·1 week agoProbably the best way to deal with sellers that misrepresent item location is to avoid them whenever possible. The "US only" item location filter selects items that are listed as being in the United States; however, as you have seen, not every seller that lists items in the US ships from the US as they should.
Before ordering you should check the estimated delivery dates -- that is a good indication of how far away items actually ship from. Generic shipping options or DHL may be a sign of an international shipment. Also, going to a seller's profile page or feedback page will tell you where the seller's account was registered. Although some overseas sellers do use US warehouses to ship their items (and some registered US-sellers may employ drop-shippers), if a seller is registered overseas, that raises the likelihood of an item shipping from outside the US, particularly for multiple quantity commodity items. Checking seller feedback closely will often reveal if there are problems with long shipping times, canceled orders or other supply chain warning signs, particularly if buyers that encounter problems with drop-shippers leave feedback indicating that.
mam98031
·1 week agoAlso note that while a seller may have a US ship from address on the listing, the country in which the seller is registered is seen on their feedback page. So when you see a different country, approach with caution.
inhawaii
·1 week agoNot as described.
It was described as shipping from the US.
It was not shipped from the US.
zakstreasuretrove
·1 week agoThis is certainly the correct way to deal with this. It eases the frustration a bit.
zakstreasuretrove
·1 week agoWhen purchasing items like this that have multiple listings that look similar, but are from supposedly different sellers, I look at the location for each one. I will generally find this:
Pictures of the item are exactly the same or VERY similar
The location of several different sellers with the similar listings are in the same city.
They say US based on the title picture.
All of these are red flags for the exact type of garbage seller you are referring to.
vintage-camerastuff
·1 week agoI have 2 blood pressure monitors that I got from the VA. They are both made in China. But mine were free and I didn't have to wait for shipping. Even the government buys them from China.
shire123
·1 week ago · EditedNext time order from Amazon. I stay away from regular consumer type products on ebay because of this issue.
Some foreign based sellers actually do have warehouses in the States. But there is no way to determine which ones.
On the surface