Nh
I know this is long and I am sorry but you just don’t get what I am saying.
Let’s get real here. If you bought a car from me for $5,000 and you wrote me a check for the $5000 and I was able to take that check and deposit it into my Chinese checking account and you bank charged you a currency exchange fee (lets assume 1% exchange fee) that’s a $50 fee that you had no prior knowledge about nor did you consent to it. Now before you say anything, I don’t think you can actually deposit an actual US Check into a Foreign bank for this reason. But Obviously you can deposit it electronically, and obviously without the buyers knowledge or prior consent. This is what I am talking about I do expect an exchange fee for funds requested in Yuan, but if funds are requested in USD you don’t expect this.
This has many issues, for security I sometimes use small credit card to make purchases it adds an extra layer of protection if someone scams me they can only get the maximum the card allows (don’t always do this but I think you get my point). Now if I am close to maxing out my card and the bank charges me a fee for currency exchange that I was not aware of now I get an overdraft charge as well. This is why Ebay has a transparency policy for seller listings. Again it’s not that I wouldn’t or won’t buy from foreign sellers I do buy from them a lot. This is why it’s a bigger issue with me. It takes a lot of extra work for me to find out which product(s) the fee is applied If I have several sellers I made purchase from and they all posse as US sellers I have absolutely no clue which fee applies to what purchase it could take up to an hour to take it down if I can’t find it on my own I have to call the bank to ask what purchase has the extra charge.
What you need to understand is that most Chinese Sellers ask for US funds and there are no additional currency fees in their listing or in check out and you know this. Your examples are the exceptions not the rule. I’m saying you hand picked these two listing to make your case, it simply is not the reality. The truth and my complaint is that most Chinese sellers don’t use the Currency Exchange Tools and more and more actually accept USD. And there are no fees outside of the Ebay & Pay Pal Transaction.
Look you already acknowledge by your examples that these sellers are being transparent. I’m talking about the sellers who don’t use the currency exchange tools or the ones who intentionally pose as US Sellers. However we must acknowledge that there are many Chinese sellers that are moving away from this deceptive practice (That is they list and accept USD even though they are based in China. It’s not the sellers who are being transparent that I have the problem with.
This causes a lot of extra for the buyer. If the seller just used the Currency Exchange Tools. Or calculated the exchange rate themselves and added it to the purchase price and accepted the USD funds they asked for none of this would be a problem.
Just for those who somehow think I don’t do my due diligence when shopping on Ebay the following is the average work that I at least do when shopping on Ebay. Most people may be willing to accept (concede) and pay the differences for the lack of seller integrity or Ebays one sided policies. I am not saying sellers are primarily bad out here not at all. I’m saying a few bad apples ruin it all for everyone and sellers can say that about buyers as well. I acknowledge that the vast majority of sellers are respectful and honest.
If you as a couscous buyer and are diligent this process means first finding out which item you want this means cross referencing sellers (some sellers list more specs and info, then others) this does not meant the items are identical you may have to determine that a seller who does not list this info may be hiding the fact that even if it looks the same it may not perform the same. now if the price is substantially lower a buyer may want to ask the seller for the specs most sellers will attempt to answer but again some will not (I understand that they deal with 1000s of orders and don’t need my business) so now there’s a 50% my massage goes unnoticed or that the seller will simply say they don’t have the info available. Now I’ve wasted my time asking the seller for specs.
If I’m lucky and I don’t need specs or I find a seller who lists the specs I can move onto the next step, where I can weed out actual US sellers from foreign sellers this involves a second step I have to go to the sellers feedback and if I click the right link I can see the sellers location. Now I have searched for the product (step one) I have researched the product cross referencing specs, etc… (step two). Verify sellers location and acceptable funding (step 3). Contact seller verify product specs sometimes requires a couple emails back and forth. (step 4). Make purchase Pay for item including currency fee if disclosed (step 5). Receive item verify item description (30 days may involve several emails and escalation this adds 3 or 4 more steps contact and resolution) (step 6). Receive bank statement find SURPRIZE! Currency Fee now I have to find out which purchase to apply the exchange fee to the item currency conversion fee may need to contact my bank to find out which item it belongs too (step 7). Go back and reenter the total transaction cost (including the undisclosed currency fee.
I choose not to sell out here because that means even more work, I just don’t have time. Ebay may actually try to make the platform equitable for both buyer and seller It’s got to be tough but the fact remains if they don’t consider the inconvenience and hassle for the buyer (shopper) the buyer will go elsewhere’s I’m starting to do more business with Alliexpress It funny that they are based in Chain and the listing price and transaction is transparent and the full cost is known at the checkout There are no conversion fees. What you see is what you pay. This should be a problem that the sellers would want to address as ultimately it effects their sales. I’m just saying at this point I really don’t want to buy from Ebay and I am taking my business elsewhere’s I only shop here when I have to… Ebay used to be my main source for buying. If you are a seller on Ebay this should be a major concern to you. I am only one person and there is no incentive for me to buy on Ebay any more, I am sure I’m not the only one. If other platforms can protect their buyers Ebay has no excuse. For now I will keep looking and working to find better platforms in which to shop. Shopping on Ebay is not easy or covenant unless you are willing to ignore the downside.
Life and death are certain. It is what we do between that matters.
