Is it illegal to charge postage from china when you are based in UK

robmcdougal90

i want to buy a laptop battery and the seller is charging £12 postage from china, although im 99% sure he or the company are based in uk.is there anything i can do?

Hintza

Yes; buy elswhere ...easy!!

Hintza

Yes; buy elsewhere...easy!!

I very much doubt they would be saying China if they were based in UK, the mention of China will put some buyers off so i doubt they will be posting from the UK.

robmcdougal90

but there the only people who sell it at a good price but £12 postage!!far too much

Hintza

That is why the P+P will be a bit more expensive!

Look at the all in price, but I seriously doubt they will be coming from UK.

Minky2Slice

robmcdougal90 wrote:

but there the only people who sell it at a good price but £12 postage!!far too much

compare: Good price +£12 postage or
Higher price +cheaper postage... which one is cheaper in the end?

theres no way u can do anything about what people charge for postage

pennylane99

they probably have the goods drop shipped from China....if you dont want to pay that amount of postage, look elsewhere..

smartie1976

If the seller profile states UK location and an item comes from abroad you theoretically can report them (can't remember what the correct reporting reason is off the top of my head) if you believe the advert misleads you to believe the item is located in the UK.

frivolous_fay

To report misrepresentation of item location:

Safety Centre > Report another problem > Listing policy breaches
Listing Policy breaches > Inappropriate seller terms > Misleading information about item location

OP, what makes you so sure the seller is based in the UK?

True location of the seller TENDS to be indicated by:
- Their country of registration
- Hints in the auction
- Feedback received

codger

robmcdougal90 wrote:

i want to buy a laptop battery and the seller is charging £12 postage from china, although im 99% sure he or the company are based in uk.is there anything i can do?

You really want to stay well clear of any listing like this.

eBay is replete with horror stories about dealings with Chinese sellers (especially those who fudge their actual location -- if not always with the greatest finesse: 'China, Merseyside, UK' was not one of the scammers' finest hours).

What you need to remember above all though is that excessive P&P charges by sellers wherever they may be based are a device for fee avoidance by the seller and for screwing you as the buyer.

If a transaction goes wrong and you're looking to get your money back, remember that P&P charges are not covered by eBay's compensation (such as it is).

frivolous_fay

I think there are two separate issues here... fee avoidance, and item misrepresentation.

I'm willing to accept that a heavy item from China might cost a fair bit to post to the UK. Depending on the laptop, the battery might not be all that light. I sent a hardback diary to the US and it cost over £12.

99p item, £24 postage... THAT would be a bit different.

Not every Chinese seller is a scam artist... although I don't condone exorbitant postage charges and fakes.