Seller skimming on Chickenbackers

[NikNik]

Obvs taking orders, buying them, then making a lift. Nice work if your can get it.

Skimmer

 

The same bass is for sale on AliE for £233, free shipping.

 

 

[rwillett]

It's called (international) capitalism  A large chunk of Amazon and eBay works like this. Not that many companies manufacture their own goods. You can walk down any market these days and see the same stuff each stall have brought from a local warehouse. Same product, same price, different stall.

To be fair to the seller (and I don't normally say that), the seller states it is made in China and allow 4-5 weeks for delivery. Normally the person has actually got the goods locally but not in this case.

 

My dad used to buy nuts and bolts by the 10,000, break them down by weight, bag them, and sell them to the local garages. The garages didn't need 10,000 M6 x 30mm bolts each but enough garages in the midlands needed them so its worth his time buying that many. He tied up his capital as he sold them and made his money back over a few months. The only difference now is that companies aren't fronting the money and just using AliExpress, Temu etc and basically drop shipping.

 

Not saying I approve, but can't say the guy is doing anything wrong. Caveat Emptor, buyer beware.

 

Rob

 

 

 

[NikNik]

Yeh, nothing 'wrong' with it, of course. But at £450 for a Chickenbacker, caveat emptor, indeed.

 

His shop advertises a wheen of AliE gear.

[rwillett]

Sadly thats the norm.

 

I keep looking at those Chickenbackers and I do fancy one, but until I've played one, I wouldn't touch it with a Chickenbacker neck.

 

AliExpress is a bad place though, I keep getting tempted. I do need the hardware for a new pfsense firewall and am looking for a small one that supports GB throughput. Perhaps I can combine it with a Chickenbacker. Reasonably certain HMRC won't allow that as a business expense

[Woodinblack]

I don't really see an issue with that. Anyone can take the risk of buying from the original supplier, waiting for the delivery and chasing up any problems that they want. Or they could buy from this guy and if something goes wrong send it back (and yes, I know he says he wont accept returns, but that is his opnion, not a statement of fact!).

I have often bought something in the UK from a seller when I know there is the original in aliexpress, but I just don't have a few weeks to waste,

[NikNik]

32 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

I don't really see an issue with that. Anyone can take the risk of buying from the original supplier, waiting for the delivery and chasing up any problems that they want. Or they could buy from this guy and if something goes wrong send it back (and yes, I know he says he wont accept returns, but that is his opnion, not a statement of fact!).

I have often bought something in the UK from a seller when I know there is the original in aliexpress, but I just don't have a few weeks to waste,

He's having to wait, as well. He's doing the ordering, and hanging c£220 onto the the pleasure of doing so! 😄

Edited April 4 by NikNik

[Woodinblack]

27 minutes ago, NikNik said:

He's having to wait, as well. He's doing the ordering, and hanging c£220 onto the the pleasure of doing so! 😄

 

Well, yes, that is what his pay is for - you are buying it without the delays or any customs issues etc, because he has taken on that, so you are buying something local, he is getting the money for that, pretty well like any shop.

 

However, considering the amount of instrument he has there, he will easily go past the £1000 profit PA threshold where eBay then inform HMRC quite quickly

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

It says "Please allow 4/5 weeks for international delivery."

He's dropshipping, so there's no benefit in ordering from him over ordering directly from AE.

You'll still get hit with Customs/VAT charges

[Woodinblack]

53 minutes ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

It says "Please allow 4/5 weeks for international delivery."

He's dropshipping, so there's no benefit in ordering from him over ordering directly from AE.

 

Oh in that case, no, there is no point in him. So buyer beware.

[rwillett]

1 hour ago, Woodinblack said:

 

Oh in that case, no, there is no point in him. So buyer beware.

 

Technically, he's not drop shipping. He makes no mention of VAT and customs duties, so if the guitar turned up at your door, direct from China and the shipping company want their VAT and customs duties paid, that would raise eyebrows (I paraphrase somewhat) and I would refuse the order. Your purchase/contract is with him and not the chinese company and even eBay would (probably) back you up in this situation.

 

The way he has described it makes no mention of paying any other fees, so perhaps he is paying customs and other duties, in which case that could easily come to £40 - £100. My knowledge of how big a pound of flesh HMRC would take is sketchy as I do my best to never speak to them. I even have business insurance for my accountants to handle any and all issues.

 

I am not the vendor and have no relationship with them, but I think we have to be a little careful and not tag everybody with the same brush. Is the guy making money, possibly? is it a lot? Looks doubtful to me, he'd have to sell a lot of them at that price.

 

have a great weekend

Rob

[prowla]

£450 is a lot for a Chickenbacker. 
If the price doesn’t cover taxes then you’re looking at a possible £100-150 extra for VAT plus duty plus handling fees. 
The seller also states no returns, but what happens if there is an issue?

It’s a no from me. 

[rwillett]

Distance selling regs invalidates the "No returns" claim. They can say what they like, but they can't ignore the law. even though they try to. Local trading standards won't do anything, but a small claim is easy to make. 90% of people in this position will settle out of court.

 

Now whether somebody would take them to court is another issue, but the small claims court fees are quite low and I would suggest that have a 100% chance of winning their case. I'm running something like 4-0 on small claims. over the last 20 years.

 

Rob

[Woodinblack]

4 hours ago, prowla said:

The seller also states no returns, but what happens if there is an issue?

 

The 'no returns' thing on eBay means just no returns in case you change your mind. If there is something wrong, or it is not advertised properly (or there are additional fees) then you can return anyway.

[prowla]

13 hours ago, rwillett said:

Distance selling regs invalidates the "No returns" claim. They can say what they like, but they can't ignore the law. even though they try to. Local trading standards won't do anything, but a small claim is easy to make. 90% of people in this position will settle out of court.

 

Now whether somebody would take them to court is another issue, but the small claims court fees are quite low and I would suggest that have a 100% chance of winning their case. I'm running something like 4-0 on small claims. over the last 20 years.

 

Rob

 

9 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

 

The 'no returns' thing on eBay means just no returns in case you change your mind. If there is something wrong, or it is not advertised properly (or there are additional fees) then you can return anyway.

Sure - I don't know if they know that or if they'd try and tough it out.

[rwillett]

Anybody regularly selling on Ebay will be aware of distance selling regs. 

 

It all comes down to how much hassle they create. I took a company to court over a Bluetooth speaker, nothing nothing nothing until we walked through the door and they settled. Told the magistrate all done and they moved on. 

 

 

[prowla]

2 hours ago, rwillett said:

Anybody regularly selling on Ebay will be aware of distance selling regs. 

 

It all comes down to how much hassle they create. I took a company to court over a Bluetooth speaker, nothing nothing nothing until we walked through the door and they settled. Told the magistrate all done and they moved on.

 

Sure - you'll win, but it is hassle.

[tauzero]

It would appear from his feedback that he's sold 4 instruments in the last year, and one of them may or may not have turned up. I wonder why he bothers.

[rmorris]

On 06/04/2024 at 02:06, Woodinblack said:

 

The 'no returns' thing on eBay means just no returns in case you change your mind. If there is something wrong, or it is not advertised properly (or there are additional fees) then you can return anyway.

 

Distance Selling legislation in England & Wales at least (not certain about Scotland / NI) also give the right to change mind without fault for IIRC 14 days. Although buyer then has to cover the shipping costs whereas returning due to a fault should be free.

This applies to business sellers. Private sellers can properly specify "no returns" . Can get difficult if sellers claims to be a private individual but operates more like a sole-trader business.