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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be fed up of ordering stuff that turns out to be sent from China

89 replies

MrsCipo · 09/01/2020 19:22

I have noticed in the last few months that a huge majority of things that I order on eBay are being dispatched from China. Even when I select 'Item location: UK only' - sellers are obviously saying they are in the UK when they are not. It seems incredibly inefficient and wasteful for individual items to be flown halfway across the world in small quantities so I want to avoid this, but it seems to be getting harder. It's not just eBay - I have ordered stuff from other UK websites, with UK addresses, only for it to turn up 2 weeks later having come from China.

But then, if it is all being produced in China in the first place, it has got to be flown over sooner or later - then trucked to a warehouse then to a shop then dispatched from there. So does it really matter? Is it really less efficient to buy direct from China? I can't decide if it actually matters.

AIBU to not want to buy items direct from China?

OP posts:
schoolcats · 09/01/2020 19:23

It's the same on amazon but at least they tell you or the sellers name makes it obvious.

GingerRH · 09/01/2020 19:24

I always get this. Proper pisses me off

misspiggy19 · 09/01/2020 19:24

Always check the sellers feedback on eBay- it is a giveaway if they are located in China

zasknbg · 09/01/2020 19:25

I try to buy stuff that is dispatched by and sold by Amazon itself rather than by random sellers. Then it just comes from their warehouses which are nearby. What sort of stuff are you buying?

Skyejuly · 09/01/2020 19:26

Happened lots lately

CatFaceCats · 09/01/2020 19:27

Postage dates usually give it away too - I found that filtering on eBay is useless now. You can put in UK, but it still comes straight from China!

ThunderGarlic · 09/01/2020 19:27

For eBay, there's a box on the left you can check to specify that you only want to search for goods that are sent from UK or European Union.

ThunderGarlic · 09/01/2020 19:29

Sorry, somehow missed a key line in your OP on first reading. It's happening even when you check that box. Doh!

Jupiters · 09/01/2020 19:30

For eBay, there's a box on the left you can check to specify that you only want to search for goods that are sent from UK or European Union
Yes but it doesn't mean they are listed correctly. I always use that filter, but still find some items end up coming from China. It's very frustrating.

GreenTulips · 09/01/2020 19:30

I’ve noticed this.

It annoys me because if I buy direct I know it’s a few weeks and they charge pennies. If I want a UK supplier I expect to pay a bit more with a quicker delivery.

So paying more and waiting is not the point!

I think some are acting as a third party, you order a jumper from Mr EBay and he orders it from China to be delivered direct.

It’s really cheeky!!

Grumpydad1540 · 09/01/2020 19:31

It’s called drop shipping...they don’t does illy fly your one item over. Chill

GreenTulips · 09/01/2020 19:32

Happens in Amazon with their deliver ‘between 1st and 18th of X month’ also suggests China

Grumpydad1540 · 09/01/2020 19:32

Don’t only fly*

criminalweetabix · 09/01/2020 19:32

The postage dates are always a dead giveaway.

BestIsWest · 09/01/2020 19:33

Yes, me too. I don’t do eBay but Amazon is getting as bad. And fed up of wrangling over returns that I don’t want to send back to China at my cost.

ohwheniknow · 09/01/2020 19:34

Checking the estimated delivery time can be helpful to filter it out.

My concern is that on Amazon, say, you'll see an original product and then 300 much cheaper knock offs coming from China. It can be difficult to sift through that. I don't want to inadvertently buy something that doesn't meet safety standards etc etc.

cybergran · 09/01/2020 19:34

I rarely buy anything online... i go to the shops.

PineapplePower · 09/01/2020 19:36

Just buy from Ali Express cheaper and ships from China anyway.

Original poster
MrsCipo · 09/01/2020 19:38

I don't think you can always tell by postage times - if it's a couple of weeks or a wide delivery date range then I avoid it, but I ordered something that said a week which came from China. With a lot of sellers offering free postage then I thought a week might just be second class post

OP posts:
Spam88 · 09/01/2020 19:39

It's frustrating how much stuff on amazon is from China now. Particularly toys - I don't want to inadvertently buy from China because of different safety standards but it's not always obvious.

EmeraldShamrock · 09/01/2020 19:41

Yanbu. I ordered a bulk of hero academia stuff for DD for Christmas early November still waiting on 25% of it.
Ebay UK seller.

schoolcats · 09/01/2020 19:45

As i've got prime I can tell and avoid Chinese goods, I live less then 2 miles from the nearest amazon place so have occasionally had stuff within 2-3 hours.

countrygirl99 · 09/01/2020 19:51

I needed to replace my head torch. I filtered on UK, selected one which said 4-5 days delivery and used the batteries I had a lot of. It came from China, took nearly 3 weeks and didn't fit those batteries.

midnightmisssuki · 09/01/2020 19:52

Most of the things come from China.

Lunde · 09/01/2020 19:55

This is really annoying.

It is also costing me a fortune as the Swedish government (I live there) is clamping down on non-EU imports - so you think that you are ordering from Amazon UK/Germany and then it arrives from China and you end up paying customs duties + a £20 customs handling charge

... something to think about after Brexit

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