Heads-Up about eBay Global Shipping and old gear

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Buying, selling... mainly buying
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Hi All,

I recently sold a broken tube amp on eBay and the buyer happened to be from Greece. I sent the item to the eBay Global Ship warehouse and after a few days sitting there, I was informed it was restricted and could not be sent further. I asked for clarification and was emailed the following:

The item *MAY* have been restricted for the following reason(s):

1. Lead: all soldering, risks and handling method is known by most
2. Selenium diodes/rectifiers:
3. Mercury: Inside some rectifier tubes (6508, 82, 83, 866A)
4. Cadmium: Chassis plating of Fisher tube amplifiers (kx-200,400,500c,...)
5. PCB's : not the stuff components are mounted on, but "Polychlorinated Biphenyls".
6. Asbestos: Was used as heat shield in some tweed guitar amplifiers and as insulation material on wiring.

The result of the transaction were pretty favorable (especially given eBay's ambivalence towards sellers).
The buyer was given his money back and I was allowed to keep the payment from the transaction. Apparently the third party that runs Global Shipping eats the loss but retains the item for future sale. I tried to get the item back but they said that was not possible.

Just something to be aware of if you plan to ship tube gear using Global Ship program.
 
Yep, that's the net result - they purchased the amp and reimbursed the buyer.

I would assume this restriction applies to shipping anywhere outside the US using the Global Shipping program.
 
GSP ate a remote control going to Belgium. The item got a GSP tracking number but tracking never updated. After a couple of long phone calls to ebay, I was awarded the funds. While going through the GSP and international small print, there was a list of items that certain countries could not accept. Maybe the EU is restricting entry of used electronics of any sort.
 
And does this apply to all shipments out of the US to any country through there, or only Greece?
I would assume this restriction applies to shipping anywhere outside the US using the Global Shipping program.
Shipping restrictions vary from country to country. This particular restriction may have applied to Greece, but I have shipped a vintage amp to Germany via eBay with no problem.
 
Maybe the EU is restricting entry of used electronics of any sort.
No, the UK is still part of the EU for a little while and thus subject to EU regulations, and there's no such restriction. Individual countries may add additional restrictions, and it seems like Greece is doing so.
 
Now who do I know overseas that will way overbid for some gear I have that will be restricted!!!???
 
No, the UK is still part of the EU for a little while and thus subject to EU regulations, and there's no such restriction. Individual countries may add additional restrictions, and it seems like Greece is doing so.

Yeah, the EU bit was a stretch.
 
I have shipped half-dozen things via Global Ship and this is my second problem - not great odds. First issue was an item arrived at GS warehouse and just vanished into thin air. It was a nice Yamaha cassette deck destined for Canada. FedEx and GS argued about who was responsible and in the end, FedEx reimbursed me but only $100 since I didn't get additional insurance. I argued that the insurance was for damage, not loss but they said tough noogies. Of course I had to reimburse the buyer so I was out about $50 through absolutely no fault of my own.

I doubt I will use GS again - too many opportunities for bad stuff to happen. I don't need that kinda of drama in my life.
 
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I can understand countries not wanting to import shiploads of electronic scrap, but restricting the very small amount of trade in vintage electronics just seems over the top. If they are truly trying to help the environment, restricting reuse just leads to more discarding and replacing with newly manufactured stuff, which is exactly the opposite of conservation.
 
'Over the top' seems to be applied to many things today, but that's a topic for another day in another forum. ;)
 
Also check the customs duty they want to collect in advance. It is usually WELL over actual charged duty so it is just another profit center.

Just paid 16 dirhims at the post office (about four bucks USD) when I picked up a McIntosh MR77 tuner. EBay and their global shipping program wanted $40 USD in advance for a $200 used clock radio.

Giant ripoff!
 
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We ship vintage gear to and from Belgium regularly. I just sent 12 Panasonic RS-808 8-Track players there for refurb, before reaching their final destination in Spain.
 
The Global Shipping Program is run by Pitney Bowes. They are also known to open up boxes and repackage the item into a smaller box. They are supposed to cover any loss or damage between their shipping center and the destination, but it can still result in a pissed off buyer and negative feedback on your account if PB restuffed your item into inadequate packaging and it got damaged.
 
The Global Shipping Program is run by Pitney Bowes. They are also known to open up boxes and repackage the item into a smaller box. They are supposed to cover any loss or damage between their shipping center and the destination, but it can still result in a pissed off buyer and negative feedback on your account if PB restuffed your item into inadequate packaging and it got damaged.
That's just not right. :(
 
Well, an update: The item I sold on eBay that was refused shipment showed-up on eBay for sale again.

Same title
Same pictures
Same layout
SAME TEXT~!!!

and wait for it, an opening bid that is 230% more than my sale price.

The seller is somewhere in Michigan and has > 31,000 sales even though he has only been on eBay since August 2017.

I'll do he math for you, that's > 4,400 items per month. Hell of a game they are playing there.
 
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A couple of other interesting points:

The new seller used my original pictures from within eBay. As far as I know, this is not something sellers can do. i.e. I cannot pilfer pictures from someone else's listing to use in my listing. I can use my own pictures when I relist and item, but I can't use someone else pictures.

When I am not logged-in and search for "Completed Sales" for items like mine, I see my original sale that was blocked from shipping. When I click to get details about this item, I am told that "The listing you’re looking for is no longer available. Check out this similar item we found for you.".

And what has eBay found for me?? I am taken to the sale page of my item relisted by the current seller. eBay has redirected my search to point to the newly listed item.

When I am logged-in, it takes me to my completed sale without redirecting.


*** Pleas note *** This is not an eBay bitch thread - those are not wanted, or allowed on AK. This thread is pointing out how eBay and Global Shipping have apparently formed a partnership that allows Global Sales (and it's self ordained sellers) to experience unfair advantage(s) that the rest of of eBay sellers do not enjoy.

I'm not sure any of this is against the law, or for that matter, the rules but it certainly does not pass the smell-test.

btw; the new seller of my item has 491 listing active right now for either "tubes" or "tube amps". I bet I know where they got their stock to sell.
 
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