Ebay sellers from foreign countries
logger7
Posts: 8,675 ✭✭✭✭✭
I took a chance on some gold coins from a seller in Poland. 10 days later, coin has not been shipped. I contacted him a couple times, makes excuses said he will update tracking, said that a couple times, has not done it yet. He said he had an accident and was in the hospital last week but when he gets back to the office will update tracking. Nothing yet. Ebay wants you to resolve issues through buyers, I tried finding a way to contact ebay, but they have set up their system to make that hard. Have others had luck buying US coins out of the US?
0
Comments
Not worth the trouble, IMO. Plenty of US coins to buy here in the US.
Nothing is as expensive as free money.
If it has been 10 days without shipment ask the seller to cancel the sale.
Tell them you're done waiting.
I hope you paid with a credit card.
There is a way to get in touch with phone support but they do make it hard to find.
Why would you buy gold from Poland and take any risk when you can buy it here?
Not US but I have bought world coins from sellers outside the US on eBay. One in Poland was slow in shipping (maybe took a two weeks to ship out and this was around 2018). Another recent example was a UK seller who didn't update shipping or reply to a message. Around a week later he finally replied that the coin was mailed but he never uploaded tracking (it was true as the coin arrived a few days later). Outside of those two, the rest were great experiences (seller shipped within a few days, uploaded tracking, and the coins arrived fairly quickly). I wouldn't hesitate using most international sellers as long as their feedback is decent and you don't need the coin right away.
I've bought lots of coin from non-US buyers and never really had any issues. But these were low cost items.
As suggested above, I'd probably try to cancel the sale. Sounds like seller is full of excuses.
Yes, the price was right, I put in a bid not expecting to win it. I'd assume that standard shipping is international registered; I asked the guy if there was an expedited method and he said no.
.
depending on just how much money we are talking about, just what kind of good deal it is "may be", i'd find out how long you have to claim item not sent or whatever from ebay and wait as long as possible JUST in case the seller isn't lying although the odds are not good.
you can always post more info/links etc and we can tear the whole thing apart in fine fashion as we are apt to do around here. lol
either way, hope you find a successful path through the briar patch.
Cancel the sale.
when you buy foreign, it sometimes takes 3 months to arrive
if they have feedback showing they have delivered you are fine
if new account, no selling activity the deal needed to be very good with the refund hassles
3 months? That's crazy, no guarantees?
One coin is a little over 2 grand; I'm going to keep asking him what's going on and give him appropriate feedback if he makes questionable excuses. Certified coins from Europe pop up but not too often. You have to wonder how they got there.
If you are in it over 2K and have waited 10 days just call ebay and have them cancel it.
If you or ebay pushes the seller they can print a shipping label through ebay's system and then wait another 10 days to ship.
Ebay has your but covered! Just make sure you don't go past their deadline to make a claim! Tons of great deals from overseas sellers here!
Yes. Never had a problem.
You can request a cancellation.
You can always file a chargeback. There is really no risk to you.
When the excuses start it is time to take actions necessary to protect your interests.
I have a bad feeling about your particular situation.
I have purchased two coin items from European sellers. Both were smooth transactions and prompt delivery. I was cautious on both occasions, but prior contact with the sellers made me feel better. Cheers, RickO
This purchase should be no different than if the seller was in the USA. You have to wait until the day after when the item is supposed to have arrived by (it says it on your myebay page) and then open an ebay case against the seller stating it hasn’t arrived. You choose on that screen if you want the item or a refund. Very straightforward but takes patience. I think you’re blocked from doing anything until that date.
The seller is "francdon5". It looks like he sold a number of certified coins in the last month; also sold some US gold coins including a certified $20 gold piece that sold for a little over $1500. For most the wait and hassles are worth the potential profits.
it does not look good for higher valued US coins sold in June - different lighting and photo techniques compared to their NEG slabs
I do have tracking, probably the same with others who bought the certified gold coins from him; as others said the only downside is tying up a lot of money until the item arrives or doesn't.
I prefer not to gamble with them.
Google translate is better than eBay customer service. Then there's the interpol.
The ebay seller from Poland sent me, and presumably other buyers of US certified gold, a request for feedback on the ordered item(s) before they arrive. I have never seen a request like that, but guess he is hurting for money. I had asked him if expedited shipping was possible with him and he said no. I emailed him back asking where he got the coins?
"Francdon5" the ebay seller from Poland indicated he shipped out the gold coins on Monday; today he cancelled my order and someone else who got a type II $20 certified by NGC for $1500 who then left warning feedback.
Can a seller ship stuff out registered and then recall it?
This was one of his listed coins that is in the NGC set registry:
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/coins/2246030/
https://www.ebay.com/itm/394110301163
My foreign ebay experiences are limited to our neighbors to the north and to the UK.
It is possible to redirect some mail services even in the US. I really don't know the rules for Poland.
The latest chapter in this saga is that the AU details $20 Lib. I bought on ebay was in PA yesterday out for delivery. "No authorized recipient available".
So I called the post office it was at this morning. I gave the tracking number and they said that there was no "addressee" on the parcel! A gold coin sent from Poland to the US with an address without an addressed to line filled out. So according to them they will just have to send it back to Poland. I don't know if there is any way for the guy to resolve the issue on his end.
scammer, be glad they cancelled your order
an early scam on eBay was for fraud seller to supply an actual tracking number that they sent 'something' to a business with the same zip code that was actually delivered. the USPS tracking showed 'delivered' which made refunds for non-delivery harder.
The strange thing on this one is apparently someone got their order so far in the group of gold coins from northern Poland on ebay, though no one has left feedback on the $20 gold coins yet.
I have never seen fraud like this on ebay before. Long delays, lots of excuses, strange communication, items supposedly purchased on my account with tracking showing and delivery to someone hundreds of miles away!
if you are referring to the gold bar auction that I have linked, I would not be so sure it is authentic
https://ebay.com/itm/394080425958?nma=true&si=SJASvRzyvi8KIx%252BRMmgEeKl2g5A%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
I saw that as a "confidence building" part of the likely scam, necessary to dupe buyers in what followed.
Who sends an international registered shipment without an addressee? I spoke with the destination post office in PA earlier which said they would probably have to return the parcels to Poland then when they showed as delivered in PA later I called them and they said though there was no destination addressee they "had to" deliver them to the address.
someone not familiar with USA addresses -
John Smith, smalltown, state XXXXX USA (you said it made it to a post office)
I remember sending eBay things to a buyer China and had 6 lines required
counterfeit bars ....
https://fakebullion.com/index.php/component/k2/item/44-pamp-suisse-fortuna-1-ounce-gold-bar-in-veriscan-assay-card
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck --- what do you think? Its not a gold eagle, or in this case a $20 Liberty. Looked at sellers feed back this morning. Last 4 entries are negative.
I have been tempted by some ebay listings from outside US but not pulled the trigger on them for this very reason. Also I don"t know if customs would impose tax on foreign purchase of coins. Does anyone know how coins are treated by customs?
I have bought several "lower value" coins from foreign sellers in Canada, France, Spain, and even Russia (long before the current war). All of them had large volumes of positive feedback. I never had any problems, and I never had to pay any customs duties (I believe coins are exempt but YMMV). With that said, I would never buy anything from a seller with sketchy feedback, foreign or otherwise, and I would never buy gold below spot from someone I didn't know (not that I would be willing or able to buy it from someone I did know either). If it sounds too good to be true...
I guess it was about 3 years ago when I was getting back into collecting and started with Morgan and Peace silver dollars. Naturally I gravitated to eBay because we didn't have any close coin shops in my area. Make a long story short I bought six different Morgans and a 1928 piece dollar. I bought the six of them from China from different sellers and one came from Russia. I didn't see any red flags, maybe because I'm blind in the right eye and that's where the flag was. After verifying that all of these silver dollars were fake, I contacted eBay over the period that I purchased them and eBay fortunately refunded all the money I spent on buying the fakes. I consider myself extremely lucky to have recovered all my funds. Imagine eBay's policies have changed since then but I was fortunate when I had the problem that they were very willing to cooperate with me.
USN & USAF retired 1971-1993
Successful Transactions with more than 100 Members
I specify "US only" in my searches. Hassle, ANY HASSLE is too much bother.
My last three eBay purchases have all been from France. Some foreign sellers of U.S. coins simply don't know how to grade and often don't know mintmark placements.
If you're willing to wait as the shipping is slow, the coins turn out to be bargains- at times.
peacockcoins
Agree. The barely camouflaged xenophobia on this thread is misplaced. The vast majority of eBay scams that pop up on this forum are from US sellers. Use the same due diligence for all sellers, no matter what their country of residence.
Ebay's "have us call you" link at the bottom of the linked page. You have to first be logged into your ebay account.
Good link for all to save in their ebay folder in their favorites bar.
Thank you!
Smitten with DBLCs.
I've had generally good results from eBay sellers in foreign countries. One or two dodgy sellers in the US but, other than that, all good.
Smitten with DBLCs.