Buying from China/Hong Kong : eBay Guides

There are loads of sellers from these areas, selling musical instruments (some branded), electronic equipment, 'artworks' etc. The Chinese adverts are often in poorly worded or quaint English, eg 'Most superb guitar will bring much happiness'. What seems most appealing are the very low prices, both on 'Buy It Now' and on previous auction sales. However, beware! The adverts are often very long and if you go right to the bottom you will find the postage charges which are astronomical. Some sellers also insist on postal insurance at extra cost. Recently, a buyer won an auction for a drum kit at £2.75! Postage and insurance to the UK were £750. The buyer failed to pay, and then lost their 100% positive feedback rating when the Chinese seller sent a negative. Some are more upfront than others, especially those from Hong Kong. Recently I paid £0.25 for an LED torch and £7.50 for postage which was made very clear at the top of the advert. The torch is fine, and an equivalent here would have cost me up to £10, so I'm not complaining.

I have no reason to doubt the legitimacy of some of these traders, though I do know from Ebay forums that some are selling counterfeit branded items. A recent buyer won a  'valuable jade pendant' only to discover it was, in fact, green plastic!  Some of these sellers rely on catching people out who do not read all the small print on their adverts. They know it will be difficult, if not impossible, for the dissatisfied buyer to get money back, or a refund. I also suspect that when the feedback negatives fly in thick and fast, they simply re-register with another account name, selling exactly the same items with the same wording. The usual rules apply - if it looks too good to be true, then it is likely to be a scam of sorts. Take some time to track back through the seller's feedback ratings before you buy. You can see if someone else has bought the product you're intending to buy, and what their experience was. Hope this helps.