Hi all,

I have fairly limited eBay experience, but the follow story seems reasonable. It does raise yellow flags for me, but I think it is OK. I would love to hear what you all think.

I won an auction for a watch from a developing country. It is only $100 so the risk is not very big. But I got the following message from the seller:

"Hello,
I wanted to let you know about the status of shipping during this coronavirus outbreak. Currently there is a hold on all inbound and outbound flights from this country and a lockdown in place as well. It is not possible to ship any item as long as these restrictions continue.
As soon as flights restart and shipping is allowed again, I will have your items shipped out. I hope you will understand and I wish you well in these trying times too. Please remain safe and cheerful.
Thanks"

Seems completely understandable, but soon after it was marked as shipped. "Economy shipping from outside the US." I asked the seller if something had changed and he was able to ship. He said, "I am only packing the watches and I hope in next few days I be able to ship," and attached a photo of a bunch of packages. One of which had my address.

Seller has 189 reviews, all positive. Since there is no tracking on the shipping, at some point don't the funds get released (even if it hasn't actually been shipped). What do you all think?

 

Air mail and parcels are still continuing among countries but there could be some delay because of fewer flights and lower staffing at outbound and inbound customs facilities. At this point I wouldn't worry too much, doubt he would be emailing you to lead you on so he could steal your $100.

 

I made a couple of cheap eBay purchases (like $5, not watches or anything) a few months ago as the outbreak became widespread in China. I had the same thing, notification that it was shipped but the sellers sent messages saying that they weren't able to actually send yet but would as soon as it became possible. They did offer refunds if I so chose though, but I'd say it's a good time to be patient at least for a couple weeks.

 

I agree. I am not too concerned about $100, but I would rather not give it away

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Thanks for both of your input. I just wanted to make sure that I am not being a sucker for some obvious scam.

 

It’s legitimate. Many overseas sellers are posting similar text on their listings. I wouldn’t be concerned.

 

They also probably marked it shipped because as a seller, ebay makes you prep and ship it within a certain window depending on your level.

When I sell stuff, eBay says I have 2 days to get it out or risk some sort of penalty. So it might be them avoiding issues by just getting it ready.

Also, Ebay also won't let U.S. based sellers ship anything international through their website right now. I sold something a couple days ago domestically and there was a notice on the shipping label page saying as such. Can still buy postage from an outside source, but it was surprising.

 

But why couldn’t the seller drop the parcel with the shipping company anyway ?

Doesn’t someone have a limit to open a case with eBay in case of problem??

I understand these are exceptional conditions, but I just hope that nobody is taking advantage of these…

 

I agree, and I would cancel the order under these conditions if this were in the thousands of dollars. Under the circumstances, I am willing to take a small risk of losing $100. I also don't want to cut off a potential source of income for an honest seller in a developing country in an economically challenging time.

 

Makes sense... may be this is the result of living in the western world where people think they need to “lawyer up” for any business interaction.
You are definitely a more trusting person, and thus a better person.

Please keep us posted.

 

Good luck, in many parts of France, if you are looking for an open post office which will take parcels. And I guess the situation is the same in some other countries these days.

 

Here is language that appears on a current listing from an eBay seller in Argentina from whom I have made two prior purchases. As I noted in my prior post, I think that the OP’s seller is facing similar circumstances and was simply trying to keep the OP informed.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to Corona pandemic there could be expected shipping delays that are out of our control, as some borders are being closed and flights are being canceled.

 

I’ve noticed that sometimes if you make a shipping label it marks it as shipped even though it hasn’t. Wouldn’t worry too much. I’m waiting on a few items from Europe that are way behind because of lockdowns

 

100% correct. This is what he did to avoid the ebay ding. Nothing wrong with this given the circumstances.

I also would not expect him to give to post office unless they can move it immediately. Even higher level nations like Italy are known for their thievery of post items.

 

Nothing to worry about if you paid by PayPal. I would, however, keep an eye on the timeframe within which you can report as "not received" (in the UK it's 30 days, it might vary by country).
The other thing, it would be the seller's responsibility to send as tracked, otherwise if it gets lost, it's to be his loss, as PayPal would reimburse you anyway.

 

Well the gamble paid off.

 

Great pick up for that price, well done.

 

It seems to have never been worn. There are a few tiny scratches on the case, and it seems as though the lume plots were removed on the dial, because it appears to be bare metal where the lume plots were. It is running, but will see how the time keeping is. It had the wrong battery (alkaline), but I replaced it with the appropriate Renata battery. We will see how it performs. I should probably have it serviced.