What's up with Japanese ebay sellers?

Was the fee a brokerage fee, or duties, or both?

Sover should be aware of the proper harmonized codes to mark on the documents.
 
All the items i've ever bought were shipped through the Japanese postal system & were delivered to my door in Canada in remarkably fast time (under a week)....with no extra charges
 
davidnewtonguitars said:
I have bought many items from Japan and in the US, have never had a duty. What does DHL do differently from all the others, USPS for example, that causes duties? I am wondering because I just bought an M6ttl, and Irohas has shipped it DHL.
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What they did to me was hold the camera for not only a duty, but a fee to process the duty. When I informed them the camera was duty free, they came up with another part of the Code that appeared to say it wasn't, and if I didn't pay up they would return it to the seller.


Having searched far and wide for that particular camera at that price point, I figured it was not worth the chance that the seller would ship it again by another service, or more likely DHL wouldn't even bother to return it to the seller, and dispose of it via salvage brokers. So I caved and payed the duty and fee. It felt just like having to pay a ransom, and I for one will never use DHL for anything, and always request the sellers to not use them either.


I did later on purchase a camera outfit from Europe, and asked the seller to not send it DHL, but they said due to the value of the item they would only ship by DHL. Well, as luck would have it I didn't get keelhauled for another Duty and Fee, so it could just be certain DHL managers padding their profit margins with this scam.


PF
 
I only buy from my sellers in my own country (Australia); so far, all descriptions and photos have been correct and they seemed OK, plus they all arrived. However (yes, that word), out of 9 high end cameras I've bought 8 have needed CLAs or shutter replacement/repair within a month of receipt.
Luckily, after the 2nd buy (a 111A) I learned my lesson and allowed for a CLA in any offer price.
At least the Summar was good in that buy.
 
DHL delivered the M6 on time and without any notification of any extra fees. The included paperwork specified "used film camera" and the box was unopened. In searching about DHL it seems the request for extra duties arrives by mail sometimes months after the gear, but I'm hoping for the best.

As an off-topic note, I gathered a lot of information about this on a forum that was for Ebay sellers who get banned, and how to get new memberships and boost their rating.
 
I almost got burned by Japanese eBay seller keity31597 this week. After becoming used to the incredible build, feel, and rendering of Leica and Zeiss rangefinder and slr glass, I’ve been unable to go back to the plastic crap that is mostly sold today for Canikon. For times when I can’t or don’t want to take my M3 with me, I purchased a Canon RP and I really have been enjoying this small and light camera. I mostly use an adapted 40mm Summicron beauty that I picked up from Dan Tamarkin (love that guy!) and it has been an absolute joy to shoot.

Next on my list for this system was a moderate tele portrait lens. I settled on a Contax 135mm 2.8 Sonnar. Prices for this lens seemed very reasonable and most of them are located in Japan so what could go wrong? I found one described as “Excellent++ with no haze, fungus, or separation. Just a little light dust.” Lots of pictures and 100% positive feedback. Perfect! So, I pull the trigger on this beauty.

Well, I open the box and immediately notice fungus deep inside the lens. Spots with halos around them and root like structures on the perimeter. I assume that they are buying this crap gear for pennies in Japan and dumping it on eBay with the hope that people won’t recognize the defects.

Fuming with anger I start the eBay return process, only to notice that I might be on the hook for return shipping. Imagine the shock when Fedex quotes me $130 for return shipping! Well, long story short, I made detailed notes and included pictures highlighting the fungus in my return request report and the next day I received a refund as well as instructions to keep the lens! That’s right, don’t even bother shipping it back. Turns out that since the description in the auction was so inaccurate I wouldn’t have to pay for return shipping anyway according to eBay policy.

So, I feel like I got lucky this time, but I wonder how many people get burned by these jerks?
 
Hm, bought a Canon LTM 50mm 1.4 from a Japanese seller, described as Ex++ condition with slight cleaning marks on the front element, clearly used. Paid 190€ + tax in Germany. Way cheaper than most others I saw on EBAY.
But I received a really pristine and almost unused lens, no cleaning marks at all. A little cleaning of the barrel and lubrication of the focus threads let it look like new.
I‘m super happy with this little gem, wouldn’t let it go again. A collectors item or from someone who was very careful with it.
But I actually like the 1.2 a little more though it got a tiny scratch on the rear element and the need of cleaning the middle element every now and then.

Maybe I was just lucky, but surely not all sellers are bad.

In my opinion it’s like anywhere else: about 80% of the people are cool, 20% are total idiots. A lot of people I know think similar about this, so I myself am definitely on somebody’s 20% list 🙂
 
Ebay in general has become a lot less reliable. It really has become 'buyer beware,' and seller beware too! I'm always surprised at how many sellers are pure merchants/stores. I remember the good old days, 20 years ago, when the sellers and buyers were just plain folk, you and me. There has been a definite downturn in grading camera equipment over the years, by many, not just on ebay, but stores too -- in Europe, Asia, N. America. 'Mint' today is a lot less mint then it was 20 years ago. I guess it's a relative term now. Still, there're good sellers on ebay; just use common sense, look at the pictures closely, ect., and remember, Ebay almost always protects the buyer.
 
Hey I appreciate the positivity! Yes, there are wonderful sellers still, but it is definitely not like 1999 when I first joined! Here’s to clean glass!
 
steveyork said:
Ebay in general has become a lot less reliable. It really has become 'buyer beware,' and seller beware too! I'm always surprised at how many sellers are pure merchants/stores. I remember the good old days, 20 years ago, when the sellers and buyers were just plain folk, you and me. There has been a definite downturn in grading camera equipment over the years, by many, not just on ebay, but stores too -- in Europe, Asia, N. America. 'Mint' today is a lot less mint then it was 20 years ago. I guess it's a relative term now. Still, there're good sellers on ebay; just use common sense, look at the pictures closely, ect., and remember, Ebay almost always protects the buyer.
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Agree mostly with what you wrote but disagree with the "buyer beware". I used to sell quite a bit on eBay until their policies changed. Seller is expected to list with no shipping fees and accept the item back if the seller changes their mind or just doesn't like it. Buyer is never put at a risk. Seller must accept the item back no matter what the condition is, never mind what the seller did to it. Seller is supposed to be the Wal-mart of the internet. Add onto that the 10~15% fees and it just isn't worth my time. Large sellers selling high volume pay lower fees but still must absorb the cost of shipping both ways and write off any damage to the item received. With policies like that do you have to wonder why dealer prices have gone up.

As far as the Japanese sellers, ignore the cosmetic description look at the pictures. If it's listed as EXC++ and selling 20% below the average price you can bet it isn't EXC+. Usually they give a good description as to the material / mechanical condition of the item. If you think something looks off, then ask. I usually send an email to the seller asking a few questions, if for nothing else but to see if they respond.
 
Well I've seen a lot of MINT + from Japanese ebay sellers that had "a little fungus" buried in the description recently.
 
I've had very good luck with Japanese sellers. Often they post lots of photos, even if the grading scale and description sounds like a used car ad. Like Aizan, I've had repeated good transactions with Irohas. Also just had a Plaubel Makina 670 arrive today from falcon-4777jp. Working meter, grip & hood. High serial #. I hit the buy button on friday. The seller shipped Fedex international express at a reasonable cost. It arrived through Tennessee to Calgary sunday night. Was held up for customs clearance monday and I have it in my hands now in a small Rockies town, mid-afternoon tuesday. Better than described *(physically. Need to shoot & process a test roll tomorrow)
The only glitch i had was with a Pentax MX buy. Beautiful body. The 50 1.7 wouldn't take a filter. The rim wasn't obviously bent...& the camera was in such nice condition (soon to be up for sale)...i wrote it off as an honest mistake.
 
Stefreem said:
Fuming with anger I start the eBay return process, only to notice that I might be on the hook for return shipping. Imagine the shock when Fedex quotes me $130 for return shipping! Well, long story short, I made detailed notes and included pictures highlighting the fungus in my return request report and the next day I received a refund as well as instructions to keep the lens! That’s right, don’t even bother shipping it back. Turns out that since the description in the auction was so inaccurate I wouldn’t have to pay for return shipping anyway according to eBay policy.

So, I feel like I got lucky this time, but I wonder how many people get burned by these jerks?
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I can't understand why anybody would get "burned" on eBay.

https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/returns-refunds/return-item-refund?id=4041&st=12&pos=1&query=Return%20an%20item%20for%20a%20refund&intent=not%20as%20described&context=9014_BUYER
And why a seller would intentionally lie about an item knowing he would get it back and pay shipping both ways is beyond me. Maybe they just didn't inspect well enough. Then again I've taken one or two items back on this forum because the buyer claimed that a spot the size of a pin head on a 50 year old lens was fungus. A Little cleaning fluid and cloth removed it.
 
Interesting that this thread should pop up as I have been angry about Japanese sellers on ebay recently. I have had mostly great experiences in the past but recently everything seems to be unpredictable.

I have had multiple cases:

1 - I emailed to check if the rear element was clean. Yes, he said. It turned out to have fungus! Handsome partial refund offered and accepted.

2 - Beautiful folder at an admittedly lower price than market. Winding mechanism was glued to look okay, but wouldn't work. Partial refund offered and accepted. Item repaired at local shop. Still doesn't work properly. But we became friends lol. I have an invitation to visit Hokkaido. Knowing basic Japanese helps. He was clearly not a non-Japanese masquerading.

3 - Two out of Three shutter speeds advertised as working. All of them were glacially slow. Partial refunded offered and accepted. Now trying to repair it myself.

4 - Medium Format camera. Multiple serious issues. Paltry Partial refund offered and accepted. I should have returned this one. My biggest mistake.

Now I am trying to limit myself to cameras that have been listed as serviced or film tested - very few of those on eBay, sadly.
 
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