VOGONS


First post, by bristlehog

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Recently I acquired a pair of boxed new-old-stock Yamaha YST-M100 speakers. I dreamed about it back in '90s, but couldn't afford them; now they appeared on UK ebay with 53£ starting price. I asked the seller for shipping and they offered a 80£ shipping (to Moscow). This is very high for a 10kg parcel, but anyways.

However, I couldn't bid since auction properties wouldn't let bidding outside of UK. The seller said they have another pair and that they will modify the next auction accordingly. So, that pair went for just 54£ with two bids only.

Okay, here goes the next pair which I win for 108£ in 9 bids. Ok, this is not very suspicious because I mostly fought one who lost the previous auction. There, I pay 188£ and rub my hands in a greedy anticipation. But wait, then the seller says that no carrier agrees to deliver a parcel to a private person in Russia, and I should provide an address of company I work for or arrange shipping on my own risk.

This is really weird, thought me, because I haven't heard anything alike before. But ok, since I work for no company, I asked a friend to assist with this and provided his company's address.

Long story short, after having surprise sex with DHL and filling lots of customs paper and paying additional 100£ for customs duty, DHL's customs brokerage, parcel storage at DHL's place, and customs taxes, I received the speakers at last. They are really NOS and working, however the left one had its polyethylene wrapping torn and black marks on its white surface in that place.

photo

It was a big surprise for me that I should pay anything after paying Ebay seller, since private persons in Russia do not pay customs duty for goods which value is not exceeding 1000€/month. However, legal entities do pay the duty, which I know... now.

I contacted the seller, however they said that they can't affect customs duties etc.

Any suggestions on what feedback should I leave for the speakers? I am not very happy since they cost me whopping 288£ (equivalent of 460$). Of course, it's me who was dumb to blindly agree on seller's shipping terms and not thinking of it could result in paying customs duty. But the seller insisted on shipping to legal entity address (which DHL representative confirmed to me to being DHL's company politics) without knowing what consequences it could lead to (in fact it could lead to 160£ additional payment, it's the duty itself that was 60£ lower than it could be potentially). And one of the speakers has cosmetic damage to it, as seen on the photo.

Last edited by bristlehog on 2013-11-19, 10:23. Edited 2 times in total.

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Reply 1 of 10, by SKARDAVNELNATE

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I would leave a neutral rating, citing the condition but also thank the seller for willingness to work with you. Then drop stars for Item as described as well as Shipping and handling charges.

Reply 2 of 10, by bjt

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Many UK sellers aren't used to dealing with carriers other than Royal Mail, who won't send more than 2kg to Russia. The only other service that's available in our Post Offices is Parcel Force, who do charge £78 for 10kg to Russia.

Russia isn't even listed on parcel2go.com, another popular place for UK eBay sellers to buy cheap postage.

Can't comment on the customs or condition issues but just wanted to confirm that postage charges from the UK to Russia are very high. I've had to pull out of trades myself because of it.

Reply 3 of 10, by rgart

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288 Euro total? Whoa.

You really wanted those speakers....

I don't think its appropriate to neg feedback this guy. Sounds like NOT a simple sale from the start.

Neutral or none.

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Reply 4 of 10, by bristlehog

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rgart wrote:

288 Euro total? Whoa.

You really wanted those speakers....

It's 288 UK pounds, or about 340 euros.

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Reply 6 of 10, by DonutKing

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Having been on both sides of this fence... as a buyer I'd be pretty annoyed. As a seller, if I went to this much effort and screwing around to ship somewhere I wasn't going to ship in the first place, then got neutral/negative feedback, that would be a huge slap in the face and would certainly discourage me from selling internationally in the future.

If you are squeamish, don't prod the beach rubble.

Reply 7 of 10, by Jorpho

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When in doubt, just don't bother leaving feedback at all.

I for one do not enjoy the prospect of dealing with some borderline psychotic who knows where I live.

Reply 8 of 10, by Kahenraz

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It's a sad story indeed and I cried a little when I saw the cosmetic damage. Sorry for your loss, though happy for your gain.

They look like some fantastic speakers. I hope you enjoy them. 😀

Reply 9 of 10, by bristlehog

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After contacting the seller about the cosmetic damage I've been told that item was sent unopened and offered a symbolistic £10 refund which I agreed to take. I ended up leaving a positive feedback, since I have no any proof of seller's fault.

Thank you all for your input.

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Reply 10 of 10, by Kahenraz

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You can probably remove the blemish by using a weak citric-based cleaner. I say weak because you don't want to eat away at the paint if there is some. If it's plastic then that will clean right up. Either way, be sure to clean all of the citrus off with alcohol.