My Ebay Hantek Buying Hell

[Towger]

From talking to a Chinese seller of stage lighting equipment on Allieexpress, they send items to central location and from there they are shipped by courier. This causes the delays before the tracking starts.

[Fungus]

From talking to a Chinese seller of stage lighting equipment on Allieexpress, they send items to central location and from there they are shipped by courier. This causes the delays before the tracking starts.

Sounds right.

Everything they ship has to work that way really, it's the only way to keep prices down.

There's no way they can sell $1 items with free international shipping without pre-sorting and combining shipments into big bundles, all arranged by city/postcode ready for the destination country.

I suspect this is the reason it sometimes takes 4 days and sometimes it takes 4 weeks for stuff to arrive; it all depends on how full the container for my city is when I order it.

If the container just needed one more package then it'll ship as fast as they can load it on the next available transport. If they just started a new container I might have to wait weeks for it to fill up before they send it.

[nctnico]

The *law* is on the buyer's  side (and Ebay UK will enforce it whatever Ebay US says) so if he refuses delivery (and DHL don't just dump it over his garden fence and sue him for the the £16!) he is probably entitled to all his money back.  This seems tremendously unfair on the seller.

Now you've lost me. Let's leave the non-EU seller aspect aside and assume that the EU regulations apply. If refusing delivery means that DHL returns the item to the seller without charging him extra for the return trip, then the financial impact for the seller is just the same as if the buyer had sent the goods back. If, on the other hand, DHL applies a surcharge for returning the refused shipment, then the buyer clearly has to pay that charge, as return shipping is to be paid by the buyer. Hence, with regard to shipping costs, refusing delivery should be equivalent to accepting it and sending it back, as far as the seller's costs are concerned.

Not sure what DHL would do with the import duties. I assume the actual tax would be refunded if the item is re-exported after deliver was refused, but DHL may still charge their processing fee (or even twice the fee). One could debate whether or not that fee is part of the original shipping cost, and who should pay for it...

EU rules say that the seller has to pay/refund all shipping costs if/when the entire order is returned.

[Fungus]

EU rules say that the seller has to pay/refund all shipping costs if/when the entire order is returned.

Does that apply if the seller is (eg.) a Texan?

I'm sure a Texan will have a strong opinion on which laws apply to him and which laws don't.

[ez24]

Is this reasonable, dishonest, miss-leading, cheating, lying, normal advertising, etc
My guess is most people do not know they would have to mail it to China to get it fixed.

From a Hong Kong Hantek seller:

We .... , 3 years warranty, .....


When the warranty is not covered in the country the buyer is in.  ie it would be impracticable to try and get it fixed under warranty (shipping costs all around the world).

I am sure there are a lot of people that get stung over this and the OP caught it just after he hit the buy button. My feeling is a buyer should get all their money back within 3 years if the scope craps out which I know is not going to happen.

So my vote goes to the OP just over the warranty.  I think it is miss-leading advertising.  And this hurts in country sellers.

[rich]

EU rules say that the seller has to pay/refund all shipping costs if/when the entire order is returned.

I've read more than I intended to on EU regs over the last 2 days and conclude that returns postage responsibility varies across the EU and on the seller's advert text.

UK regs in force since 13 June 2014 guidance for sellers notes:
    "With regard to returns, you must make clear that the consumer must pay for returns if they cancel, unless you are willing to pay for that cost." From UK Gov website

So in this case, UK regs will apply and the seller clearly states that return postage is paid for by the buyer. If the chargeback gets rejected, karma is going to have a sweet, sweet, sting in its tai.

[tautech]

From a Hong Kong Hantek seller:

We .... , 3 years warranty, .....


When the warranty is not covered in the country the buyer is in.  ie it would be impracticable to try and get it fixed under warranty (shipping costs all around the world).

I am sure there are a lot of people that get stung over this and the OP caught it just after he hit the buy button. My feeling is a buyer should get all their money back within 3 years if the scope craps out which I know is not going to happen.

So my vote goes to the OP just over the warranty.  I think it is miss-leading advertising.  And this hurts in country sellers.

You overlook distributors or authorised Cal/Repair labs in another country other than from where the equipment was sourced will honour the manufacturers warranty, albeit begrudgingly.
Online buyers should have faith that internationally available brands/models do have support despite the fact the have chosen not to support their local dealers. 

[Gyro]

I am sure there are a lot of people that get stung over this and the OP caught it just after he hit the buy button. My feeling is a buyer should get all their money back within 3 years if the scope craps out which I know is not going to happen.

So my vote goes to the OP just over the warranty.  I think it is miss-leading advertising.  And this hurts in country sellers.

Oh come on! The OP said in his first post that he went for the lowest price listing. He didn't care about whether he was hurting in country sellers, he wanted the cheapest. The time to consider this sort of thing is before you commit  to buy, not afterwards (next day, not just after he hit the button) it's a classic case of buyer's remorse. There's a time to man-up and live with the consequences of your decisions. He says he's been registered with ebay for 12 years, he knows how it works.

EDIT: That was a little bad tempered, sorry ez24.

[ebastler]

EU rules say that the seller has to pay/refund all shipping costs if/when the entire order is returned.

That statement is not correct. The seller can state that the consumer has to pay for the return shipping cost. Only if the seller neglects to inform the customer of that (in the information he makes available before the sale), the seller has to bear the cost.  EU directive 2011/83/EU, article 14. eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32011L0083

[Macbeth]

Oh come on! The OP said in his first post that he went for the lowest price listing. He didn't care about whether he was hurting in country sellers, he wanted the cheapest.

Which shows he is trolling, as he fully expected to pay import taxes and brokerage fees on the £250. 20% of is £50, so £300 + £16 fee for a Hantek. He is really disappointed that the seller put the incorrect value on the CN22. I don't know why as the responsibility for the customs is on him and he can quite rightly pay HMRC the difference as I am 100% sure he will forthwith. HMRC are very easy to deal with when an honest mistake has been made like this.

A locally sourced far more superior Rigol 1054Z could be had from Rigol UK for cheaper when including VAT and delivery, or £320 including VAT and delivery from the EU from Batronix. £4 more.

Of course OP wouldn't dream of hacking a 50MHz Rigol to 100MHz as that would be dishonest, so I understand the Hantek purchase. Which of course he wouldn't hack either.

However, I do feel for the guy. I can't think of a more 7th circle of hell buying experience. Really, not at all. I've experienced some bad ebay purchases which I am glad to say all got resolved and read of many worse than mine, but this one should be right up there  I think a series of youtube videos detailing the harrowing experience as it evolves is needed.

Poor OP. I'm thinking of you. 

[rich]

However, I do feel for the guy. I can't think of a more 7th circle of hell buying experience.

Macbeth, gr8 b8 m8!

[onlooker]

...Of course OP wouldn't dream of hacking a 50MHz Rigol to 100MHz as that would be dishonest...

...A friend of mine has a Rigol 1052E which I was able to hack up to 100Mhz very easily...

Sounds a reasonable logic:  hacking for a friend is ok, but don't try it for yourself.

[Bud]

It is people like OP who made me create a buyers list with their names and periodically refer to it when selling stuff to ensure I do not bother them with my services anymore.

[vk6zgo]

EU rules say that the seller has to pay/refund all shipping costs if/when the entire order is returned.

Does that apply if the seller is (eg.) a Texan?

I'm sure a Texan will have a strong opinion on which laws apply to him and which laws don't.

If a Texan hadn't sent the item,he would tell you just that,& not try to fob you  off!

My experience in dealing with a Chinese supplier was that the person you end up contacting doesn't want to upset you,but even more,doesn't want to upset the Boss so tells you bullshit to get you off his back.
And this was a firm that we already had a business relationship with.

[vk6zgo]

From talking to a Chinese seller of stage lighting equipment on Allieexpress, they send items to central location and from there they are shipped by courier. This causes the delays before the tracking starts.

Sounds right.

Everything they ship has to work that way really, it's the only way to keep prices down.

There's no way they can sell $1 items with free international shipping without pre-sorting and combining shipments into big bundles, all arranged by city/postcode ready for the destination country.

I suspect this is the reason it sometimes takes 4 days and sometimes it takes 4 weeks for stuff to arrive; it all depends on how full the container for my city is when I order it.

If the container just needed one more package then it'll ship as fast as they can load it on the next available transport. If they just started a new container I might have to wait weeks for it to fill up before they send it.

This isn't limited to Chinese suppliers.

Trying to get replacement parts from European Electronics manufacturers was a nightmare back in the 1980s/90s.
They would wait till they could "piggyback" our order on a container going to Oz.
This could take months--contrast this with Sony,who sent stuff next airfreight.

And the European firms couldn't understand why we didn't buy their gear!

[ebastler]

However, I do feel for the guy. I can't think of a more 7th circle of hell buying experience.

Macbeth, gr8 b8 m8!

Hey, at least someone has learned something from this thread! (And if it's only a bit of l33t speak...) 

[markone]

My experience in dealing with a Chinese supplier was that the person you end up contacting doesn't want to upset you,but even more,doesn't want to upset the Boss so tells you bullshit to get you off his back.
And this was a firm that we already had a business relationship with.

I agree, with them this is the most common deal condition ... at best 

Anyway, for common people buying expensive & delicate things abroad should be the last resort, almost all Ebay's oriental sellers are buy & die, the OP did all the possible nub's standard errors, including the scope's choice (most of Hantek's good are actually crap even if cheap) and there is still room for worsening.

If the courier's custom office decide to ask for real payment receipt proof, as often it happens when things become stressed or suspicious, this whole matter would turn in a much more unpleseant way.   

As already sais here, it's still possible that the parcel takes its back route to china while the CC chargeback fails or simply that it results DOA after accepting it, becoming an expensive paperweight with the option to return it to an upset chinese seller.

I cannot see anything worse ;-)

If i buy something abroad it has to be a lot cheaper than local supplier, as it was with my first Rigol's scope (DS1022CD), paid less than one half than EU sellers ( tens years ago) despite huge import taxes (about 33%, including DHL shameless charges).

Lately i stopped to buy things even from more trusted US seller for the simple reason that shipping & custom cost have increased disproportionately over the years, you cannot count simply on VAT and extra UE import fee ( 22% and 5%), custom office invoices often contains additional unexplainable markups and considering that everything come from US, regardless cost & size, fell under the relentless and ferocious care of customs, the game is almost over.

With china sellers at least shipping cost are dirty cheap with registered signed for postal service, and we usually dodge custom fees if the parcel is small in size and the declared value is under 20-30 USD, as usually happen to be, while with couriers there is no escape.

To finalize, that distressing moan for 16£ is simply ridiculous, it would be the last of the problems if we consider all the possible, above mentioned, issues.

So dear OP, if you are *real* as i think, go out and pay the heavily discounted custom fee and try to learn something from all what the previous wise and experienced posters patiently told you.