Buying boats from USA to be shipped to Australia via E-bay

[Punster]

Hi there

I just want to send out a warning to boat buyers that is thinking of buying boats via E-bay and shipped them back to Australia.
I have just recently bought a boat that had great photos and great report on the boat. It was advertised that everything worked, Hull was undamaged and Dual batterys. I rang and spoke to the Todd at the boat shop that was selling the boat. He sounded great gave me all the time in the world, told me that he was very fussy about what he sold, thats why he had a great rating on E-bay.

By the time i got the boat into Australia it was over 60 days from the date of sale. The boat was not as described. I Rang him back and explained that the hull was damaged, one of the batterys was missing, gauges was not working, bilge pump had a crack on it and is not working, bait and wash down motor was not switching off instead sprays water into the hull,GPS screen had burnt out lines and boat plug was missing.

His reply was it was fine when it left and now he won't reply to my e-mails and phone calls. I tried to contact E-bay but they said that i had 45 days to complain and after 60 days the sale is closed and cannot be reopened.
I tried to explain to them that the boat is not an item that you can put into a mailbox and send out, it is shipped on a cargo ship and does take time, in this case over 60 days.

All they said was there is nothing they can do about it. I hope that E-bay has the people that is smart enough to retify the big items that is sold will take longer to arrive to another country. No wonder he had a great rating cos nobody could have time to report him.

So all you Aussies or people that live in another country, if you are thinking of buying via E-bay be careful. I would see if you can get someone to go and check out the item first before bidding. If you want to know who the boat shop in Florida is contact me and i'll give you his details. He is giving other good boat sellers a bad name and you really don't want to deal with someone that is dishonest.

regards

Pun.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Buying boats from USA to be shipped to Australia via E-bay

You learned three lessons about buying items you cannot see. 1) Pictures in an advertisement may not have been taken on the day you purchased the item, or even in the same decade. 2) You cannot trust what anyone says unless you have a way to prove or disprove what the individual said. 3) Buying a large or very expensive item like you did on E-bay is a crap shoot unless YOU protect yourself. That item should have gone through a third party (escrow agent) who holds the money until you get the product and can inspect it. Once it arrives you do your thing and when problems are noted you negotiate with the seller. If a remedy is agreed on the money is released and everyone is happy. Statements in an advertisement that say for example "set up for dual batteries" does not mean both batteries are there. That is the kind of stuff you need to be proactive about. Lastly -- NEVER buy an engine powered vehicle or boat unless you or a representative can verify it's condition. Money spent on a surveyor in your case would have been well spent.

 

[DuckHunterJon]

Re: Buying boats from USA to be shipped to Australia via E-bay

Sorry to hear about your experience Pun. As a word of advice, next time, hire a marine surveyor to go over the boat prior to purchase, or make the purchase conditional on an acceptable survey. It will be a few hundred dollars, but they are a third party that can be the go-between the purchaser and seller.

Alternatively, there's a bunch of people on this forum at all corners of the world. I for one would be happy to check out a boat for someone in need if it was with in reasonable driving distance.

Lastly, while it hurts right now, everything can be fixed. My advice, get it fixed and move on. No sense dwelling on it when you can be out on the water enjoying the day. Good luck with it.

 

[hostage]

Re: Buying boats from USA to be shipped to Australia via E-bay

Sorry to hear about your experience Pun. As a word of advice, next time, hire a marine surveyor to go over the boat prior to purchase, or make the purchase conditional on an acceptable survey. It will be a few hundred dollars, but they are a third party that can be the go-between the purchaser and seller.

Alternatively, there's a bunch of people on this forum at all corners of the world. I for one would be happy to check out a boat for someone in need if it was with in reasonable driving distance.

Lastly, while it hurts right now, everything can be fixed. My advice, get it fixed and move on. No sense dwelling on it when you can be out on the water enjoying the day. Good luck with it.

Completely agree, there are a lot of people here on these forums who will not only go out and check out a boat, but will also look up nice looking ones in their local market.

 

[sutor623]

Re: Buying boats from USA to be shipped to Australia via E-bay

I doubt that I would ever buy a boat or car on Ebay.

 

[bonz_d]

Re: Buying boats from USA to be shipped to Australia via E-bay

I doubt that I would ever buy a boat or car on Ebay.

I would but only through a local pickup and an inspection 1st.

 

[QC]

Re: Buying boats from USA to be shipped to Australia via E-bay

So all you Aussies or people that live in another country, if you are thinking of buying via E-bay be careful. I would see if you can get someone to go and check out the item first before bidding.

I've done this for an Aussie and an out-of-state buyer. Both were/are iboaters.

If you want to know who the boat shop in Florida is contact me and i'll give you his details. He is giving other good boat sellers a bad name and you really don't want to deal with someone that is dishonest.

Yeah, let's keep this type of contact via PM guys. We just don't do any bashing here. Thanks

I doubt that I would ever buy a boat or car on Ebay.

I've done both. And on Craig's list too. Extremely happy with the deals I have made, and I have walked away from those I didn't like. It is not the source of the deal that is ever the problem. To be honest, it is always the buyers fault if a deal goes bad.

Like others have said you have to protect yourself. That's not to say that I am not bummed for Pun. I hate that this deal went bad. Maybe we should concentrate on helping to get your boat right. I am sure we can help in that regard!!

 

[sutor623]

Re: Buying boats from USA to be shipped to Australia via E-bay

Yeah I guess if I had someone that I trusted around to inspect it. I have a hard time having others go through my checklist. Hard for me to put up that kind of dough without taking a test ride. Craigslist, now that is a different story. I swear I hardly buy anything anywhere else now a days, but those deals are all local.

 

[Philster]

Re: Buying boats from USA to be shipped to Australia via E-bay

I know a few dealers that ship new and used to Australia, and it is such a lucrative market that they would never try to misrepresent what they sell. It's a shame there are some dealers giving the others a bad name. Some U.S. dealers have a great track record with customers in Australia.

 

[Gosub]

Re: Buying boats from USA to be shipped to Australia via E-bay

Sorry to hear you've been ripped off to some degree.

How did you pay? Maybe there's something you can do through the paymnent processor. You can often charge-back with a credit card and even though Paypal are part of ebay, you can still start a dispute there.

I don't know about Oz but here in Spain the bank can and will claw back a payment if you can show good reason.

 

[Punster]

Re: Buying boats from USA to be shipped to Australia via E-bay

Hi Guys

Thank you for thoughts and advise, I posted this to warn others of my mistakes so that they can learn from it. I didn't know that i could have a surveyor check it out or escrow to hold the money till too late. I am getting everything fixed up as we speak. I am going to enjoy the boat when i finish with it. As to how i paid, $500.00 via paypal and the rest EFT. Yes i had many a sleepless night! So any potential buyers out there, great advise here from everyone so you don't have to go through the stupid mistakes i made. (only found out about iboats.com after buying the boat)

I am dissapointed with E-bay who told me that every thing about the seller was great and i would have no problems. I rang them before i bought the boat. As to the seller details i am not posting it in the forum but via e-mail only. I wasn't going to name bash in a public forum, not my style.

I am not dwelling on it as it is only a boat which can be fixed, just a little dissapointed for my first boat.

BTW I need to get a new 3 in one gauge with tacho, volt and fuel for the boat which is a 2003 Trophy pro 2002 with a saltwater 150 mercury, has anybody ever put anything else in there apart from the genuine item?

Regards

Pun

 

[lncoop]

Re: Buying boats from USA to be shipped to Australia via E-bay

Punster, I'm sorry about the bad experience, but I'm very impressed with your attitude. I look forward to watching your forthcoming (hopefully) threads about getting her up to snuff and splashing her. Good luck and welcome aboard. We'll all help however we can.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Buying boats from USA to be shipped to Australia via E-bay

Hi Guys

Thank you for thoughts and advise, I posted this to warn others of my mistakes so that they can learn from it. I didn't know that i could have a surveyor check it out or escrow to hold the money till too late. I am getting everything fixed up as we speak. I am going to enjoy the boat when i finish with it. As to how i paid, $500.00 via paypal and the rest EFT. Yes i had many a sleepless night! So any potential buyers out there, great advise here from everyone so you don't have to go through the stupid mistakes i made. (only found out about iboats.com after buying the boat)

I am dissapointed with E-bay who told me that every thing about the seller was great and i would have no problems. I rang them before i bought the boat. As to the seller details i am not posting it in the forum but via e-mail only. I wasn't going to name bash in a public forum, not my style.

I am not dwelling on it as it is only a boat which can be fixed, just a little dissapointed for my first boat.

BTW I need to get a new 3 in one gauge with tacho, volt and fuel for the boat which is a 2003 Trophy pro 2002 with a saltwater 150 mercury, has anybody ever put anything else in there apart from the genuine item?

Regards

Pun

For the best selection of multi-function gauges I don't think you can beat Great Lakes Skipper (greatlakesskipper.com) but check here on IBoats first.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Buying boats from USA to be shipped to Australia via E-bay

I've read from those in the antiques business that Ebay's rating system is a terrible mess--usually going the other way, where good guys get bad reps. If you complain, legitimately, about a seller, the seller will flag you with all kinds of terrible stuff and no one will sell to you, and it's about impossible to get these things corrected.