PSA - eBay’s Global Shipping Program will steal your tube amp!

CGTIII
CGTIII Posts: 1,088
in The Clubhouse
I know many hate FleaBay already but here's a warning just in case it'll help anyone here.

From Scott Willoughby in another group:
"Public Service Announcement
eBay’s Global Shipping Program will steal your tube amp!
I sold a small vintage Voice of Music PA amp, converted for guitar to a buyer in the UK. I got an email from eBay indicating that it would not be delivered because it was a restricted item. It was also indicated that it would not be returned but the buyer would be reimbursed. Apparently they will seize items deemed restricted, and there is nothing you can do to get them back. If you are selling overseas or out of the country, don’t use the global shipping program, and maybe don’t mention vacuum tubes in your shipping paperwork.
Money aside, this is a cool old amp, and I made several attempts to get it back. I offered to pay for the return shipping wherever it was, and was unsuccessful. The final email contained the below message:
I can see that you have attempted to send this through the Global Shipping Program. The tube cannot be sent through the Global Shipping Program because it is a restricted item for the program to ship. After looking into it, I found that our third party shipping partner restricts these types of tubes due to them containing hazardous material, specifically the following:
Lead: all soldering’s inside and are handled with risk
Selenium: diodes/rectifiers
Mercury: inside some rectifier tubes (6508, 82, 83, 866A etc.
Cadmium: chassis plating of fisher tube amplifiers
Polychlorinated Biphenyls
Asbestos: used in the heat shield in some."
Expect that there will be bumps in the road. Choose to not let them rattle you.

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Comments

  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,739
    What a crock!!!
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • treitz3
    treitz3 Posts: 19,205
    What a crook!!!

    There, I fixed that for you.

    Tom
    ~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
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  • msg
    msg Posts: 10,252
    Wow.
    I disabled signatures.
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  • Mike Reeter
    Mike Reeter Posts: 4,315
    This SUCKS
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  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,535
    If the amp actually made it to the UK their Customs Service would have seized it which may explain why it wasn't returnable to the seller. An individual can ask for an item to be returned from them but it sounds like the third party shipping service isn't to be trusted to follow through on things like that. UK Customs is very serious and they inspect a lot because customs duty is a big ticket item for revenue.

    The words "our third party" routinely used by a company are a reason to avoid doing any business with it. Another idea is to just not sell things to overseas buyers even though they tend to pay more for electronic items.
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  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 28,777
    Man I hate to hear that. I have shipped dozens of items via the global shipping program without problem.

    I did check the restrictions list and I dint see tubes on there either.

    Sorry to hear this
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,678
    WAIT A MINUTE !!

    I've bought many tubes from Great Britain.... OFF eBay and other places....

    I'm sure my Brimar 1945 5Z4's had hazardous substances in them as well as the 12au/ax7's ....
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  • mrbigbluelight
    mrbigbluelight Posts: 9,846
    edited November 2021
    The key is you've bought many times FROM Britain.
    Kind of wonder how many of those tubes you bought had been confiscated by Customs going into Britain, given to "Bob" to dispose of and....voila ! Wind up on eBay.

    Bob's your uncle, and crooked at that.
    Sal Palooza
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  • audioluvr
    audioluvr Posts: 5,626
    So Bob Carver is the master mind of this plot? Seems fishy but probable!
    Gustard X26 Pro DAC
    Belles 21A Pre modded with Mundorf Supreme caps
    B&K M200 Sonata monoblocks refreshed and upgraded
    Polk SDA 1C's modded / 1000Va Dreadnaught
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    Harman Kardon T65C w/Grado Gold. (Don't laugh. It sounds great!)

    There is about a 5% genetic difference between apes and men …but that difference is the difference between throwing your own poo when you are annoyed …and Einstein, Shakespeare and Miss January. by Dr. Sardonicus
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  • sucks2beme
    sucks2beme Posts: 5,606
    International shipping has hazards. I've heard of people losing a guitar because
    It was made of exotic wood. It doesn't matter how it's shipped. If the country
    has restrictions, you are going to lose it.
    "The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." --Thomas Jefferson
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