cshellpray
New Member
I am a U.S. eBay seller and recently listed an item that is not permitted to be shipped internationally. due to eBay export control restrictions. The item being sold was a cotton helmet cover which fits certain combat helmets and was a military surplus item. The eBay restriction is in compliance with the U.S. State Dept. International Traffic in Arm Regulations (ITAR) Part 121.
The item sold and was paid for through Paypal by the buyer. However, while I reviewed the completed transaction and it's details there were a few red flags for me.
1. I received a generated message requesting me to mark the package in a specific way, which alerted me to the fact that the package would need to have identification on the outside for someone to easily locate it. Which is something that a single buyer having a package shipped to their home would not need to do.
2. Through the eBay website I checked the users feedback and buying history and learned that it was in the tens of thousands. Within one day there were more than 70 feedback posts left on items purchased under this user name (flight2ams). There were almost 10,000 left within the past 6 months. eBay feedback is left by both buyer's and seller's. There's were ALL from sellers, indicating this user name was a buyer only, and in the past 6 months had purchased almost 10,000 items. Something an average eBay buyer does not do.
3. The generated message came from a email address ending with at:Sekaimon.com - flight2ams at: Sekaimon.com. I immediately suspected this to be International.
4. I researched flight2ams as well as Sekaimon and learned that Sekaimon is in fact eBay Japan auction sight and flight2ams, which is a current ebay user name, refers to a geographical airport location, and there are hundreds of these user name variations across the country that is used for bidding on the Ebay U.S. end.
5. The shipping address in my transaction IS a U.S. address and belongs to a company called Shop Airlines America, in Compton, CA. Also located at this same address is a company called Yamoto Transport which is a freight carrier that ships air direct to Japan utilizing bulk cargo.
Putting all of the pieces together I have concluded that although I listed my item on eBay U.S. with a Domestic Shipping only option, it was made available to International buyers via the Sekaimon eBay website and was subsequently bought by someone using this International site.
Although I am suppose to ship the item to CA, it is obvious that the item is en-route to an International buyer as all of the above info is well documented on the internet.
My question is: If it is illegal to ship this item Internationally due to the State Dept Trade Regulations set up in ITAR, how is it NOT illegal for eBay to allow and participate in this obvious scheme to "get around the law"?
What other items are being shipped internationally? And, should I inform the State Dept.?
Thank you any help with this matter!
The item sold and was paid for through Paypal by the buyer. However, while I reviewed the completed transaction and it's details there were a few red flags for me.
1. I received a generated message requesting me to mark the package in a specific way, which alerted me to the fact that the package would need to have identification on the outside for someone to easily locate it. Which is something that a single buyer having a package shipped to their home would not need to do.
2. Through the eBay website I checked the users feedback and buying history and learned that it was in the tens of thousands. Within one day there were more than 70 feedback posts left on items purchased under this user name (flight2ams). There were almost 10,000 left within the past 6 months. eBay feedback is left by both buyer's and seller's. There's were ALL from sellers, indicating this user name was a buyer only, and in the past 6 months had purchased almost 10,000 items. Something an average eBay buyer does not do.
3. The generated message came from a email address ending with at:Sekaimon.com - flight2ams at: Sekaimon.com. I immediately suspected this to be International.
4. I researched flight2ams as well as Sekaimon and learned that Sekaimon is in fact eBay Japan auction sight and flight2ams, which is a current ebay user name, refers to a geographical airport location, and there are hundreds of these user name variations across the country that is used for bidding on the Ebay U.S. end.
5. The shipping address in my transaction IS a U.S. address and belongs to a company called Shop Airlines America, in Compton, CA. Also located at this same address is a company called Yamoto Transport which is a freight carrier that ships air direct to Japan utilizing bulk cargo.
Putting all of the pieces together I have concluded that although I listed my item on eBay U.S. with a Domestic Shipping only option, it was made available to International buyers via the Sekaimon eBay website and was subsequently bought by someone using this International site.
Although I am suppose to ship the item to CA, it is obvious that the item is en-route to an International buyer as all of the above info is well documented on the internet.
My question is: If it is illegal to ship this item Internationally due to the State Dept Trade Regulations set up in ITAR, how is it NOT illegal for eBay to allow and participate in this obvious scheme to "get around the law"?
What other items are being shipped internationally? And, should I inform the State Dept.?
Thank you any help with this matter!
