Big eBay trader collapses, leaving 100s of angry customers

One of Australia’s largest eBay traders has been placed in liquidation, leaving hundreds of disgruntled customers in the lurch.

One of Australia’s largest eBay traders has been placed in liquidation, leaving hundreds of disgruntled customers in the lurch.

Queensland-based EBS International, which trades as Ebusiness Supplies on eBay, was wound up on Friday.

The liquidation is being handled by Queensland insolvency firm SV Partners. Fatima Deen, an accountant who is working on the case, says an investigation into how the company collapsed is underway, but it was too early to comment on the reasons for the collapse.

SV Partners director Terry van de Velde told The Age that the director of the company is now in China and he has only been able to contact him through former directors of the company.

“The reason they are telling me is that they sent money over to an agent in China which was for the order for all these goods that are outstanding at the moment, and that’s what caused the problem– the agent hasn’t sent the goods. The company’s owed a substantial amount of money by the Chinese agent and I’m told the directors over there are trying to sort it out.”

A creditors meeting is scheduled for 8 August.

According to its eBay profile, Ebusiness Supplies has been running since 2004 and supplies a wide range of products from elliptical exercise bikes, electric guitars, furniture, dirt bikes and quad bikes.

But hundreds of disgruntled buyers have left negative feedback, complaining about goods that were paid for but never received. Some customers appear to have lost as much as $2500.

According to the site, the company changed management on 1 April. But orders began backing up through June and July and on 7 July the company told buyers that all customers who ordered goods before 1 June would be given a refund and all customers who ordered after 15 June would receive their goods within two weeks.

A spokesman for PayPal says it is setting up a special fund to provide a refund to all Ebusiness Supplies customers who paid using PayPal and did not receive their goods. 

Paypal says it is working with the liquidator and will release more details about the operation of the fund in the next few times. In the meantime, PayPal has asked affected customers not to lodge refund claims with PayPal.

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