How I bought things on eBay from Africa

Posted by Felix Okoli on Wednesday September 9, 2015 at 10:5:27:

I remember a time when I saw a pretty cheap Toshiba laptop on eBay and it was priced for less than $70. It was not a tablet or notebook but a fully developed laptop computer. It was basically cheap and costs less than what I'd get it locally in Africa I wanted to have it. Today, I'm already using it and it's still working well, even after 3 years of use.

Nowadays, a growing number of residents in Africa are able to get the things they want on US websites like eBay unlike was the case in the past. It's not that eBay sellers now send goods directly to African countries or have made it easier for Africans to buy from them but it's that Africans can buy from them through US contacts they've made who can help them get access to a lot of things they normally weren't able to get in the past.

What does an average African do when he finds something he wants on eBay but eBay seller doesn't ship to Africa? Well, the good news is that you can still get that same thing from that same seller even if you are in Africa.

In the past, many African countries like Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia didn't have access to things like Visa or Mastercard nor did some of them even have internet access but now they do as African economies have gradually started growing and people are getting richer.

Of all North American based websites that I've purchased things from, eBay is one of the hardest to shop on if you are outside the USA because they do a lot of things to restrict people from outside the USA so as to protect their buyers. They do things like IP restriction, accept only Paypal payments and encourage sellers to only send goods to US based addresses. You can't blame some of those policies used by eBay to protect sellers because they've been a lot of ugly cases in the past when eBAy sellers were defrauded mostly by fraudulent buyers from Africa and they ended up losing their goods as well as their money. If you are going to buy things on eBay from Africa, you should not do it illegally becasue you are most likely going to get caught but apart from that, it doesn't pay in the long run and it's always better to do it legally by paying for what you want.

There are 3 things you may have to overcome if you want to buy things from eBay.com as a Nigerian, Kenyan, Ghanaian or Zambian.

1. You need to have a US IP address
2. You need to have a US Paypal account
3. You need to have a US shipping address

One you have those three things setup, you can then buy whatever you want on eBay without encountering much problems. However, you can always avoid all of them by simply getting a US shopping agent to do it for you by simply telling them what you want and paying an extra commission.

How I did it
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The first thing I did was to get a US VPN account and that helped me change my IP address to a US IP when I'm connected to the internet. You definitely need a US IP if you want to use your US Paypal account from outside the USA so as not to get restricted.

Since I also, had an existing US based Paypal account with some funds, I decided that the best way to spend the money there was to use it for shopping on eBay and so, I signed up for a US eBay buyer's account. I could have also withdrawn from my USA Paypal account using my Payoneer Mastercard.

The next thing I did was to checkout the item being offered on eBay and noticed that the seller only ships to US addresses and hence I needed a US friend, cousin or agent to help me with a US address so that I can get the laptop I purchased sent there. I wasn't interested in defrauding the seller because I believe in honesty but rather I wanted to pay for the item legally. So, I got a US address from a US mail forwarding company that would also help me ship the item to Africa after they received it. I paid for their services using my bank issued Visa debit card.

I then changed my IP when connected to the internet and paid for item I wanted on eBay, had it sent to my US address and after a few days, I got notified by my US agent that they've received it and I told them to forward it to me in Africa. Within 5 working days, I got it at my home through DHL. It costs me about an extra $80 for shipping an item weighing 5 lbs to my country.

That's how I did my shopping on eBay.com from an African country where many eBay sellers would rather not ship directly to. It's not that they don't want to do business with Africans but it's just that they find it hard to trust them. Who know, if you do know any of the eBay sellers personally and they trust you, they could very well forward it directly to you without the need for getting a US agent to act as a middleman.

If you'd rather not buy things on eBay, then you can also checkout Amazon.com as they do have a growing number of items they now ship directly to African countries like Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and Zambia. I only buy things on eBay when I can't find them on Amazon or that they come at a really low price. Buying something like a laptop for $70 is really a good deal even if it's a used item.