Many sellers give "India" as item location, usually meaning the seller's location too. eBay should stop allowing this. There's more than one reason for this.
1. A buyer will often want to buy an item that is to be shipped from a location that is close to his own. This reduces transit time as well as the risk of transit damage.
2. Many items are tagged as "FREE Local Courier - Delivery within seller's city". If the seller gives his location as 'India', then the term "FREE Local Courier" becomes meaningless. For a buyer to find out if he is entitled to free shipping, he has to go through at least part of the checkout process. This wastes time and is very annoying.
There's another, but related, issue:
A large majority of search results are listed as "Free Shipping". To find out if it's free LOCAL shipping or free NATIONAL shipping, a buyer has to open each individual page. This too wastes time, especially if many similar items are listed in a search result. Search results should immediately indicate whether it's free local shipping or free national shipping.
All this concern for shipping arises because shipping charges can be a significant part of the total cost. For example: Seller A may list an item at 500/- plus 100/- shipping, while Seller B offers it for 525/- with free shipping. Obviously, Seller B offers a much better deal.
I request eBay to address these issues. It should not be difficult and will save a lot of time for buyers. It will also result in quicker sales.
