[HJB]

I've purchaced quite a few things on ebay but until recently I'd never sold anything. My first attempt hasn't gone so well so far. A few weeks ago I listed a fork I wanted to sell, got the expected scam attempts and some legitimate bids. The eventual winner couldn't finish the deal for understanable reasons so I relisted it. My first and second listings clearly stated United States only because I wanted to weed out the scammers and also didn't want the hassle of overseas shipping and currency exchange etc. On my second listing I get two bidders, one from Slovenia and the winner is from Australia! Do they not read the details or are they hoping I'll give in? So far I'm not likeing being on the selling end of things. How do I deal with this BS?

End of rant, thank you for your time.

 

[mtnbikej]

I've purchaced quite a few things on ebay but until recently I'd never sold anything. My first attempt hasn't gone so well so far. A few weeks ago I listed a fork I wanted to sell, got the expected scam attempts and some legitimate bids. The eventual winner couldn't finish the deal for understanable reasons so I relisted it. My first and second listings clearly stated United States only because I wanted to weed out the scammers and also didn't want the hassle of overseas shipping and currency exchange etc. On my second listing I get two bidders, one from Slovenia and the winner is from Australia! Do they not read the details or are they hoping I'll give in? So far I'm not likeing being on the selling end of things. How do I deal with this BS?

End of rant, thank you for your time.

You need to state in your auction in LARGE BOLD LETTERS that you will only ship to the US. If they continue to bid....you can always cancel their bids. It is legal to cancel thier bids because they do not meet the requirements you set forth in your auction description.

Just a FYI......Slovenia and Austrailia are not bid scammer regions. If you would have said Spain, Romania, UK or Indonesia.... I would say they are probably a scammer.

It is all part of the game. You just have to learn to deal with it.

mtnbikej

 

[Fast Freddy]

There are also some settings under the site map - manage my items for sale - blocked bidder/preapproved bidder/exemption - you can set it up that only people registered to the areas you speicify in shipping can bid. I had a guy from Europe get pissed because he asked about bidding and I forgot about the settings and he tried to snipe at the last minute and then couldn't bid....lol - oh well - better safe than sorry.

Hope this helps
FF

 

[Wish I Were Riding]

you can set it up that only people registered to the areas you speicify in shipping can bid.
FF

Very interesting tip!

 

[WadePatton]

or you could put "INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING 3,000.00 USD" in the ad. That would tame down the international interest.

And if they bid and win anyway, at least there's some profit in it.

 

[tkavan01]

i hate international shipping, i've had two ship three items internationally even though i said no international bidders, bc i just didn't want to relist, and needed to dump the item...
two of the come to mind as a pain, the first was a kiss figurine, it sold for 20bucks, shipping was 35 dollars to argentine, man was that a pain, the second was a gold coin worth alot of money that i had to ship to germany, man i had to fill out a huge stack of customs papers to get that thing sent, it took close to 45 minutes to get out of there, right before they where about to put it in the back room someone asked if it was a currency, i said i wasn't sure if it was still was and they had to make a dozen calls... then the guy got po'd bc he had to pay a customs fee when it got to germany bc i declared the value...
neve again...

 

[Call_me_Clyde]

Bid exemption/blocking works very well

There are also some settings under the site map - manage my items for sale - blocked bidder/preapproved bidder/exemption - you can set it up that only people registered to the areas you speicify in shipping can bid.

Hope this helps
FF

Bid exemption (or blocking as they callit on ebay) can be placed as a default when you set up your auctions. I've used this since I started selling, and have yet to encounter a problem with bids. I have had inquiries as to whether I would make an exemption, but never had a bid from anyone outside my bid exemption terms.

Clyde

 

[truble911]

I just sold a RS Reba to a guy in New Zealand. It only cost $28 shipped from USPS and did not require any unusual paperwork. If they are legitimate bidders and they pay for shipping why not ship to them. As long as the U.S. dollar remains weak you will be seeing lots of international bidders. Not all of them are scam artists. In Dec. I sold a Porsche Cayenne to a dealer in Canada for the same reasons. Simple economics.

 

[iviguy]

I've purchaced quite a few things on ebay but until recently I'd never sold anything. My first attempt hasn't gone so well so far. A few weeks ago I listed a fork I wanted to sell, got the expected scam attempts and some legitimate bids. The eventual winner couldn't finish the deal for understanable reasons so I relisted it. My first and second listings clearly stated United States only because I wanted to weed out the scammers and also didn't want the hassle of overseas shipping and currency exchange etc. On my second listing I get two bidders, one from Slovenia and the winner is from Australia! Do they not read the details or are they hoping I'll give in? So far I'm not likeing being on the selling end of things. How do I deal with this BS?

End of rant, thank you for your time.

I have had this happen to me as well. Normally they will ask if I will accept it before they bid though. Those that I have had to send, I just send USPS which has been pretty inexpensive. I make them pay the full amount of the shipping plus a few bucks for the trouble. If you ship via UPS it will cost a bundle and you have to fill out all the customs paperwork. Its not as big a hassle as you might think depending on what you are having to ship.

I like the idea of putting an outrageous shipping cost for international if someone wins the bid but I would put an amount that might actually be agreeable to someone and put some extra cash in your pocket. Something like double shipping cost for the trouble plus $15 tip.

Another tip unrelated to your question is to set your first bid amount low. If you set a beginning bid at $100 and hope to get $150 you won't get many bids. If you set the beginning bid at $1 you will get lots of bids quickly. Something amazing happens then. The competition of people bidding seems to spread and its fun to watch how it grows quickly. I have hardly ever lost when doing it this way. If you are skiddish, put a reserve price on it.

 

[Warp]

That's why I try to buy from e-stores or retailers instead of particulars.

Usually I state clearly that I don't expect shipping until the money reach the recipient and I expect to pay for shipping and customs if any.

Sorry to hear our purchases bother you people.

 

[iviguy]

That's why I try to buy from e-stores or retailers instead of particulars.

Usually I state clearly that I don't expect shipping until the money reach the recipient and I expect to pay for shipping and customs if any.

Sorry to hear our purchases bother you people.

Well, it wasn't about whether international purchases bothered people or not. It was about the fact that he expressly stated that he ships to US only and without asking someone won the bid from outside the US. Like I said, I have shipped international but normally the bidder will ask before bidding. If they ask before bidding I will try to give an actual estimate of the shipping costs. If they just bid and don't ask then its kind of a slap in the face of the person selling the item who expressly stated that they would ship to US only. That is their right to call that. If the guy would have asked before winning the bid I doubt he would have posted this question here in the first place.

 

[Warp]

Well, it wasn't about whether international purchases bothered people or not. It was about the fact that he expressly stated that he ships to US only and without asking someone won the bid from outside the US. Like I said, I have shipped international but normally the bidder will ask before bidding. If they ask before bidding I will try to give an actual estimate of the shipping costs. If they just bid and don't ask then its kind of a slap in the face of the person selling the item who expressly stated that they would ship to US only. That is their right to call that. If the guy would have asked before winning the bid I doubt he would have posted this question here in the first place.

You're right. I let myself go a bit. My Apologies.

Anyway, I will ask first. I never entered an auction and usually look at the "Buy Now" items. Those are more attractive to me.

 

[Call_me_Clyde]

A few bad apples...

That's why I try to buy from e-stores or retailers instead of particulars.

Usually I state clearly that I don't expect shipping until the money reach the recipient and I expect to pay for shipping and customs if any.

Sorry to hear our purchases bother you people.

This is a case of a few bad apples spoiling the whole bunch, bro. There are scam artists everywhere, but I believe that the ebay seller in the US has the most protection from scammers if they sell to others in the US. A vast majority of the "overpayment scams", etc. are from outside the US.

Bottom line, it's a level of comfort and trust in who you are dealing with-both as a buyer and a seller-that makes the system work. The transaction you and I just did outside ebay is a prime example. Without the mutual trust, it never would have happened.

Clyde

 

[Some Guy]

As an Aussie, I love being able to buy stuff from international sellers. I've bought from Italy, Germany, the UK, and the US... I think that's it. I've also sold items which have been bought by overseas buyers.

My advice is simply add something to the cost of international shipping to cover the time it takes you to fill out the forms.

 

[HJB]

Thanks for the tips guys, I didn't know about the blocking feature. And I should have put the "US only" in there in bolder type.

I didn't mean to insinuate that bidders from overseas are automaticaly scammers, in fact I'm sure there are legitimate bidders even in the countries that are notorious for scams, but who'd take that chance. It's funny that I was contacted by someone from BC asking if I would sell to them if they should win and I said yes noting that the shipping could be more but he never did bid.

Now I'm not sure if I should list the fork for a third time, people might think I'm some sort of scammer! I've never had any luck using the market place here but maybe I should try it again. I don't plan on making a living selling things on ebay, I've just got some excess stuff to get rid of.

I did have a relatively high starting bid, I wasn't sure how the reserve thing worked and didn't want to "give" it away. I was told that 7 day auctions and auctions that end on sunday evening tend to do better. I think I'll start with a lower opening bid and a reserve next time.

Now the next question I'm thinking of is that I listed the payment options as USPS money order only because I believe that PayPal would charge some sort of fee as well as ebay's, and I have a problem paying so much just to try and recoup some of the money that I've got tied up in things I don't need. Am I wrong about this?

Thanks again kids!

 

[Some Guy]

Offer paypal, but make it clear there is a 2% fee (this will cover your costs).

Just be careful, because if you add paypal ebay will tell people they can pay with credit card, and paypal want lots of money if you do it like that.