selling on ebay question

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Be careful with shipping across the border. Unless you ship via a carrier that provides tracking all the way to the destination, you can be screwed like I was. Several years ago I sold a CD title for $110 on ebay to a purchaser from China. It was the MoFi 2-disc set of PF's The Wall. I specifically stated in the auction that I only shipped to US and Canada, but I decided to trust this guy. No idea why, but I did. He did a "buy it now" without asking me first. I had the Paypal money, so I went ahead.

The only service that would ship to China (at least then) was the US Postal Service. So off it went. A month later, the guy contacts me and says it never arrived. He had the tracking number, which showed tracking info, but the US post office doesn't operate inside China. They pass it over the border to China's postal system, with no tracking inside China. The USPS tracking stops at the border. Same going into Canada...passes to Canada Post with no tracking once it's inside Canada. UPS and Fedex operate inside Canada so they will provide tracking and proof of delivery.

This guy scammed me. He knew it could not be tracked inside China's system because there is no tracking number provided. Since I had no way to prove it was delivered (only proof of shipment), he filed a claim with ebay. Since I could only provide proof of shipment, not delivery, ebay's policy is to refund the buyer's money. Period, case closed. I'm out $110 and he probably is enjoying his free CDs.

I'll never ship anything outside the U.S. again unless I know who I'm shipping to, and proof of delivery is available.

You were lucky that the forwarder used DHL which provides tracking inside Mexico.
Hey GOS.....If you want to do international shipping OPT into eBays "Global Shipping Program"!! That way ALL your international shippment get shipped to eBays "Global Shipping Program" in Kentucky......and then they take care if the rest of the details😀. Even if the shipment gets lost after eBay receives the item, eBay is TOTALLY responsible😀

It's easy to OPT into the program.....when you list an item, scroll down to international shipping then click the box for eBay Global Shipping Program.....it's that easy😀

I've shipped to Asian countries and as far as Australia with absolutely no problems whatsoever😀

Hope this helps
 
It's not a difficult process, really. But, it is a process. I suspect many folks just don't like the extra paperwork and the unknown cost as they consider these things. That is my excuse. Until I find it difficult to sell a product within the US, I don't see any reason to change. If I were a large vendor, then obviously I would have to change my thinking.

As far as the global shipping, I was not even aware of it until the buyer I mention in this thread chose to go that route.....I figured, he paid for it and all I have to do is ship it locally and the freight forwarder took care of the rest. :)
Yes....eBay takes care of the rest once they have it in their hands in Kentucky
 
Rather than using the Global Shipping Program, why not just ship within your own country? It is expensive, slow, and a big risk for buyers if it is lost. Most buyers outside of the US will pass over your ad anyway, so save yourself the trouble. I will only ship within Canada, you ship within the US, and everybody else should ship within their own countries. It isn't worth the trouble … or the risk.

A lot of American sellers refuse to ship to other countries, but when I posted a few lists here for Canadian buyers only, the usual thread crap noobies dumped all over the thread. In one case, I had to ask a moderator to delete the whole thing. I learned a lot though. Never try and sell on QQ, and you can't argue with the 'do as I say, not as I do' posse. Stick to dealing with people you already know.

All this acrimony because of a few bad deals. :rolleyes:
 
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Rather than using the Global Shipping Program, why not just ship within your own country? It is expensive, slow, and a big risk for buyers if it is lost. Most buyers outside of the US will pass over your ad anyway, so save yourself the trouble. I will only ship within Canada, you ship within the US, and everybody else should ship within their own countries. It isn't worth the trouble … or the risk.

A lot of American sellers refuse to ship to other countries, but when I posted a few lists here for Canadian buyers only, the usual thread crap noobies dumped all over the thread. In one case, I had to ask a moderator to delete the whole thing. I learned a lot though. Never try and sell on QQ, and you can't argue with the 'do as I say, not as I do' posse. Stick to dealing with people you already know.

All this acrimony because of a few bad deals. :rolleyes:
Why limit yourself? If eBay takes care of the internationals, and they are willing to anti-up then so be it. I’ve gotten some rave reviews from international buyers, so I fully disagree with your point.
 
Why limit yourself? If eBay takes care of the internationals, and they are willing to anti-up then so be it. I’ve gotten some rave reviews from international buyer...
You've piqued my curiosity. I haven't had the time or energy to sell much lately, but I need to. I'll check out that option.

One question the idea brings to mind for me is whether there is a good way to find out what price items are commanding in different markets.
Like, if selling to US only would mean losing a bit of money, but supply is lower elsewhere, and demand higher, maybe a higher selling price can be achieved.
 
You've piqued my curiosity. I haven't had the time or energy to sell much lately, but I need to. I'll check out that option.

One question the idea brings to mind for me is whether there is a good way to find out what price items are commanding in different markets.
Like, if selling to US only would mean losing a bit of money, but supply is lower elsewhere, and demand higher, maybe a higher selling price can be achieved.

you can check "sold" or "completed" listings on international ebay sites just like you can on ebay dot com.

And I whole hardly agree that ebay's Global Shipping Program is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Just the fact that they calculate all the customs and import costs and prints the customs delclaration postage all at no cost to the seller (the buyer pays all of that) is worth it's weight in gold and the fact the shipment becomes their responsibility after it leaves Kentucky, can't get any better than that.
 
International buyers hate eBay's Global Shipping program, but it's the only way I'll sell internationally (I'll sometimes make an exception for Canada, but not otherwise). Between shipping costs and customs - and the fact that eBay keeps track of the item - its by far the safest option for me. I will occasionally sell internationally on Amazon, but that's more and more infrequent.
 
I will occasionally sell internationally on Amazon, but that's more and more infrequent.

The problem with selling internationally on amazon is very few international carriers offer signature delivery and that is the only proof amazon will accept. Amazon does not accept tracking showing "delivered" like ebay does.
 
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