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Foreign buyers unwilling to do the eBay global shipping.
Cuprinkor
Posts: 202 ✭✭✭
Why is that?
I had to cancel two sales of the same coin because of this. The coin's value is such that I want full protection in doing this transaction.
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It's rather expensive and unsurprisingly enough, buyers don't like paying for shipping. Not much anyone can do about that.
edited to add... Buyers aren't generally all that concerned about your risk in the transaction.
MasonG:
Thanks for your response.
I have the same problem in the US with foreign sellers. For example, I was going to purchase several first day covers ( stamps) from the UK, but eBay global shipping wanted over $20 to ship something that could be done for about $5.
Well, $5 is a lower level of shipping than eBay global gives you.
I'd be careful of the exemptions in the insurance associated with eBay global. It may not be worth the paper it's not printed on with coins.
Your best bet is registered mail which is cheaper, in most cases, than eBay global shipping.
Can you ship overseas via USPS registered mail?
I've had a claim paid. @Cuprinkor You are doing the right thing. I just explain to the buyers it is the cheapest way I am able to ship with insurance. The taxes were usually the issue in the past but ebay is collecting them now. Global Shipping is by far cheaper than USPS. Some might beat it with private insurance if you do enough volume.
Yes, but the USPS is only responsible until the package is out of their possession. Other countries may handle registered mail differently than the US.
I wonder if the buyer is trying to avoid duties (does this make sense?)
The second time my coin in question sold the buyer "paid" full price even though it a buy it now obo.
He asked me to cancel the sale about 16 hours later when I insisted on eBay global shipping.
I agreed then noticed he had only been an eBay member since January 2021 with zero feedback. Should this have been of concern?
I have passed on many foreign auctions that insisted on Global Shipping. As a buyer, it is insanely and prohibitively expensive.
Yes
So have I. I've also heard horror stories.
Maybe. I've sold to newbies. Obviously, the more track record they have the more confidence one has. Given that they canceled the sale, they weren't scamming you.
Also possible. Although that depends on what you put on the customs form more than the method of shipping. EBay does charge it up front for many countries with their global shipping.
Couldn’t care less as long as the item is delivered. Not going to pay ridiculous shipping fees when cheaper options are available.
I try to avoid foreign sellers. If sell transaction use global shipping program.
Absolute agreement here. Unless it's a very expensive coin (which I probably wouldn't be buying anyway!), Global Shipping = forget about it in my book. I wonder how many sales are lost due to the seller's insistence on using Global Shipping...
Smitten with DBLCs.
If the item is of significant value it is imperative that it safely received by the purchaser. That's why I have confidence in eBay global shipping.
What other secure ways are there to ship coins of such value overseas?
I wonder how many sellers haven't been bilked by only shipping through Global Shipping?
PS Ebay's standard international shipping is a tiny bit cheaper than USPS and comes with $100 insurance. I've used it quite successfully and only ship through Global Shipping for more expensive items. If you want insurance in many situations they are 1/2 USPS Rates and offer higher limits on insurance.
What if you are a seller and the buyer opens a SNAD case? Then the seller will feel the bite of the high cost.
I have passed on many items where the GS is 100% or more of the item's cost. I would have gladly assumed the risk if they had shipped it themselves at a basic postage rate.
Also, registered shipping is not nearly as expensive in most parts of the world as it is in the US. Most European sellers can add registered delivery for just a few dollars. They could ship it themselves for a fraction of the GS cost.
Of course, it matters what types of items we are talking about. The items I have looked at were smaller items, some of which could have been shipped as a letter.
I'm writing about a four figure item.
I want complete protection if I'm sending it overseas.
I guess I might have to have HA.com or SB auction the coin eventually.
Don't blame you. Some years ago, I sent a $250 item to Germany by registered mail. It disappeared after it got to Germany. I filed a claim but received no compensation for the loss.
I might be wrong and I am happy to be corrected if that is the case, but as I understand it, ebay just combines items for shipment overseas to a central address and then sends out the individual items from there.
In other words, I do not know that it is "safer", it's just that someone else is taking the risk. So, if you wanted to purchase private insurance you could perhaps get the same level of insurance/indemnification by sending it yourself.
What they are offering is convenience, but at a cost. Great for the seller, but not so much for the buyer.
I had a similar case a couple years ago. I sent an $85 item to Germany using Ebay's Global Shipping. The item arrived in Germany, then disappeared. After a month of no updates, the buyer filed an Ebay non-delivery case against me. Ebay ruled in my favor since the package had safely reached the Ebay shipping center. The buyer got screwed.
Bottom line, I would never use Ebay Global Shipping as a buyer as from my experience, you've got no protection once the item leaves the seller's country.
mbogoman
https://pcgs.com/setregistry/collectors-showcase/classic-issues-colonials-through-1964/zambezi-collection-trade-dollars/7345Asesabi Lutho
I would wager the buyer received a refund through global shipping. They track very well.
That's not what he told me. We were in communication throughout and afterwards. Maybe things have changed, but according to him, he got nothing.
FWIW - A couple months later, I obtained another, almost identical item. I contacted the buyer and sold it to him directly and shipped via regular Priority International. He got it that time.
mbogoman
https://pcgs.com/setregistry/collectors-showcase/classic-issues-colonials-through-1964/zambezi-collection-trade-dollars/7345Asesabi Lutho
333.2 Indemnity Limit
[Revise the text of 333.2 to read as follows, reflecting a change in the indemnity limit to $42.66:]
Regardless of the declared value of a registered item, the maximum amount of indemnity payable for loss, damage, or missing contents is $42.66.
https://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2019/pb22510/html/updt_002.htm
Yeah, I know. I still didn't get the $42.66.
Private insurance sounds like something to consider in the future.
I'm going to let this issue rest for now.
I may pursue the major auction house option and let one of them do it. Either house could reach the important interested parties via their advertising.
I shipped coins valued somewhat more than $1000 to South Africa a few times, by registered mail. The only time a coin was lost (probably stolen) was when the buyer insisted on FedEx which was Priority or Express mail USPS anyway.
Some buyers did object to paying VAT (14% in South Africa) and would attempt to get me to falsify the customs form. I refused to do it. One attempted it after buying the coin.
Registered mail is a lot more expensive now than when I sold coins somewhat regularly, up to 2010 or near it.
If I lived outside the US, I'd never pay US registered mail rates for hardly any coin. Most coins are far too common and not remotely interesting enough to incur a noticeable automatic proportional loss every single time, out of the gate.
Are you sure? In such a case, eBay would have paid them unless the shipment was excluded. Their insurance is easier and more reliable than USPS, FEDEX, OR UPS
All I know is that the buyer told me that Ebay told him he was out of luck, that it wasn't their problem. He was not pleased.
Edit to add: I was very surprised at how it was handled and resolved. I thought we both should have been made whole. But that's not what was done.
mbogoman
https://pcgs.com/setregistry/collectors-showcase/classic-issues-colonials-through-1964/zambezi-collection-trade-dollars/7345Asesabi Lutho
Perhaps that explains why I have hardly any global sales.
If my listing show shipping through the eBay global shipping service wouldn't this be automatic when we both agree on a price? Instead I get "ship to such and such place" in the home country of the buyer.
To clarify, shouldn't the Erlanger, KY address show up?
For this reason I don't sell international anymore. Got burned once, won't happen again.
Sometimes I think that animals are smarter than humans, animals would never allow the dumbest one to lead the pack