eBay Buyer thinks eBay pays for lost packages

airplanenut · November 13, 2022 3:45PM

For today’s laugh, I present this quote from a buyer explaining why I should have no problem offering a lower-cost shipping option to his country, where I’ve previously had terrible luck using regular first class mail and thus no longer offer it…

“ I've bought several times in the United States and France and I've never had any problems with delivery, sellers have always sent in the way that has a lower cost. If you ship in a way that costs less and I don't receive the purchase, eBay will pay me, neither you nor I will lose anything.”

Sorry, buddy… that’s not how it works.

MasonG · November 13, 2022 3:48PM

I stopped shipping outside the US several years ago. I don't miss it.

Jzyskowski1 · November 13, 2022 3:52PM

eBay does pay within the US. USPS lost some coins 3+ weeks ago. The seller had me file with eBay and they promptly refunded my money. 
  Perhaps someone is confusing domestic policy with international. 😁

rec78 · November 13, 2022 3:56PM

@MasonG said:
I stopped shipping outside the US several years ago. I don't miss it.

Me, too. There are plenty of buyers in the US. The few extra dollars that you may get for some items are not worth the trouble.

MasonG · November 13, 2022 4:01PM

@rec78 said:
Me, too. There are plenty of buyers in the US. The few extra dollars that you may get for some items are not worth the trouble.

Since I sell world coins, it would be nice if it wasn't such a hassle. But it is.

LanceNewmanOCC · November 13, 2022 4:19PM

i miss the sales but not the hassle. although i concede, part of the hassle is getting it all set up but that was with ebay and paypal. perhaps it isn't as bad these days?

i tried one recently and while they could buy/bid they couldn't use their paypal to pay from UAE and after a bit of wrestling with the system and some settings, i conceded the loss and moved on. i trust ebay MAY have had some legit restriction either with that location (hopefully no vpn) or that buyer in particular.

i do concede for higher dollar items, i could use the program where i ship to an ebay center and let them take it from there but is probably a bit more hassle to figure the ins and outs and if i had someone just sit down and do it for me and answer a few questions, i'd probably do it. still may but need to find some videos explaining the fees/stipulations etc.

ifthevamzarockin · November 13, 2022 4:24PM

Is he on your BBL yet?

MasonG · November 13, 2022 4:38PM

@LanceNewmanOCC said:
i miss the sales but not the hassle. although i concede, part of the hassle is getting it all set up but that was with ebay and paypal. perhaps it isn't as bad these days?

I gave it up because it took too much time. My post office requires that anything with a customs form be taken to the counter and the waiting line here is 15-20 minutes at best, no matter what time of day you get there. And then, there are all the buyers who want you to mark the shipment as a gift. As if the people at my post office think I'm sending gifts out of the country three time a week.

@LanceNewmanOCC said:
i do concede for higher dollar items, i could use the program where i ship to an ebay center and let them take it from there...

That's expensive and the same buyers who don't like paying customs fees don't like it because of the cost. There's a member here on this forum who regularly whines about it.

LanceNewmanOCC · November 13, 2022 4:41PM

@MasonG said:

@LanceNewmanOCC said:
i miss the sales but not the hassle. although i concede, part of the hassle is getting it all set up but that was with ebay and paypal. perhaps it isn't as bad these days?

I gave it up because it took too much time. My post office requires that anything with a customs form be taken to the counter and the waiting line here is 15-20 minutes at best, no matter what time of day you get there. And then, there are all the buyers who want you to mark the shipment as a gift. As if the people at my post office think I'm sending gifts out of the country three time a week.

@LanceNewmanOCC said:
i do concede for higher dollar items, i could use the program where i ship to an ebay center and let them take it from there...

That's expensive and the same buyers who don't like paying customs fees don't like it because of the cost. There's a member here on this forum who regularly whines about it.

thanks for some confirmation as that was where i was kinda getting stuck was how the various extra fees for myself and/or the buyer for customs, extra shipping etc really kinda just kills the whole thing probably 85-95% of the time, especially for under a certain dollar amount. i know there are people here that buy from overseas auctions/shops etc regularly but those from what i remember have always been at least several hundred or several thousand dollars where an extra $50 +/- is well worth certain items.

MasonG · November 13, 2022 4:50PM

@LanceNewmanOCC said:
thanks for some confirmation as that was where i was kinda getting stuck was how the various extra fees for myself and/or the buyer for customs, extra shipping etc really kinda just kills the whole thing probably 85-95% of the time, especially for under a certain dollar amount. i know there are people here that buy from overseas auctions/shops etc regularly but those from what i remember have always been at least several hundred or several thousand dollars where an extra $50 +/- is well worth certain items.

If you're selling expensive coins, the shipping is a smaller percentage of the overall cost. I don't sell expensive coins, most are under $50. There's no way to roll international shipping costs into the price and still make it attractive for international buyers who don't want to pay for shipping when there's a difference of around $10 between domestic and international shipping charges. That's just the way it is.

airplanenut · November 13, 2022 5:39PM

@ifthevamzarockin said:
Is he on your BBL yet?

Between this line and the “oh, by the way, say it’s a present worth a tiny amount,” yes, yes he is.

airplanenut · November 13, 2022 5:41PM

@MasonG said:

@LanceNewmanOCC said:
i miss the sales but not the hassle. although i concede, part of the hassle is getting it all set up but that was with ebay and paypal. perhaps it isn't as bad these days?

I gave it up because it took too much time. My post office requires that anything with a customs form be taken to the counter and the waiting line here is 15-20 minutes at best, no matter what time of day you get there. And then, there are all the buyers who want you to mark the shipment as a gift. As if the people at my post office think I'm sending gifts out of the country three time a week.

@LanceNewmanOCC said:
i do concede for higher dollar items, i could use the program where i ship to an ebay center and let them take it from there...

That's expensive and the same buyers who don't like paying customs fees don't like it because of the cost. There's a member here on this forum who regularly whines about it.

Maybe it’s a hassle, but I sell enough foreign material that there are just too many buyers out there to exclude international sales. That said, I hold firm on requests for things like marking packages as gifts, and all my customs stuff is done when I print postage. Almost all the mail I send goes into a collection box, and I only hand it across the counter the one day a week I’m at the PO for pick-ups or if a registered requires it.

LanceNewmanOCC · November 13, 2022 5:48PM

@airplanenut said:

@MasonG said:

@LanceNewmanOCC said:
i miss the sales but not the hassle. although i concede, part of the hassle is getting it all set up but that was with ebay and paypal. perhaps it isn't as bad these days?

I gave it up because it took too much time. My post office requires that anything with a customs form be taken to the counter and the waiting line here is 15-20 minutes at best, no matter what time of day you get there. And then, there are all the buyers who want you to mark the shipment as a gift. As if the people at my post office think I'm sending gifts out of the country three time a week.

@LanceNewmanOCC said:
i do concede for higher dollar items, i could use the program where i ship to an ebay center and let them take it from there...

That's expensive and the same buyers who don't like paying customs fees don't like it because of the cost. There's a member here on this forum who regularly whines about it.

Maybe it’s a hassle, but I sell enough foreign material that there are just too many buyers out there to exclude international sales. That said, I hold firm on requests for things like marking packages as gifts, and all my customs stuff is done when I print postage. Almost all the mail I send goes into a collection box, and I only hand it across the counter the one day a week I’m at the PO for pick-ups or if a registered requires it.

i'm sure you have your system(s) refined and if i was probably even half as comfortable/informed as you are with the foreign shipments, i'd probably go back to doing them. i do recall the last time (years ago) i did some foreign shipments and i communicated with some buyers, some of the fees they had to pay to receive the packages was just plain absurd. it was more like extortion than a tax.

do you find buyers will buy a few coins instead of one to get more "bang for their buck?"

probably a good idea to have a blurb about NOT marking customs forms as gifts as i am sure that breaks a few serious laws.

MasonG · November 13, 2022 5:50PM

@airplanenut said:
Maybe it’s a hassle, but I sell enough foreign material that there are just too many buyers out there to exclude international sales. That said, I hold firm on requests for things like marking packages as gifts, and all my customs stuff is done when I print postage. Almost all the mail I send goes into a collection box, and I only hand it across the counter the one day a week I’m at the PO for pick-ups or if a registered requires it.

Pretty much all I sell is world coins and like I said, it's been a while since I've shipped stuff out of the country. Maybe it's different now and you can just drop the stuff in the box. I don't know. But I believe the cost to ship is significantly more to addresses out of the country, which makes it impractical for me. Anyway, I'm fine waiting for US buyers to show interest. It's not like I'm selling stuff for other people who are going to want to get the stuff moved.

goodmoney4badmoney · November 13, 2022 5:52PM

I had a buyer that bought 2 listings, shipped together with tracking showing delivered. They made a did not receive claim for each item separately by about 36 hours. The first claim was denied about 2 days after they filed due to tracking showing delivery. The other item took almost 3 MONTHS and eBay eventually gave them a courtesy refund, out of eBay’s pocket. Pretty weird (no idea what took so long) but I learned they sometimes will refund people on their own.

LanceNewmanOCC · November 13, 2022 5:54PM

@MasonG said:

@airplanenut said:
Maybe it’s a hassle, but I sell enough foreign material that there are just too many buyers out there to exclude international sales. That said, I hold firm on requests for things like marking packages as gifts, and all my customs stuff is done when I print postage. Almost all the mail I send goes into a collection box, and I only hand it across the counter the one day a week I’m at the PO for pick-ups or if a registered requires it.

Pretty much all I sell is world coins and like I said, it's been a while since I've shipped stuff out of the country. Maybe it's different now and you can just drop the stuff in the box. I don't know. But I believe the cost to ship is significantly more to addresses out of the country, which makes it impractical for me. Anyway, I'm fine waiting for US buyers to show interest. It's not like I'm selling stuff for other people who are going to want to get the stuff moved.

have you run into foreign buyers that have someone here that receives stuff and then ships out to the buyer? i've ran into that a few times over the years.

there also seem to be sites/companies that purchase things on behalf of foreign buyers (for some reason) as i've ran into that a couple of times. messages are never answered and through odd circumstances i've ending up holding paid for items for weeks with no shipping and no request for refunds or asking where their items are. (makes me wonder if there are SOME people out there thinking, sheesh, it sure is risky ordering from the usa LOL)

MasonG · November 13, 2022 5:56PM

@goodmoney4badmoney said:
Pretty weird (no idea what took so long) but I learned they sometimes will refund people on their own.

eBay's default position is that the seller screwed up (at best) or is a crook. Once you accept this, everything that happens after that makes a lot more sense.

MasonG · November 13, 2022 5:59PM

@LanceNewmanOCC said:
have you run into foreign buyers that have someone here that receives stuff and then ships out to the buyer? i've ran into that a few times over the years.

Yep. As long as the address is on file with eBay and it's in the US, I'm okay with that. I've noticed a lot of the latin american stuff I sell ends up going to addresses in Doral, FL. I'm sure that stuff is getting reshipped.

bigjpst · November 13, 2022 6:24PM

I only ship internationally using the global shipping program. I don't sell a lot of coins that way because of the high fees to the buyer, but it's the only way I wil deal with international shipments. Every once in a while, I'll get an offer from an international buyer and once I accept and they get the invoice, they request a cancellation, but most just pay it.

jmlanzaf · November 13, 2022 7:32PM

@MasonG said:

@LanceNewmanOCC said:
i miss the sales but not the hassle. although i concede, part of the hassle is getting it all set up but that was with ebay and paypal. perhaps it isn't as bad these days?

I gave it up because it took too much time. My post office requires that anything with a customs form be taken to the counter and the waiting line here is 15-20 minutes at best, no matter what time of day you get there. And then, there are all the buyers who want you to mark the shipment as a gift. As if the people at my post office think I'm sending gifts out of the country three time a week.

@LanceNewmanOCC said:
i do concede for higher dollar items, i could use the program where i ship to an ebay center and let them take it from there...

That's expensive and the same buyers who don't like paying customs fees don't like it because of the cost. There's a member here on this forum who regularly whines about it.

If you print the label through ebay, there is no separate customs form and I just drop them in the package bin

jmlanzaf · November 13, 2022 7:34PM

@bigjpst said:
I only ship internationally using the global shipping program. I don't sell a lot of coins that way because of the high fees to the buyer, but it's the only way I wil deal with international shipments. Every once in a while, I'll get an offer from an international buyer and once I accept and they get the invoice, they request a cancellation, but most just pay it.

@MasonG said:

@LanceNewmanOCC said:
thanks for some confirmation as that was where i was kinda getting stuck was how the various extra fees for myself and/or the buyer for customs, extra shipping etc really kinda just kills the whole thing probably 85-95% of the time, especially for under a certain dollar amount. i know there are people here that buy from overseas auctions/shops etc regularly but those from what i remember have always been at least several hundred or several thousand dollars where an extra $50 +/- is well worth certain items.

If you're selling expensive coins, the shipping is a smaller percentage of the overall cost. I don't sell expensive coins, most are under $50. There's no way to roll international shipping costs into the price and still make it attractive for international buyers who don't want to pay for shipping when there's a difference of around $10 between domestic and international shipping charges. That's just the way it is.

If you use ebay 1st class international, it has up to$100 insurance and is quite economical.

LanceNewmanOCC · November 13, 2022 7:36PM

@jmlanzaf said:
If you use ebay 1st class international, it has up to$100 insurance and is quite economical.

.
with tracking?

MasonG · November 13, 2022 8:26PM

@jmlanzaf said:

@bigjpst said:
I only ship internationally using the global shipping program. I don't sell a lot of coins that way because of the high fees to the buyer, but it's the only way I wil deal with international shipments. Every once in a while, I'll get an offer from an international buyer and once I accept and they get the invoice, they request a cancellation, but most just pay it.

@MasonG said:

@LanceNewmanOCC said:
thanks for some confirmation as that was where i was kinda getting stuck was how the various extra fees for myself and/or the buyer for customs, extra shipping etc really kinda just kills the whole thing probably 85-95% of the time, especially for under a certain dollar amount. i know there are people here that buy from overseas auctions/shops etc regularly but those from what i remember have always been at least several hundred or several thousand dollars where an extra $50 +/- is well worth certain items.

If you're selling expensive coins, the shipping is a smaller percentage of the overall cost. I don't sell expensive coins, most are under $50. There's no way to roll international shipping costs into the price and still make it attractive for international buyers who don't want to pay for shipping when there's a difference of around $10 between domestic and international shipping charges. That's just the way it is.

If you use ebay 1st class international, it has up to$100 insurance and is quite economical.

How much (approx.) is a 1 oz. package?

silverpop · November 13, 2022 8:33PM

i used to ship out of internationally but figuring out laws of other nations and that of the US on what is allowed and not was just not worth the trouble and i don't miss the sales

airplanenut · November 13, 2022 11:38PM

@LanceNewmanOCC said:

@airplanenut said:

@MasonG said:

@LanceNewmanOCC said:
i miss the sales but not the hassle. although i concede, part of the hassle is getting it all set up but that was with ebay and paypal. perhaps it isn't as bad these days?

I gave it up because it took too much time. My post office requires that anything with a customs form be taken to the counter and the waiting line here is 15-20 minutes at best, no matter what time of day you get there. And then, there are all the buyers who want you to mark the shipment as a gift. As if the people at my post office think I'm sending gifts out of the country three time a week.

@LanceNewmanOCC said:
i do concede for higher dollar items, i could use the program where i ship to an ebay center and let them take it from there...

That's expensive and the same buyers who don't like paying customs fees don't like it because of the cost. There's a member here on this forum who regularly whines about it.

Maybe it’s a hassle, but I sell enough foreign material that there are just too many buyers out there to exclude international sales. That said, I hold firm on requests for things like marking packages as gifts, and all my customs stuff is done when I print postage. Almost all the mail I send goes into a collection box, and I only hand it across the counter the one day a week I’m at the PO for pick-ups or if a registered requires it.

i'm sure you have your system(s) refined and if i was probably even half as comfortable/informed as you are with the foreign shipments, i'd probably go back to doing them. i do recall the last time (years ago) i did some foreign shipments and i communicated with some buyers, some of the fees they had to pay to receive the packages was just plain absurd. it was more like extortion than a tax.

do you find buyers will buy a few coins instead of one to get more "bang for their buck?"

probably a good idea to have a blurb about NOT marking customs forms as gifts as i am sure that breaks a few serious laws.

It really depends. I'll send some low-value packages where shipping is a huge percentage of the overall cost, and I'll have shipments worth a lot with many coins where, even with high shipping costs, the per-coin cost is pretty low. I have many international buyers that win items at least every few weeks.

@MasonG said:

@airplanenut said:
Maybe it’s a hassle, but I sell enough foreign material that there are just too many buyers out there to exclude international sales. That said, I hold firm on requests for things like marking packages as gifts, and all my customs stuff is done when I print postage. Almost all the mail I send goes into a collection box, and I only hand it across the counter the one day a week I’m at the PO for pick-ups or if a registered requires it.

Pretty much all I sell is world coins and like I said, it's been a while since I've shipped stuff out of the country. Maybe it's different now and you can just drop the stuff in the box. I don't know. But I believe the cost to ship is significantly more to addresses out of the country, which makes it impractical for me. Anyway, I'm fine waiting for US buyers to show interest. It's not like I'm selling stuff for other people who are going to want to get the stuff moved.

Oh, it's definitely more expensive, but that's for the buyer to decide. I'm fine if a buyer doesn't want to pay, but I'm a lot less pleased if a buyer only makes that decision after winning an item. Bear in mind, everything I sell is at auction, so nothing is sitting waiting for a buyer to come along the way it would happen with a fixed-price sale.

@MasonG said:

@LanceNewmanOCC said:
have you run into foreign buyers that have someone here that receives stuff and then ships out to the buyer? i've ran into that a few times over the years.

Yep. As long as the address is on file with eBay and it's in the US, I'm okay with that. I've noticed a lot of the latin american stuff I sell ends up going to addresses in Doral, FL. I'm sure that stuff is getting reshipped.

There are a few places that forward mail. Most are in Florida, but a couple are elsewhere. Another I routinely ship to is in Portland.

jmlanzaf · November 14, 2022 12:29AM

@LanceNewmanOCC said:

@jmlanzaf said:
If you use ebay 1st class international, it has up to$100 insurance and is quite economical.

.
with tracking?

Yes

jmlanzaf · November 14, 2022 12:33AM

@MasonG said:

@jmlanzaf said:

@bigjpst said:
I only ship internationally using the global shipping program. I don't sell a lot of coins that way because of the high fees to the buyer, but it's the only way I wil deal with international shipments. Every once in a while, I'll get an offer from an international buyer and once I accept and they get the invoice, they request a cancellation, but most just pay it.

@MasonG said:

@LanceNewmanOCC said:
thanks for some confirmation as that was where i was kinda getting stuck was how the various extra fees for myself and/or the buyer for customs, extra shipping etc really kinda just kills the whole thing probably 85-95% of the time, especially for under a certain dollar amount. i know there are people here that buy from overseas auctions/shops etc regularly but those from what i remember have always been at least several hundred or several thousand dollars where an extra $50 +/- is well worth certain items.

If you're selling expensive coins, the shipping is a smaller percentage of the overall cost. I don't sell expensive coins, most are under $50. There's no way to roll international shipping costs into the price and still make it attractive for international buyers who don't want to pay for shipping when there's a difference of around $10 between domestic and international shipping charges. That's just the way it is.

If you use ebay 1st class international, it has up to$100 insurance and is quite economical.

How much (approx.) is a 1 oz. package?

$12 Canada, $14 other countries. It goes to most developed countries but not all. I believe that rate applies to up to 8 oz.

ricko · November 14, 2022 7:10AM

I rarely sell anything, and have never sold outside the country. I have purchased a few items from foreign sources, and results have been excellent. One case I did have, the received product was damaged. The seller, when advised, immediately replaced it. Cheers, RickO

MasonG · November 14, 2022 7:53AM

@jmlanzaf said:

@MasonG said:
How much (approx.) is a 1 oz. package?

$12 Canada, $14 other countries. It goes to most developed countries but not all. I believe that rate applies to up to 8 oz.

Do you charge for shipping?

edited to add... I include the shipping cost in the item price and offer "free" shipping. I don't see how that would work when US shipping is 57 cents and international is $12-$14.

airplanenut · November 14, 2022 12:03PM

@MasonG said:

@jmlanzaf said:

@MasonG said:
How much (approx.) is a 1 oz. package?

$12 Canada, $14 other countries. It goes to most developed countries but not all. I believe that rate applies to up to 8 oz.

Do you charge for shipping?

edited to add... I include the shipping cost in the item price and offer "free" shipping. I don't see how that would work when US shipping is 57 cents and international is $12-$14.

You can have separate rates by destination and set US to free, but apply a cost to international shipments. Where this fails me (and I've complained to eBay ad nauseum) is there are restrictions regarding maximum package value for certain shipping methods. This isn't an issue for fixed price listings, but for auctions, a small price difference can trigger a huge change in shipping cost, and not one I'm willing to eat. My descriptions include a table explaining what I'll charge, but I don't officially specify international shipping rates because there's too much variability and I can't dumb it down to one number per listing.

MasonG · November 14, 2022 12:46PM

@airplanenut said:
You can have separate rates by destination and set US to free, but apply a cost to international shipments. Where this fails me (and I've complained to eBay ad nauseum) is there are restrictions regarding maximum package value for certain shipping methods. This isn't an issue for fixed price listings, but for auctions, a small price difference can trigger a huge change in shipping cost, and not one I'm willing to eat. My descriptions include a table explaining what I'll charge, but I don't officially specify international shipping rates because there's too much variability and I can't dumb it down to one number per listing.

This seems to be the point I get to (various options and restrictions) every time I reconsider my decision to not ship internationally. I really don't want to deal with that stuff anymore, along with the buyers who want me to mark their shipments as gifts or declare a lower value for the package or complain about how much the shipping costs and how long it takes to get delivered.

It would be nice to have a wider audience for my coins but for now, I think I'll just stick with "US only". Thanks for your response, and your input regarding your experience in this area.

jmlanzaf · November 14, 2022 5:57PM

@MasonG said:

@jmlanzaf said:

@MasonG said:
How much (approx.) is a 1 oz. package?

$12 Canada, $14 other countries. It goes to most developed countries but not all. I believe that rate applies to up to 8 oz.

Do you charge for shipping?

edited to add... I include the shipping cost in the item price and offer "free" shipping. I don't see how that would work when US shipping is 57 cents and international is $12-$14.

I charge international shipping but it's "free" for domestic shipping. You can specify different protocols.

LanceNewmanOCC · November 16, 2022 3:57PM

@jmlanzaf said:

@MasonG said:

@jmlanzaf said:

@MasonG said:
How much (approx.) is a 1 oz. package?

$12 Canada, $14 other countries. It goes to most developed countries but not all. I believe that rate applies to up to 8 oz.

Do you charge for shipping?

edited to add... I include the shipping cost in the item price and offer "free" shipping. I don't see how that would work when US shipping is 57 cents and international is $12-$14.

I charge international shipping but it's "free" for domestic shipping. You can specify different protocols.

business policies?

Barberian · November 16, 2022 8:54PM

EBay has paid for at least one lost package for me in the States. The seller somehow shipped the coin to an old address that wasn't listed for my eBay account.

jmlanzaf · November 17, 2022 5:03AM

@LanceNewmanOCC said:

@jmlanzaf said:

@MasonG said:

@jmlanzaf said:

@MasonG said:
How much (approx.) is a 1 oz. package?

$12 Canada, $14 other countries. It goes to most developed countries but not all. I believe that rate applies to up to 8 oz.

Do you charge for shipping?

edited to add... I include the shipping cost in the item price and offer "free" shipping. I don't see how that would work when US shipping is 57 cents and international is $12-$14.

I charge international shipping but it's "free" for domestic shipping. You can specify different protocols.

business policies?

I'm not sure I understand the question. If you go under shipping policies, you specify the domestic and international policies separately.

Treashunt · November 17, 2022 5:55AM

Tell him you are a Franco-phobe.

And are still mad at DeGaulle for stealing our gold.

Alltheabove76 · November 17, 2022 6:11AM

If you use ebays global shipping service they cover any losses. You send it to ebay, they send it to the buyer.

jmlanzaf · November 17, 2022 7:34AM

@Alltheabove76 said:
If you use ebays global shipping service they cover any losses. You send it to ebay, they send it to the buyer.

If you read the OP, the buyer wanted him to use a CHEAPER shipping service because he didn't want to pay for eBay Global Shipping.

LanceNewmanOCC · November 17, 2022 10:13AM

@jmlanzaf said:

I charge international shipping but it's "free" for domestic shipping. You can specify different protocols.

business policies?

I'm not sure I understand the question. If you go under shipping policies, you specify the domestic and international policies separately.

sounds like we are talking about the same thing.

https://www.bizpolicy.ebay.com/businesspolicy/manage

jt88 · November 17, 2022 11:09AM

I ship a lot to overseas. I usually use Ems or FedEx priority for over one k value. Under one k I use usps priority mail. I don’t have too many issues but in the last couple years shipping to China is a big risk. It takes long time and risk of lost in transit increased a lot. I shipped a bank note to China in April and the tracking only showed activity on July. The buyer contacted me about it. I gave him two options; file a eBay claim or take the store credit. He took the store credit. I am sending him another coin. The tracking showed it left US on November 9 and no more activity since.

telephoto1 · November 17, 2022 11:14AM

@MasonG said:
I stopped shipping outside the US several years ago. I don't miss it.

Same here. Virtually every significant shipping issue we ever had was with international. Not worth the hassle and frankly no gain.

logger7 · November 17, 2022 11:31AM

I only would ship to ebay global acceptable countries in which case their insurance covers it, and it must be a real loser for them because out of less than a dozen sales through ebay global over a quarter of them the buyer claimed they didn't get them. Another sign of potential thefts as we have seen with the shops, potential buyers don't dicker over price, pay "full freight" before pulling a fraud.

Cougar1978 · November 17, 2022 12:36PM

On any venue whether shows, online, or blogs one can encounter players where the elevator does not go to the top or they simply have their own rip or proxy agenda. Develop strategy to respond.

You might reply (examples).
1. Take it up with eBay
2. . Due to current market conditions not a seller at that or pay that high.
3. Unless BIN / MO already at my best price.
4. No, I don’t allow inventory which has not been purchased or paid for to leave my table (show). Guy wanted take slabbed coin over get another dealers opinion. I did offer to accompany him taking the coin myself but he declined.
5. That’s the lowest the consigner will go (somebody trying lowball u on the bourse).
6. Take it up with the TPG (somebody wanting discounting bc of who’s holder…).
7. No refund, eBay has already ruled on the matter. Item not received back, no tracking, return period expired.
8. Hit ignore button. Obnoxious keyboard griefer.

jmlanzaf · November 17, 2022 7:48PM

@telephoto1 said:

@MasonG said:
I stopped shipping outside the US several years ago. I don't miss it.

Same here. Virtually every significant shipping issue we ever had was with international. Not worth the hassle and frankly no gain.

Depends on what you sell. I sell a fair amount to Canada and Europe. And more eyes is more bidders which can push the price of auctions.

There are certain countries I avoid: Russia and Italy are horrible, for example. But I've had nothing but good experiences in Canada, UK, France and Germany. I've even had good luck in the Middle East. Japan is stellar and China used to be. However, as another poster noted, they are having issues right now.

MasonG · November 17, 2022 7:53PM

Canada and UK were the most high maintenance. Canadians regularly wanted me to mark the package as a gift and the UKers wanted me to put a low value on it.

I had one "lost" package to Italy end up returned to me seven months later. I hope it had a nice vacation.

jmlanzaf · November 18, 2022 1:45AM

@MasonG said:
Canada and UK were the most high maintenance. Canadians regularly wanted me to mark the package as a gift and the UKers wanted me to put a low value on it.

I had one "lost" package to Italy end up returned to me seven months later. I hope it had a nice vacation.

I have always simply refused the gift and fake value request. No one ever argues as they know it is illegal.

telephoto1 · November 18, 2022 9:04AM

Funny how Italy was mentioned. An experience shipping there proved to actually be the final straw for us. I hear that their customs officials have very nice collections. Had multiple Canada problems also.
Frankly we don't need the hassle and haven't noticed any change in prices realized for apples-apples items (laying aside the occasional normal market fluctuations, which have nothing to do with where the item ships). We don't do as much eBay as we used to anyway, as (knock on wood) we have a relatively stable local market for most of our inventory and usually only use that venue to spin off extras or oddballs.
Edit to add... we never lied on customs forms for anyone either, although the request was made multiple times. Again, another hassle with international we didn't need.

WCC · November 18, 2022 6:52PM

@LanceNewmanOCC said:

i do concede for higher dollar items, i could use the program where i ship to an ebay center and let them take it from there but is probably a bit more hassle to figure the ins and outs and if i had someone just sit down and do it for me and answer a few questions, i'd probably do it. still may but need to find some videos explaining the fees/stipulations etc.

I doubt there are that many countries where buyers consistently pay more than those based in the US. (Yes, I know it varies by sale.) I mostly sold to South Africa where there was (and maybe still is) a noticeable gap between local and international prices but don't buy those coins anymore.

MasonG · November 18, 2022 6:54PM

@jmlanzaf said:

@MasonG said:
Canada and UK were the most high maintenance. Canadians regularly wanted me to mark the package as a gift and the UKers wanted me to put a low value on it.

I had one "lost" package to Italy end up returned to me seven months later. I hope it had a nice vacation.

I have always simply refused the gift and fake value request. No one ever argues as they know it is illegal.

I did the same thing. I just got tired having to deal with the requests.

edited to add.. I don't do auctions, so I don't really need their bids.

WCC · November 18, 2022 6:55PM

@telephoto1 said:

>

Edit to add... we never lied on customs forms for anyone either, although the request was made multiple times. Again, another hassle with international we didn't need.

I had that happen on occasion, as South Africa had (has) a 14% VAT. My favorite part was that though unstated, I knew they also wanted me to ship it at my risk, not theirs.

jmlanzaf · November 18, 2022 7:19PM

@WCC said:

@LanceNewmanOCC said:

i do concede for higher dollar items, i could use the program where i ship to an ebay center and let them take it from there but is probably a bit more hassle to figure the ins and outs and if i had someone just sit down and do it for me and answer a few questions, i'd probably do it. still may but need to find some videos explaining the fees/stipulations etc.

I doubt there are that many countries where buyers consistently pay more than those based in the US. (Yes, I know it varies by sale.) I mostly sold to South Africa where there was (and maybe still is) a noticeable gap between local and international prices but don't buy those coins anymore.

It depends on what you are selling. There are numerous coins that sell far better overseas than in the US. And when you add other things like stamps and comics, the rest of the world can be a far richer market.

There are several slabbed comics that I routinely sell to the UK even though they cost under $100 and shipping is $25. No one in the US buys them even though US shipping is FREE. So they are willing to pay at least 25% more.

eBay Buyer thinks eBay pays for lost packages

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