Shipping coins overseas

JamesMurray

Ive a question for the more experienced ebayers about shipping costs and ebay policies , i'm usually pretty up on things but this one caught me offguard.
Firstly i need to say i'm not the seller involved , it's a good friend of mine in the UK who is new to ebay and has been selling some fantastic coins of which almost all are scarce.

He emailed me this morning to say he won't be selling anymore due to US buyer who won a modestly priced coin and now disputes the shipping costs.My buddy charges 5 pounds whether you buy one coin or half a dozen coins , it's to cover signature confirmation costs to the US.
This buyer paypaled him 2 pounds and lectured him on having been around the block and how they know what shipping costs are etc , if i get the ebayers name you can bet i'll post it as its absolutely disgusting to play an old man like this.

What i need is some advice on what can the seller do to prevent the obvious neg that's coming ? Ive already said he needs to speak to ebay customer service but he has zero confidence in them for which i can't say i blame him. How can a buyer change the invoice and pay less in the first place is a great question and what can he do about it ? Thanks for your time

FilthyBroke

If I had that issue, I'd start putting the cost of shipping in with the sale price (unless it was an auction). I gotta say, 5 euros isn't bad for shipping. I usually pay 8-10 euros from France, and have no issue with it.

I hope one bad egg doesn't spoil it for him, there are some decent people here, too. Ebay should fix it for the seller, but I ain't makin' no promises. I can't see where the buyer can change the terms after agreeing on the sale, he should have worked that out before commiting.

Added-- He really should give Ebay's customer service a try, and mention to them that the full agreed-upon price wan't met, and I'll bet they'll fix it where the buyer can't leave a neg at all. If they won't fix it, I'd take the neg, block the buyer, and not ship the item unless the buyer decided to man up and pay his bill.

JamesMurray

Thanks FB , it's a strange one for sure , i looked at his auction and it clearly says shipping to Europe only , i don't see how anyone from here could have bid as i know usually a box appears saying about where it ships to and if a bidder is outwith it doesnt accept the bid.
It's for sure it's happened though , i bid on his coins but was given the exemption to do so but had to ask first which wasn't the case with this bidder.
I was hoping to bring my buddy here to learn a little but so far i don't think he did , maybe just lurking , so come on Harry , if you are lurking , chime in.

FilthyBroke

You're right, if he has his auctions set for UK only, we can't bid unless the seller drops the blocked location on his auction. That's how I understand it, anyway.

coinpictures

eBay's shipping configurations are so wonky that if you don't set them juuuuuuust right, there can be a cascading avalanche of problems with different destinations, shipping services, and order combinations.

That's why I don't rely on the "selectable" options, but also spell out a shipping chart in the listing.

Also, in this case, if the buyer had issues or uncertainty with the shipping charges, they should have (1) inquired before bidding/buying, or (2) not bid.

Shortchanging a seller after the fact, after they have in effect agreed to pay the associated costs of the transaction is dirty pool and certainly worthy of being blocked.

I have no problem with someone inquiring about or objecting to my stated shipping rates... BEFORE they hit the button.

Stork

If the buyer only sent 2 pounds and not 5 then the buyer did not meet the payment requirements for the auction. I suspect that he could file a non-paying bidder type dispute, though he probably needs to return the payment, and that should hopefully make it so the bidder can't leave feedback.

I'm speculating on this and perhaps someone with more selling experience can chime in.

ccrdragon

as long as he returns the current payment he should be able to file a NPB srtike against the bidder. He can also return the payment and cancel the auction (I believe) and that would prevent the buyer from leaving feedback.

if you can, get the email from Harry so that we can see exactly what the buyer said about the payment and what he would/would not do.

JCMhouston

Unfortunately any idiot with a computer can bid on ebay. I'd try to cancel the sale and return the money, if that's not possible then file a Non paying bidder complaint with ebay.

JamesMurray

Thanks everybody , i forwarded the advice to Harry , no reply as yet but i agree with refunding the person and calling it quits. I think coinpictures is right , somehow the bidder got in under the wire.I can't see who the bidder was , only that they only ever bid on coins from Asia , in this case a silver coin of the British Empire.I think Harry was so mad he walked away from the computer back to the real world . . . and the pub likely.
I do understand a bit more that if an overseas seller has settings to lets say Europe only and a US bidder ( or vice versa ) bids and wins and goes to the payment page it will say the seller has not entered an amount and gives the buyer an opportunity to put in the amount and pay.

SaorAlba

We have all been there, my no ships are usually in the UK - so I have a string of UK based contacts that will facilitate receiving and then sending the item to moi. Italy is the only country I will not ship to.

farthing

Charging 5 pounds for signed-for shipping is more than reasonable. The most common shipping charge I encounter for items shipped from England is 6 pounds.

JamesMurray

Aye , i feel bad for him but like Saor Alba says , it happens and we've all been there.Ive always found him more than just fair as he always adds a few wee extras that are usually very unusual and great condition. I'd hoped to get him to come to the forum as he is a decent bloke but i don't think he is computer savvy and the bad vibes from ebay may put an end to things.