eBay Sellers: Why Don't You Ship Worldwide?

braddick · December 6, 2005 1:09AM

I've been wondering why sellers on eBay won't offer their coins worldwide. I find that when you do you get a ton more hits (and bids) and generally it's a U.S. bidder that wins anyway.

I've shipped to about ten different countries over the years and have never had a problem with either the coin not arriving or the bidder not happy.

What are your reasons, if you don't ship worldwide, why?

Gandyjai · December 6, 2005 1:18AM

I've heard nightmarish rumors about the insurance.....although, I'm really not sure how true they are

I have had people from other countries email me and express interest in a particular item
and ask if it would be OK to bid on it......I have never turned one down.

In fact, I have met one of my better customers that way (from Germany).

Brian

I LOVE

IKE ERRORS!

joeyuk · December 6, 2005 1:19AM

Basically ignorance. or maybe lazy. you hear about customs paperwork to be filled out. Some items can't be shipped to some places. Legalities if a charge back is done. Is there delivery confirmation for overseas? It seems easier to ship to only U.S. then learn the other ins and outs. Joe

jayboxx · December 6, 2005 1:19AM

I haven't sold much on Ebay, but I did have an auction that was open to US only, and quite a few people outside the US bid on it anyway (the top 3 bidders were outside the US). The top bidder was in England, who then decided not to pay so I filed a non-payment complaint. After a week or so, he decided to pay for the item, then I had to go through the customs crap and such, and the insurance was weird for the UK shipment (and probably worse for more backwater places) don't know if was worth it other than he bid a couple of hundred higher than the best US bid. I might consider opening bids to other outside the U.S. in the future.

markglicker · December 6, 2005 1:20AM

Perhaps I should give it a try, again. The biggest problems were, Paypal would not provide confirmed adddress's, and the shipping was a PITA.

Scavenger · December 6, 2005 1:20AM

You're right, I have never had a problem either. As long as you have the cash in hand before shipping the item there is no risk. Of course you have to properly insure / certify overseas shipments.

braddick · December 6, 2005 1:25AM

<< Perhaps I should give it a try, again. The biggest problems were, Paypal would not provide confirmed adddress's, and the shipping was a PITA. >>

Not enough U.S. sellers of coins on eBay allow other countries to bid. When you open up your auctions then foreign eBay users see your auctions where otherwise they wouldn't.

More eyes on your auctions and more hits translate, generally, to higher bids.
Again, out of say twenty auctions closing sometimes one will be to a foreign country, in my experience. Sometimes none, but each auction will generally have bids from these outside countries.

The friendliest customers too are these foreign bidders.
I've yet to have a bad experience, knock on wood. That's not to say it won't happen one day though.

jayboxx · December 6, 2005 1:27AM

Not enough U.S. sellers of coins on eBay allow other countries to bid. When you open up your auctions then foreign eBay users see your auctions where otherwise they wouldn't.

Hmm, on the auction I was talking about previously I had quite a few foreign bidders even though it was offered to the US only, wonder how they saw it?

dthigpen · December 6, 2005 1:28AM

If I sold on Ebay, I would make it a policy to only ship to Little Rock, AK. Of course, that's probably why I don't sell on Ebay.

VamGuy · December 6, 2005 1:29AM

How would one go about safely shipping a $500.00 coin overseas???

Safely meaning the seller is reasonably protected agains chargebacks, customs problems, & disappearing coins.

braddick · December 6, 2005 1:29AM

<< Not enough U.S. sellers of coins on eBay allow other countries to bid. When you open up your auctions then foreign eBay users see your auctions where otherwise they wouldn't. Hmm, on the auction I was talking about previously I had quite a few foreign bidders even though it was offered to the US only, wonder how they saw it? >>

You didn't set your default correctly with eBay. If you truly want to block foreign bids, you can.

If you don't set it correctly then eBay allows your auctions to be seen in other countries too.

jayboxx · December 6, 2005 1:29AM

If I sold on Ebay, I would make it a policy to only ship to Little Rock, AK. Of course, that's probably why I don't sell on Ebay.

I don't think there is a Little Rock in Alaska...

dthigpen · December 6, 2005 1:30AM

<< If I sold on Ebay, I would make it a policy to only ship to Little Rock, AK. Of course, that's probably why I don't sell on Ebay.

I don't think there is a Little Rock in Alaska... >>

Exactly!

questor54 · December 6, 2005 1:31AM

<< How would one go about safely shipping a $500.00 coin overseas???

Safely meaning the seller is reasonably protected agains chargebacks, customs problems, & disappearing coins. >>

Registered airmail is the only way to go!

jayboxx · December 6, 2005 1:32AM

How would one go about safely shipping a $500.00 coin overseas???

How about one of higher value? The item I shipped to the UK could only be insured up to $857, luckily the guy only bid $847

poorguy · December 6, 2005 1:33AM

We ship worldwide and have never had problems before. I've shipped to Australia, Spain, Germany, and the UK. Oh and this nice fellow from Nigeria who had a collegue in the US pay for his item via an eCheck.

markglicker · December 6, 2005 1:33AM

Braddick, I have shipped out of the U.S. on perhaps 6 occasions. 5 had some type of hinderance. One silver bar never made it to Canada (I ate that one). A couple packages made it to Europe, in 6 weeks, I had to keep fielding inquiries, during that period. Unless Paypal has altered their policies, they give very little protection, to non U.S. sales, I find that to be the biggest problem.

rollingcoins · December 6, 2005 1:34AM

I ship via Priority Mail because it is quick, shipping supplies are free and delivered to my door, and I can print postage at home and avoid trips to the post office. I also avoid customs forms by shipping to US addresses only. Many countries prohibit shipping coins, currency, gold, silver, etc. USPS Index of Countries Perhaps I get fewer bids, but there seem to be plenty of buyers in the US.

jayboxx · December 6, 2005 1:36AM

Oh and this nice fellow from Nigeria who had a collegue in the US pay for his item via an eCheck

Did he also offer to give you 10% to transfer money from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company?

weresteve · December 6, 2005 1:39AM

<< If I sold on Ebay, I would make it a policy to only ship to Little Rock, AK. Of course, that's probably why I don't sell on Ebay. >>

Yup ... especially since Little Rock is a few thousand miles from Alaska ... learn to get your state abbreviations right ...

RpmHunter · December 6, 2005 1:41AM

I sold a $100 proof set to a guy from Hong Kong on ebay. He insisted multiple times not to add insurance or any indication of value on the package. He claimed that most insured items never reach their destination. I suspect this may also be the case in several other countries.

dthigpen · December 6, 2005 1:41AM

<< 

<< If I sold on Ebay, I would make it a policy to only ship to Little Rock, AK. Of course, that's probably why I don't sell on Ebay. >>

Yup ... especially since Little Rock is a few thousand miles from Alaska ... learn to get your state abbreviations right ...

>>

(Pssst, that was the point.)

CarlWohlforth · December 6, 2005 1:46AM

I ship worldwide. Someone in Portugal never claimed their coin from customs. I guess they didn't want to pay the duty. I had coins lost on the way to Hawaii, but that is a US state.

Insurance is not available to many places. I make sure the funds are clear before I ship to those places. I also make sure the winner knows I will not be responsible for lost packages in those cases.

I try to ship Registered when I can but it is expensive and I don't automatically pay for it. I strongly suggest the bidders pay for Registered.

PayPal is not available everywhere. I am currently doing business with a fellow from Macau. He pays by check in US funds.

I enjoy communicating with people from around the world. For that alone I am willing to fill out a customs form...

jayboxx · December 6, 2005 1:50AM

I had some friends that were assigned to Costa Rica for business. They said that any packages that were sent to them arrived opened, and missing items.

UncleJoe · December 6, 2005 2:04AM

Don't want to be bothered with the possible additional pitfalls.

Joe.

291fifth · December 6, 2005 2:15AM

When I recently sold my ancient Roman coins I offered them worldwide. About 70% went to overseas buyers. All were sent by registered mail (it was required, not an option) and I made it clear in the item description that all shipments outside the US, whether fully insured or not, were at the buyer's risk. For most countries, approx. $43.00 is all the insurance you can get on a registered package!

Always use registered mail. For most countries, it is the only permissible way to send collectible coins.

airplanenut · December 6, 2005 2:33AM

I primarily don't ship worldwide because of time... much of what I sell is consigned, and I want to get paid so my consignor can get paid... lagging payment and shipping times due to international mail just slow things down. Additionally, there's a lot more security shipping within the US. That said, I haven't turned down anyone who's asked, and when I've been consigned coins that have a large world-wide collector base, I shipped worldwide. It was fine, but everything took longer, and postage costs were far higher.

Jeremy

Longacre · December 6, 2005 2:43AM

I sold one non-numismatic item to someone in Australia, even though I put that I would only ship to the US. He sent me a question during the auction asking if I would ship worldwide, and I said "no", and I told him specifically not to bid. He did and ended up winning. Although I was pretty annoyed, I shipped it to him and there were no problems. He paid the full shipping, insurance, etc.

Lakesammman · December 6, 2005 2:47AM

Only down side is the shipping - a real pain, especially for cheap items.

grip · December 6, 2005 2:50AM

<< I had some friends that were assigned to Costa Rica for business. They said that any packages that were sent to them arrived opened, and missing items. >>

Thats just what happened to me, twice.Customs stole the coins.

.Than you must wait 90
days to collect.Not to mention all the paper work..Just not worth it.
Al

TwoSides2aCoin · December 6, 2005 3:15AM

I listed worldwide for a while. I have bought worldwide also. Received two of three fake Gold Indians from overseas, as well as a trade dollar and seated liberty dollar. Total losses by fraud from foreigners : $1147.50

Recourse ? NONE

I sold four items to someone in Spain who insisted on the cheapest method of shipping, wanted me to pack all four items he won into one box, then after three months claimed I never sent the items and stole his money. He left me four negative feedbacks....even after I sent him $15, just to round it off, to accomodate HIS stupidity in the first place. These were three US MINT MEDALS and one Token from New Mexico. The total cost of all items won, plus shipping: $13.09

RECOURSE ? Convinced the buyer to FINALLY withdraw such disparaging comments on FEEDBACK board.

Total cost in dealing with foreigners ? BAD TASTE IN MOUTH, and a bad memory to boot and a few donated coins to the ANA for use in teaching others how to spot fakes.

Let's throw out the grading costs, plus the Presidential Review fees at PCGS.... that was another hundy or so.

It only takes a few bad apples to spoil the whole bunch.

These are my reasons I don't deal with WORLDWIDE anymore. I am just a local boy, enjoying life in Nebraska, and don't really care to go GLOBAL in the Coin Market.

Great Post, Braddick. I found a place where I can warn others of the lack of PROTECTION there is when dealing with EBAY outside of America. Lets face it, EBAY still comes out smelling like a rose. The fact of the matter is there is no recourse dealing with others in a GLOBAL CYBER ENVIRONMENT if one runs into a crook, thief or liar.

My costs in going worldwide have far outweighed my profits from such. However, nobody said TUITION was cheap !

relayer · December 6, 2005 3:36AM

There are around 300,000,000 people in the US so that's a big enough market for me.

Besides until I checked the hidden "Block bidders not registered in my ship to country list" option, I did sell outside the US

And those nice people are just as cheap as the US bidders

ScarsdaleCoin · December 6, 2005 3:54AM

because each time I sold overseas I had problems....not worth it

BigD5 · December 6, 2005 3:56AM

The biggest problem with shipping worldwide is the inability to apply sufficient insurance on the package ($47 is the typical max. although it can vary).

Toss in Paypal and their lack of seller protection against chargebacks (most foreign addresses are not confirmed) and you get into a "is it really worth the risk" type of thinking.

For those that ship internationally, and mention to the buyer that they (the seller) won't be responsible if the package doesn't arrive, that's all well and good, but if you accept a Paypal payment for that item, what you mentioned is hot air, and you will be (or could be) hit with a chargeback on that transaction.

I tried offering international shipping, but not accepting Paypal payments, and that didn't work either. Too much explaining as to why I wouldn't accept Paypal from out of country customers.

All that said, I have shipped to many countries to customers that can provide solid references, and in that case, it is registered mail only.

I recently received an email from a prospective buyer from England and we will be doing some business in the future as his references checked out and I feel confident we won't have a problem, even if a package turns up "missing", and by that I mean we will be able to work things out in a civil manner if a problem arises.

Barry · December 6, 2005 4:22AM

I've sold a few items overseas, but only those that I think have international appeal, such as Vatican Euro sets.

I don't do it routinely because it's a PITA to ship overseas, as others have said already...
1. Customs form a hassle.
2. Inability to insure for full value in many cases. Need to ship Air Parcel Post (minimum postage ~$20) for ability to insure.
3. Buyer's want you to lie on customs forms and declare minimal value to save on duty. First, it's illegal. Second, then you can't insure it for full value.
4. If you think Paypal overcharges, wait until you get hit with a currency conversion fee, too.
5. No recourse if Paypal reverses payment.

Did I miss anything?

291fifth · December 6, 2005 4:26AM

<< I sold a $100 proof set to a guy from Hong Kong on ebay. He insisted multiple times not to add insurance or any indication of value on the package. He claimed that most insured items never reach their destination. I suspect this may also be the case in several other countries. >>

Probably trying to avoid customs. Always send coins registered and always fill out the customs documents properly. If the buyers don't like it...too bad.

BILLZACH · December 6, 2005 4:30AM

about the only thing i sell is hobo nickels on ebay and about a year ago i started a no fee to the buyer for priority mail shipping and insurance..selling overseas would knock this in the head....i do have my auctions set on , no overseas bidders and bidders with bad feedbacks

WTCG · December 6, 2005 4:30AM

I have had problems with delays at customs (U.S. or abroad) when coins or other numismatic materials are being shipped. However, there have been many times when no problems were encountered.

Last summer I received a group of banknotes from the Monetary Authority of the Kingdom of Bahrain (a Bahraini government agency) that was delayed by Bahrain customs for over THREE YEARS! (parcel was postmarked 6.2.02, and stamped as cleared by Bahrain customs on 6.28.05).

ms70 · December 6, 2005 4:33AM

I find there's a big enough customer base right here in the U.S. I'm satisfied with that & just can't be bothered with the Customs forms.

291fifth · December 6, 2005 4:56AM

<< I find there's a big enough customer base right here in the U.S. I'm satisfied with that & just can't be bothered with the Customs forms. >>

If you are selling US coins this is true. If the coins are ancient or foreign the real market is overseas. Selling overseas can be a pain but usually results in significantly higher realizations.

I also have been selling some better camera equipment and find that the overseas buyers are VERY important if you want decent realizations.

JamminJ · December 6, 2005 5:15AM

When selling world coins you almost have to ship overseas. Had a few go missing but not much worse than the US. Scariest destination: Kazakhstan.

messydesk · December 6, 2005 6:25AM

There are several countries in which the intended recipient is most likely not to receive their shipment. Third-party insurer U-PIC has a list of countries they do not cover for this reason, and I won't ship there.

joemoris · December 11, 2005 11:57PM

I generally charge $12,000 to ship to canada. This is true. Not once have I been taken up on it though. Dont believe me? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8360740348&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MESE:IT&rd=1 oops Link

Dukie101 · December 12, 2005 12:16AM

1. Customs form a hassle.
2. Inability to insure for full value in many cases. Need to ship Air Parcel Post (minimum postage ~$20) for ability to insure.
3. Buyer's want you to lie on customs forms and declare minimal value to save on duty. First, it's illegal. Second, then you can't insure it for full value.
4. If you think Paypal overcharges, wait until you get hit with a currency conversion fee, too.
5. No recourse if Paypal reverses payment.

Two bad experiences selling + one purchase=no outside of U.S. ebay transactions for me.

ebaytrader · December 12, 2005 12:34AM

<< 1. Customs form a hassle.
2. Inability to insure for full value in many cases. Need to ship Air Parcel Post (minimum postage ~$20) for ability to insure.
3. Buyer's want you to lie on customs forms and declare minimal value to save on duty. First, it's illegal. Second, then you can't insure it for full value.
4. If you think Paypal overcharges, wait until you get hit with a currency conversion fee, too.
5. No recourse if Paypal reverses payment. >>

TwoSides2aCoin · December 12, 2005 12:50AM

Hey JoeMoris, you wern't kidding..... ha ha ha, though it's funny.

The following is an excerpt from your auction as it pertains to shipping:

Seller's payment instructions
I will ship and insure for $5.90 and I will overnight for an additional $12. Even though Canada is NOT on delivery list, I will deliver to any part of Canada for $12,000 U.S. That delivery will be in person, hand delivered. Canadian customs is the reason I wont ship to Canada. Blame the RCMP and prior transactions/shipments to Canada that have gone awry. On the good side, if you do pay the delivery fee in full, I will be extra nice when I show up at your door in person.

from one friendly nation to another ... See what NAFTA started ? North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement isn't so free, is it ?

AuldFartte · December 12, 2005 1:09AM

I used to ship anywhere, but the hassles became too much, especially shipping requirements, customs, etc., but the main reason I quit is because I started having items "disappear" in overseas mail shipments. I think it's because, on the customs forms, I was required to list the specific items (the P.O. would not allow the phrase "Numismatic Items") on the form.

grip · December 12, 2005 1:55AM

AD
You are correct.You must put US coins,than the price of the coin.Than customs see's it,and
it's gone.
Al

Frankcoins · December 12, 2005 10:01PM

The indemnity limit for US registered mail to foreign countries other than Canada
is about $40. Sometimes additional insurance is available, often not. And many countries
prohibit importation of coins.

Check the terms to Saudi Arabia:

Postal Explorer > International Mail Manual - Issue 31 > Country Conditions for Mailing - Saudi Arabia

Country Conditions for Mailing - Saudi Arabia
Prohibitions (130)

Arms, munitions, and war material.

Books and prints contrary to the Islamic faith.

Coins, banknotes; currency notes (paper money); securities of any kind payable to bearer; traveler's checks; platinum, gold, and silver (manufactured or not); precious stones; jewelry; and other valuable articles.

Perishable infectious biological substances.

Radioactive materials.

Restrictions

Medicines and medical products are not admissible, unless accompanied by a medical prescription issued by a competent authority. Letter packages, small packets, postal parcels, registered items, and EMS shipments are all subject to that documentation requirement.

Recorded tapes (cassettes) are not admitted in registered mail. Such items are admitted only in ordinary mail.

Special Services

Certificate of Mailing See 313 for fees

COD and Certified NOT Available

Insurance NOT Available

International Business Reply Service (373)
Fee: Envelopes up to 2 ounces $1.20; Cards $0.80

International Money Order NOT Available

Recorded Delivery NOT Available

Registered Mail Fee: $7.50
Maximum Indemnity: $43.93

Available for letter-post mail, including post/postal
cards, aerogrammes, and matter for the blind.

Restricted Delivery NOT Available

eBay Sellers: Why Don't You Ship Worldwide?

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