posted on September 18, 2000 07:42:12 AM
I have a winner of my auction who lives in Germany. Apparently they did not notice that I only ship in the US. Of course there is no way to consumate the sale. What should I do? If I relist will I have to pay a fee again? Should I contact e-Bay?
Please help!?
posted on September 18, 2000 07:53:14 AM
Don't give up the ship yet! Many US military personnel have APO addresses which are considered US mailing addresses (with US postage rates). The military then forwards the package to the buyer in Germany. Just a thought...
posted on September 18, 2000 07:59:51 AM
This happens often with my wife's auctions and always the bidder abroad really does want the item.A nice email to winning bidder is in order to rectify this situation.Most apologize and are willing to send proper shipping fee's; Only it takes a little longer to receive payment.If time is a factor on your part and you wish to only sell to US bidder;Procede with emailing the bidder and state that you only sell in USA.Also they may have a US address to send item..Find out all details first.If you have a backup bidder that only missed it by a $1 or so contact them and tell them of situation with the auction..Be sure to clear up matters with the person in Germany 1st. Personally if not to much money involved? I'd take their bid.Good Luck
posted on September 18, 2000 02:00:19 PM
Why is there 'no way' to consumate this sale??? Is this an article that is prohibited to be sold outside the USA, or are you just too lazy to go through a little extra effort to make a sale???
posted on September 18, 2000 02:39:37 PM
I have a CD running right now where the high bidder appears to be in Italy. When I get a bidder like this I let it ride and calculate the shipping accordingly. You have to be careful about calculating shipping, and the process is a lot slower, but I've had many international bidders send cash.
posted on September 18, 2000 09:06:21 PM
No I'm not to lazy RB. the item was only $2.50. It would be more than 10 times this much to send it to them. I figured it would not be worth it just to buy a baby outfit!!!!
Next time keep your not to bright comments to yourself!!!!
posted on September 18, 2000 09:22:12 PM
I have had this happen all to often. If they say they really would like the item, I let them know the shipping, and go ahead and ship it. Most overseas buyers know how much shipping will be, and do not mind paying it, because they do not have access to the item where they are at. But it is your call, you can also just say sorry, I only ship to the U.S.
Good luck!
posted on September 18, 2000 09:28:06 PM
I had a similar situation when I first started selling full-time 6 mos. ago. I did not sell intl. and had someone from GB bid on an item. I e-mailed her and explained why I didn't like to sell intl. i.e. shippimg charges, length of time, etc. but told her if she really wanted to bid to let her know up front the shipping for a $15.00 item. She agreed, won the auction, paid promptly and guess what? She is now a regular customer to whom I have sold over $800.00 in merchandise! Needless to say, I ship intl. to anyone who is willing to pay!
P.S.- Being open to intl. bids increases multiple bids on items!
posted on September 19, 2000 09:11:43 AM
ship it. i had the same thing happen to me, but i figured as long as they bid, i'd send it. she paid cash, and very quickly, i might add. this buyer was the reason i quit putting 'u.s. only' in my auctions.
posted on September 19, 2000 09:42:27 AM
A policy of only shipping to US bidders is like a store posting a sign on the door reading "only US customers allowed." That's a dumb business philosophy and one that will lower the number of bids you receive. I've never had a foreign bidder be anything than cordial, quick paying and thrilled to get the item.
Some of my boneheaded US buyers could take a lesson from those who bid from outside the US.
posted on September 19, 2000 03:26:48 PM
Don't feel intimidated by people jumping on you for not selling internationally. My auctions say 'US only' and have had three international winners. Two backed out when they heard how much shipping was (and I don't blame them - it's incredibly high) while the third was very nice. It cost him $29 dollars to buy a $25 dollar book (he was in England).
For the small ticket stuff I sell, it's not worth all the hassle.
If this person seems nice and you want to be nice, then go ahead. If not, don't feel bad about cancelling the sale and filing for credit with eBay. The buyer should have read your TOS and should have written first to check if it was ok.
posted on September 19, 2000 09:24:41 PM
I guess I'm going to weigh in on the side of the minority on this one. Don't be too mean to me!
As a very small time seller with a very full time job outside of ebay, I often choose US only because of the time factor. Sometimes it can be several days before I can get to a post office to get a shipping quote for international buyers and then often a return trip to actually buy the postage and put it in the mail and oftentimes fill out customs forms. Living in a big city, this can be a huge hassle battling traffic and it does make the sale worthwhile when all is said and done. Personlly, I find domestic postage is much easier to figure out (especially with Priority Mail) and usually I can easily throw postage on it and just drop it in the mail at my work or my building.
In addition, payment can become a very large problem unless you are willing to incur fees at your bank cashing international money orders or paying for a "better account." Some sellers will only accept US cash, but I don't feel right REQUIRING cash to be sent through multiple mail systems. I know that sometimes I am missing potential bidders because of my policy, but it is an option I'm given.
As for those international buyers who bid on your auctions anyway, I nice note to them explaining the situation usually engenders an apology AND an ample time allowance or an apology and a heartfelt story that makes you want to send the item anyway!
posted on September 19, 2000 10:38:22 PM
It would seem to me, humble little me,that people would get to vote on this one IF they were partners in rtribe1's business.
As an enthusiastic international shipper, I can say that many overseas bidders are wonderful, and are willing to pay extra for seemingly insignificant items. BUT I will not pretend there are not downsides to shipping internationally. For me, the real problem is getting to the post office on time, in person, to send international shipments. I manage, but it's not always easy.
I've never had a bidder try to force an expensive form of payment on me, but alhogarth is right; my last international transaction was $14 with shipping; it would have cost $15 to cash that check at my bank. (That buyer, by the way, paid $7 global priority plus $5 bidpay fee to get an item that was overpriced at the $7 final bid. Don't jump on me! I made sure there were some "extras" in the package to make up for it.)
But anyway. I'm digressing. Here's my point: Auction terms are auction terms. There are good reasons for not shipping internationally, and bidders should respect a seller's wishes and at least ask before they bid against the terms.
edited to add: Rtribe1 the answer to your question is this: You can file for final value fee by going here: http://pages.ebay.com/services/buyandsell/finalfee.html . Using the reason "buyer failed to comply with auction terms" will probably wrap the whole thing up pretty quick.
[ edited by msincognito on Sep 19, 2000 10:46 PM ]
posted on September 19, 2000 11:38:11 PM
This also has happened to me. The high bidder was from Germany. He was very polite about it. He asked me if it was possible to ship it to him in Germany if he paid the extra cost. If it was not possible, than I could have shipped it to his relative in U.S. I shipped it to him in Germany. Heck I ship it anywhere if the winner is willing to pay the cost. By the way, he sent me a draft on a US Bank in Texas.
Now my auctions read, International buyers must pay me with an international MO drawn on US funds.
I am now waiting for a payment from Japan. The woman is sending me payment via Air Japan (I can image the expense of that). However, I am sending the package to California. My point is this, don't assume anything. If the winner is willing to bear the cost, and pay in US funds, than ship it!!
Edited for something stupid!!
[ edited by bargainluverinpa on Sep 19, 2000 11:39 PM ]
[ edited by bargainluverinpa on Sep 19, 2000 11:42 PM ]
posted on September 20, 2000 04:47:18 AM
Just a comment from "down under" I was searching through ebay (items available to Australia) for a CD that I really wanted and there it was, so without reading too closely I hit the bid button.
Later on the item had vanished from ebay Australia wasn't there so I entered the lot number and it came up as shipping to Europe only (seller was in Germany). I contacted ebay Australia who indicated it was a glitch in the system.
Maybe the foreign bidder genuinely placed a bid believing it was OK to do so.
Reading "msincognito's" comments Do US Banks charge to cash a Bidpay US$ MO?
I use Bidpay a lot and would be hoirrified that the seller was charged to cash a MO in their own currency.
posted on September 20, 2000 05:36:14 AM
When I first started out this happened to me and I had no idea how much extra the shipping would be. It was only like a $10 item and I said oh, just throw in an extra dollar. Turned out it cost $15 to ship the widget. I honored what I said and the buyer left me good feedback (I should think) but never offered to pay the extra. On the other hand, I had another international buyer who did very politely email me and ask if I would consider shipping the item to him and asked what the charge would be. Because he was so polite, I did go to the extra effort to find out for him. He did keep bidding but didn't end up winning the auction. I don't want to do this all the time, that is why my TOS is the way it is, but occasionally if someone international wants my little widget that badly I don't mind finding out the shipping for them. Everybody's situation is different, though, I do have a partner who can run the errand for me.
posted on September 20, 2000 06:53:35 AM
This is turning into another one of those International/No International discussions. My orignial comment was based on rtribe1's statement "Of course there is no way to consumate the sale."
rtribe1 - Whether you ship internationally or not, the fact, of course, is that there IS a way to cosumate this sale - you just don't want to do it ...
posted on September 20, 2000 07:03:21 AM
Thank you all for the comments. I am new to selling on e-Bay and did not want to ship international yet becase of the time in getting a bid on postage and payment factor. Yes I do want to close he sale but felt more comfortable dealing with U.S. customer in the beginning. I am selling baby clothes, girls clothes and misc. I have a full-time job. I am not trying to be a full-time e-bayer, yet .
P.S. She had a domestic address. It just took her 1 week to get back to me with it!
uh huh. that's what i thought! 