Another Ebay ?? - Is this a "threat"?

[threeboysmom]

Someone recently won an auction of mine for a lot of 13 record albums. She now wants me to ship to Russia by air mail ($40). She claims it will cost her $120 if I ship to her US address & then it gets forwarded to her Russian address. I clearly state in all my auctions that I do NOT ship outside the US. She sent me a very lengthy email and closed with this statement:

"If you agree to ship to Russia, I will waive any claims to damage by post."

What does that mean? Is she really saying what I think she's saying that if I DON'T ship to Russia, she will make a claim that the albums were damaged in transit??

I've already sent her an email saying that I was sorry, but I do not make exceptions. She knew when she was bidding that I do not ship outside US and she CHOSE to bid anyways... that my policy is I will only ship to a US address.

What should I do?

 

[GoodFairies]

I'm pretty sure she means that if you do her the favor of shipping it the way she wants it shipped, and it gets damaged, then she will eat the cost and you don't have to worry about it.

 

[C.Ann]

I would NOT ship to her - period.. Simply by making such a statement (and IGNORING your TOS) she has indicated that she could be a "problem" buyer..

 

[ksoehrlein]

Keep in mind that you do NOT have to honor her winning the auction. She did not abide by the rules you had set out at the start -- you do not ship outside the US. You can forward her e-mail to eBay, follow the proper channels they recommend, and do a Second Chance offer to the next highest bidder.

Good luck.

 

[hulabird]

While I know you want to make the sale, I would protect yourself by not shipping to her at all. As others have indicated, she could be a potential problem in the long run and another headache you don't need. I wish some pixie dust on you to sell those albums to someone else really soon that abides by your rules.

 

[mep319]

"Post" almost everywhere outside of the US means "mail".

"If you agree to ship to Russia, I will waive any claims to damage by post."

Or "if you agree to ship to Russia, I will waive any claims to damage by mail."

She means she will not charge back if they are damaged in transit. I haven't sold in awhile on ebay but some of my best customers were out of the US. It really isn't that difficult and you open your market up. I really would consider it. Please remember English is not their native language and they may use words that may be confusing. To prevent any problems for charge backs...I would insist on using western union auction payments. There is no fee to you and it is as painless as paypal. If she agreed to do that then I would ship to her. Be sure to get a quote from US post office or Fed Ex before giving her a shipping quote if you decide to do it. Good luck! And I hope you consider it!

 

[DianeV]

I agree with mep..this was not a threat but a way of working it out so she can get the records.

Its not hard to ship international and if she is willing to take the risk I would go ahead and do it.

 

[threeboysmom]

I always understood that if I shipped outside of the US then I would not be protected under Paypal's Seller Protection policy. Doesn't anybody worry about this?

I really don't like it when people don't follow a set of rules clearly set out for them when bidding, and then they expect you to make an exception just for them.... Am I overreacting? Why didn't she email me when she was considering bidding & asking for permission before placing a bid & winning one of my auctions? Just seems like common courtesy to me...

 

[Tinkerbutt]

Maybe she didn't read it carefully...maybe she didn't understand, she is Russian after all. I've bid on things and had it cancelled....when I was newer...cancelled for not enough feedback etc...even though it clearly stated that. I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt. I certainly wouldn't look at it as not following the "rules". And frequently people are very strick in their posting of an item only to "bend" the rules with a simple email. As mep319 said before...if concerned about Paypal do Western Union Auction payments. Check her feedback and the feedback she left...that usually is a good indication of what she will do and of course save the email.

 

[inkkognito]

Personally I would be leery of shipping to someone in Russia because it is a country with a high incidence of internet fraud (auction and otherside. If she did not understand your terms, that is her problem...why let her try to turn it back on you? Just politely but firmly explain that you were clear about the terms and you are sorry if she misunderstood, but you do not go against your policies.
When I bid on an item from a non-US seller (did it once), I make sure that they are willing to ship to the US. I bought an item from Germany and actually received it faster than some items I've bought within the US!
Barb

 

[C.Ann]

Originally posted by inkkognito
Personally I would be leery of shipping to someone in Russia because it is a country with a high incidence of internet fraud (auction and otherside. If she did not understand your terms, that is her problem...why let her try to turn it back on you? Just politely but firmly explain that you were clear about the terms and you are sorry if she misunderstood, but you do not go against your policies.

Barb

--------------------------------------

I have read quite a bit about this internet fraud and hacking of accounts originating in Russia - as well as several other foreign countries - and agree with Barb..

I also would not allow myself to be pressured by someone who CHOSE not to follow my TOS.. A language "barrier" is a poor excuse.. If a person doesn't understand the language well enough to understand "I do not ship outside of the US" then they have no business budding to begin with..

And yes - Paypal could do a charge back and it could tie up your account for a length of time..

 

[DMRick]

If you are not comfortable shipping to Russia (and since you say US only, that tells me you don't want to ship out of the states), then I would just say no. You are not under protection with paypal, so that is a consideration...although I ship to Russia with no problems..but my items aren't very costly.
I did just have my first paypal chargeback, and all that happened is they took out the amount of the item..nothing else was frozen. And it turned out to be an error..Paypal gave me back the money within a couple of days.

 

[threeboysmom]

Thanks everyone! I have decided to stick with my policy & ship only to her US address. She is NOT very happy with me and has given me a HUGE list of instructions to follow in packaging the albums. I have a strong feeling I am going to get a negative feedback out of this. I'm sure if she looks hard enough, she will find something wrong with either the packaging or one of the records....

If she continues to make things difficult (& she hasn't paid yet), should I go ahead & cancel her winning bid? Will she then be able to leave me negative feedback? Could she retaliate in any way?

Thanks for walking me through this. Normally, I just sell used clothing & books on ebay. This is the first time I've run into a serious "collector".

 

[Puffy2]

Just make sure that you buy INSURANCE for this item - even if she didn't purchase insurance - that way if there is any complaint after she can take it up with the post office and not you.

I did this recently on a sale because the buyer was being a pain in the you know what.

If people can't agree to the terms listed in an an auction they shouldn't bid to begin with. I have no patience with these people who bid, win and then have the nerve to complain about shipping costs etc... (if it's stated plainly in the auction either they agree to it or they don't!) Good luck.

 

[DianeV]

I personally think you made the wrong decision and I have over 4000 feedback on ebay both buying and selling.

Opening yourself up to intl. customers can help you make alot more money as they generally cannot get many items there.

If you were worried about the Paypal think you could have insisted on Bidpay or a money order

 

[floridagirrl2]

You are completely within your rights to refuse to ship and to file an NPB. However, she can still give you a negative whether you decide to ship to her or not. You can also give her a negative.

It's one thing to ship to Canada, Europe, Japan, Australia, etc. It is quite another thing to ship to Russia, which has very convoluted restrictions on what can be shipped in and which is basically run by organized crime, with a high fraud/mail theft rate. If your terms of service states "USA bidders only" you are covered. If you state "USA addresses only" things are a little stickier. However, there is no way I'd accept a Paypal payment that was not protected by Paypal's Seller Protection Policy.

 

[crazee4mickey]

I would be leary in a case like this--maybe this is legitimate but I question it!
I had an auction where the buyer was from a US address but wanted it shipped up here to Canada saying he wanted it at his brother's because it would be cheaper. I was concerned as it was for a $300 video game system and games.
I did some "digging" and found there to be no person/brother by the name he was giving in New Brunswick where he wanted item shipped, his user name gave an address in Minnesota and the credit card was from Texas with someone else's name! I reported to eBay and it was fraud--he was buying up high priced goods with someone's credit card!
Who knows though, maybe you won't get "burned" but your auction stated you would not ship outside US--better to be safe than sorry!

 

[autumnblue]

Just a side but... why would it cost her $80 more to ship to Russia? You shouldn't have to bend just to avoid negative feedback. I always research negative feedback on sellers and when it something like this I don't even blink an eye.


Autumn