Buyer from Denmark won my Auction! Need help!!

[disneymom3]

I have state in my auctions ship to US only. I know that it is not THAT much more to ship to another country, but the point is they ignored that. I had someone else this week on another auction that emailed and asked if I would ship to Canada and since they asked (before they bid) I said yes. I may have agreed to this, but didn't have the chance as I just got an email today saying they needed to know the extra shipping charges.

Right now, I have an email composed but not sent stating. "Please read the terms of the auction. I ship to US only. Sorry for any inconvenience." So, what do I do next? I am not annoyed enough to file and NPB, but at the same time, I am going to be stuck paying the fees and I don't think that is fair. I know there is an option to both agree not to fulfill the auction but do I get any fees back that way. I will of course, relist this item as I do want to sell it.

How annoying. This was going to be my little blitz for extra $ before our trip.

 

[sk!mom]

Since they sent an email offering to pay the additional shipping- I would figure out what it is, let them pay it, and ship it to them rather than bother relisting,etc...

If you don't want to do that - then send your email and relist.

 

[kat3668]

I had a buyer that won a throw from me and it was VERY expensive to ship it to him.....If they are willing to pay the shipping I say let them have it ... its not that big a deal to fill out customs form...

 

[disneymom3]

The problem with that is that we have a very small post office and with the new stamp price, they have been quite crowded lately. I strongly prefer to use the automated shipping machine in the lobby and you can't ship internationally and use that. I refuse to stand in line just because this person didn't read the auction. (Yes, I said I would for that other person, but they asked first and they didn't win anyway.)

What it comes down to is this person ignored the terms and I don't think I should just have to do it just because they didn't follow the rules and thereby inconvenience myself. I am not shipping it to them and am wondering if someone can tell me what I need to do next.


ETA--after much searching I have found the answer to my question. Thanks!

 

[connorsmom911]

Being in Canada and both buying and selling on ebay, I've never really understood sellers being so adamant about not shipping to other countries. I always ask first before bidding what the shipping costs will be as I expect them to be more than shipping within the US, but correct me if I'm wrong, is it really that much more of a hassle to ship outside the US? I mean, the only extra work is the 15 seconds it takes to fill out the little customs declaration sticker. When I'm selling, I always state the shipping cost to the US and tell bidders in Canada (Canada Post is hugely expensive compared to USPS, I can actually ship to the US cheaper than within Canada...don't get me started)and overseas to e-mail me for a quote before bidding. I'm fair in my quotes, and if people can't read and bid without asking, then they are still obligated to pay if they win.

In your particular instance, don't pay the extra out of your pocket, get the quote from the post office or online USPS.com for shipping, add your handling charge (add a little extra if you feel it costs you more in time to fill out the customs form) and then send the revised invoice to your buyer. They should not argue with paying a higher rate as common sense should tell you that shipping overseas is more expensive, but if they do, just politely remind them of the wording in your auction, and ebays policy that their bid is a contract. If they squabble, then go ahead and file your NPB and block them from future dinning on your auctions.

Hope this turns out to be a smooth transaction and that you'll maybe consider opening up your shipping to Canada and other countries in the future. A lot of times when I'm shopping ebay I will skip over auctions that only ship to the US unless it's something I really want, and then I'll take the time to e-mail and ask. Our money is just as good here too, and you may open up your items to a lot more bidders, particularly if it's something we can't easily get up here.

FWIW

 

[chrissyk]

Why limit your market to the US only? If the item is small enough, it will fit in a USPS Global Priority Flat Rate mailer. If your post office doesn't have them out, ask for them at the counter. They come in a small size ($5) and a larger size ($9). Stick the item in, seal it shut, put on a customs form, and you're good to go. Shipping outside the US is no big deal, and it's worthwhile to get extra bids and better closing prices. I wouldn't offend a possible repeat buyer by telling them that they wouldn't be getting their item because they aren't in the US.

 

[disneymom3]

For the last two questions--please note that I am trying to be able to use the self serve kiosk in the lobby. We have lines up to half an hour long in our PO right now, and I do not want to stand there in line with my three kids to ship this $20 item. I know filling out the customs declaration is not that hard, it is the standing in line I really want to avoid.

 

[Donna]

I had this problem with a buyer from australia. for some reason, i thought it was SO complicated and hard to do and almost said no. I found the price to ship it on the shipping assistant software (free at usps.com) and took it to the post office and mailed it. not hard at all! then i found out, you can do int'l shipping right online AND request delivery pick up (free). I DID initially tell her that i do not ship outside U.S. per my auction terms and she said she was on her daughters laptop and her daughter was signed onto U.S. ebay and she didn't realize it. It happened to be an item she really wanted but she did apologize for her oversight. We ended up corresponding about all kinds of things. I told her because of deep snow, it might be a day before i could get to the post office and she was fascinated with us having snow and told me it was close to 100 degree that day in australia. It turned out to be an interesting transaction in that i learned it wasn't hard at all to ship int'lly and i met a really nice person in the process.
If you are dead set against sending the item, you can advise your buyer of your reasons to not complete the transaction and file for your fees back. I believe there is a reason for this regarding buyer from country that you don't ship to. Hopefully, you can get them to mutually agree to end the transaction. For the future, i thought there was a place in your profile to check off will ship to US ONLY so that any potential int'l bidders will get notified when they tried to bid.

 

[LisaNJ25]

I sold baby clothes to a woman in Denmark(I think) win one of my auctions. Shipping was $21 but she was buying alot from the US. Shipping was a piece of cake. She paid via paypal.. I printed out the postage and had the po pick up at my house. No waiting in line.

 

[ladysoleil]

I won't ship internationally either. I know it's not that much more difficult, my issue is that I'm not home during the day, which negates the option of having the post office pick up the package. I don't live in the best neighborhood and I wouldn't leave anything on my porch for pickup.

My regular post office is a nightmare- the lines are usually 45 minutes plus at the times I am free to hit the post office, which is why I won't ebay anything that I can't use the self-service kiosk for right now. The one at my PO has been offline lately, so I haven't been ebaying at all.

I did get nailed once- an APO buyer from Japan bid on my auction and won. I wasn't happy about that because the buyer's attitude was lousy- she emailed me the second the auction closed and basically said, you are legally obligated to ship to me and I don't care that you won't ship Internationally, APO's don't count and if you refuse me I'll report you to ebay. What a witch. I didn't like the extra hassle, but I would have shipped to her without her getting snotty.

I was so annoyed because she didn't even give me a chance to give her any kind of customer service before she threatened me. I suppose she'd had problems before with people refusing to ship. I did it, but I was not happy with her at all. I didn't leave her feedback because I couldn't technically neg her for being a mean crappy customer, but I wanted to.

 

[DiscussDisney]

If you are only shipping to the USA, make sure you set your ebay preferences that way. Then international bidders will not be able to place any bids on your auctions.

 

[phorsenuf]

Why not just go to usps.com and do it there. You can buy and print domestic and international postage there and then either schedule a pick-up or give it to you mail carrier. I haven't stepped foot in a post office in ages.

 

[lbgraves]

I never shipped outside the US either. There have been too many cases of people being billed by Canadian customs for things they shipped but the other person didn't pay somehow. Also, check out your protection on items paid via paypal. I believe that you have no protection as a seller if you ship internationally.

 

[DianeV]

One thing about international transactions is many times they are very impatient about getting their items and start bugging you about that..if you take paypal you can lose a dispute if they say they havent received it even if it hasnt been enough time for it to even get there...you are not protected with paypal unless its a confirmed address and you can get online tracking which is very difficult..the only addresses that can be confirmed are some Canadian and some UK and then you also have to ship with the online tracking...which means the most expensive method of shipping

So paypal for intl. transactions is getting to be a risk in my opinion

 

[leight]

I once shipped to Ireland a large Barbie House- against my better thoughts because the buyer was so nice. He got stuck paying tarriff fees -almost as much as the cost of the item. If he had not paid them I might have gotten stuck doing so.

We left each other great feedback but I won't ship internationally again. I indicate it via my description as well as the shipping options offered when you list. Twice Ebay has allowed me to refuse a buyer and relist for free -it's annoying but people who are giving in are making it harder for those who want to be adamant about our shipping policies.

 

[HayGan]

I had this happen to me with a buyer from the UK around Christmas. I sent them a nice note thru ebay that the terms of the auction states that I do not ship outside the US. Then I filed a claim with ebay stating that we had mutually agreed not to complete the transaction since the terms of the auction were not followed. I received a refund of fees from ebay.

I would follow the same procedure if I was you!

 

[gottaluvdis]

I once shipped to Ireland a large Barbie House- against my better thoughts because the buyer was so nice. He got stuck paying tarriff fees -almost as much as the cost of the item. If he had not paid them I might have gotten stuck doing so.

We left each other great feedback but I won't ship internationally again. I indicate it via my description as well as the shipping options offered when you list. Twice Ebay has allowed me to refuse a buyer and relist for free -it's annoying but people who are giving in are making it harder for those who want to be adamant about our shipping policies.

As a frequent e-bay buyer, I won't bid/buy on anything that is located outside the U.S. either. Too much hassle for my liking. It's bad enough trying to receive items from the U.S. sometimes, let alone waiting for an international item to arrive. If the OP clearly stated she did not want bidders from outside the U.S. in her auction terms, she should be able to re-list for free and the auction should be mutually cancelled. I'm thinking of getting into selling as well, and that will definitely be one of my criteria. I just don't want to deal with the hassle of international shipping.

 

[phorsenuf]

I once shipped something to Canada (even tho my auction stated otherwise) I guess when she recieved it there was money due (tarrifs?) or something and it ended up back on my doorstep. After exchanging back and forth she said nevermind and I refunded her money less shipping costs of course (over $50!).
So, I relisted it and it ended up selling for $120. more than the original sale!
That was sweet!