Ebay: How Can We Block Bidders From Hi, AK, & PR

[Fire14]

I know for me personally It cost me WAY more to ship a box to HI than CA as I found out in an exchange not long ago. As for why I don't ship to Canada for me it's the cost over and above what It costs me to ship in US Plus buyer will get nailed with duty taxes etc since I ship UPS.

 

[grlpwrd]

I don't understand... buyers pay shipping cost.

Passing the cost onto the buyer is the norm. I also always preface the shipping time will sometimes take longer when it comes to international, territory, or APO/FPO transactions.

This is for PR, Hawaii, and Alaska? ...

There are options, buyers can pay shipping, and you can always preface the buyer on a delayed shipping time due to distance.



I realize the inability to track the package is a big issue, but I just gotta represent. Express Mail is costly, but yes, you can track it. Of course, it works better if it is a small parcel. You can always use other carriers/companies like UPS which, I believe, offers tracking in PR.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I don't understand---the US Post OFfice offers Express Mail service to Puerto Rico. It provides COMPLETE tracking. It is more expensive--but that is the responsibility of the buyer. If they want the security of tracking and faster shipment--they should be willing to pay for it. The method is available to all packages that are up to 108 inches in total girth.

Many of the packages my DH ships cost $25+ for FedEx Ground, or USPS Parcel Post. Can you imagine how much it would cost to ship Express Mail? People don't want to pay more, but want the same shipping services they would get if we shipped to NC (for example).

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Why won't you ship to Canada? Mail goes back and forth across the border everyday!

We originally shipped to Canada. We used to constantly get email from Canadians making an offer on the item & wanted shipping to be included in the amount they offered. They not only didn't want to pay the listed price. They wanted shipping thrown in free. We also got complaints from a couple of people who were angry that they would be charged more shipping than US res., & wanted us to eat the extra cost. I'm not saying these issues are unique to Canadians. He still gets email offers from US residents trying to lowball him. Now if he does consider an offer, shipping doesn't cost us as much.

We have 100% feedback & bend over backwards to make people happy, which means we sometimes lose money in the process. For this reason, we finally blocked Canadians to eliminate some of the hassle. Which is the same reason, we'd like to block people in PR. It really isn't anything personal. He has had Canadians email asking if he would consider shipping to Canada, & asking how much the shipping would be. If it appears to be a buyer who understands it will cost more, & will be easy to deal with, he will often ship to them. Unfortunately, unreasonable people will sometimes ruin things for others. We'd like to have a wider selling base, but it's just not worth the added hassle.

FWIW, I've never had a problem with the items I sell. Maybe, it's what he sells that attracts more difficult people.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Are you sure that packages from the 48 states to PR cannot be tracked? Incidentally PayPal requires tracking in order to qualify for seller protection so if packages cannot be tracked to certain destination, you are free to disallow PayPal from those buyers (Again, say so in your listing).

No they don't. You, like many others, are confusing tracking with delivery confirmation . These are two different things.

http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/gen/ua/policy_spp-outside

The seller provides reasonable proof of delivery from an independent shipper. The delivery must be trackable online. Proof of delivery should show that the address shipped to corresponds to the address on the Transaction Details page.

PayPal requires ONLY online proof of DELIVERY, which can be accomplished with delivery confirmation.

I have no idea why any US seller would not ship to Alaska, Hawaii or Puerto Rico.

 

[wendyl]

Many of the packages my DH ships cost $25+ for FedEx Ground, or USPS Parcel Post. Can you imagine how much it would cost to ship Express Mail? People don't want to pay more, but want the same shipping services they would get if we shipped to NC (for example).

Yes--I do it regularly. Probably $50 or $60 depending on the weight. It has been my experience that people are much more willing to pay extra for security than you might think.

A year ago we started requiring Global Express for all our International purchases. We thought that was drastically reduce our international business--but it didn't even make a dent--and the security of complete door to door tracking has been wonderful!!!

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Yes--I do it regularly. Probably $50 or $60 depending on the weight. It has been my experience that people are much more willing to pay extra for security than you might think.

A year ago we started requiring Global Express for all our International purchases. We thought that was drastically reduce our international business--but it didn't even make a dent--and the security of complete door to door tracking has been wonderful!!!

We could give that a try. Considering the fact people are constantly trying to get him to end auctions early & take less money, I doubt they'll happily pay that much for shipping though. I'm afraid we'll end up losing money, just to cover ourselves.

We're fairly new to eBay & this has definitely been trial & error on our parts. Hopefully, some day we'll have it all figured out.

 

[ceburto2]

It seems to me that you are quoting flat rate shipping prices in your auctions. It is much easier to use Ebay's option of letting the buyer enter their postal code to get the shipping prices of several carriers. This lets the buyer know the shipping costs and does not leave you with surprises. It also allows you to add any handling fee you would like and it will appear in the quoted shipping price. Not suggesting you rip off people but $2 for boxing it up seems fair to me. Also save you from answering all those "How much is it to ship it to ...?" e-mails.

-ceburto2

 

[beachbunny]

Just as it costs the same 39 cents to mail a letter anywhere in the US, including AK and HI, shipping costs are the same if you use the USPS.

 

[storybookstory]

Why don't you just use calculated shipping, and have a $1.00 or so handling fee? I used to try to charge flat shipping but more often than not lost money on it. Now I ONLY use calculated shipping, and it works out great.

And for the larger items, why not use UPS?
And FEDEX doesn't ship to PR? That's so strange.

 

[grlpwrd]

Why don't you just use calculated shipping, and have a $1.00 or so handling fee? I used to try to charge flat shipping but more often than not lost money on it. Now I ONLY use calculated shipping, and it works out great.

And for the larger items, why not use UPS?
And FEDEX doesn't ship to PR? That's so strange.

Yes, I think it is common for sellers to add on a handling fee and also you can offer a different carrier. I often go with UPS or FedEx for larger parcels.

As for USPS to Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, the cost differs for parcels because it depends on zones.

As for PayPal, yes, they only require delivery confirmation.

As for FedEx to PR, I did some checking to confirm it and they do offer it. PR is, after all, a US territory.

Well, this has certainly been a good discussion, especially that they are all part of the USA.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

It seems to me that you are quoting flat rate shipping prices in your auctions. It is much easier to use Ebay's option of letting the buyer enter their postal code to get the shipping prices of several carriers. This lets the buyer know the shipping costs and does not leave you with surprises. It also allows you to add any handling fee you would like and it will appear in the quoted shipping price. Not suggesting you rip off people but $2 for boxing it up seems fair to me. Also save you from answering all those "How much is it to ship it to ...?" e-mails.

-ceburto2

I have started doing that with my auctions. My DH is a very busy man. (He's self employeed.) He uses flat rate as a time saver. That keeps him from taking things to be weighed in advance. We have a postal scale that I use. He ships his items at the Shipping Store, & goes with the method that is cheaper & offers the best protection per individual box.

Just as it costs the same 39 cents to mail a letter anywhere in the US, including AK and HI, shipping costs are the same if you use the USPS.

Unfortunately, that's not true. I ship my items via USPS. Shipping can range from a little over $6 to almost $9 on the same item, depending on where in the US I ship to. That's the reason I switched to calculated shipping. I felt like I was ripping off people on the East Coast in order to make up for money spent shipping to the West Coast. I've even refunded money to those who cost me much less to ship to. Like I said, it's a work on progress. Live & learn.... & then go with calculated shipping.

Why don't you just use calculated shipping, and have a $1.00 or so handling fee? I used to try to charge flat shipping but more often than not lost money on it. Now I ONLY use calculated shipping, and it works out great.

And for the larger items, why not use UPS?
And FEDEX doesn't ship to PR? That's so strange.

My DH always checks every option, then goes with the cheapest with the most protection. He says UPS just always seems to be higher for some reason.

Yes, I think it is common for sellers to add on a handling fee and also you can offer a different carrier. I often go with UPS or FedEx for larger parcels.

As for USPS to Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, the cost differs for parcels because it depends on zones.

As for PayPal, yes, they only require delivery confirmation.

As for FedEx to PR, I did some checking to confirm it and they do offer it. PR is, after all, a US territory.

I'm not sure how my DH & the shipping store could have had that big of a misunderstanding on 2 different occasions. Especially, since he routinely ships via FedEx from there. Did you ask if they ship any size box to PR, & offer tracking on them? That may make a difference in the answer you received & what he was told.

Well, this has certainly been a good discussion, especially that they are all part of the USA.

I hope all US residents who have been out of school a few years would at least know about HI & AK. You would think most would know about PR too. Let's not forget the US Virgin Islands, American Samoa, & Guam, as well.

I'm not sure kids going through school now are as well versed in Geography though. My DS has been taught quite a bit in FL schools. On the other hand, I had a niece & nephew in NC who didn't know where Canada was. One thought it was the capital of Colorado, & the other thought it was a large body of water. These are fairly bright kids in HS too. One of them graduated with honors. I have another niece who went to HS there who is now in grad school working on her Doctorate Degree, & knows very little Geography. It's obviously not on the test. Oops, I got a bit off topic there.

Follow-up:
I wanted to post a follow-up on the PR shipping experience that prompted this thread. The buyer ended up filing a dispute with Paypal, without waiting the amount of time USPS states, & without contacting us. I had emailed them with the date shipped & the info USPS provides for length of shipping time. Before we even had a chance to reply, he had closed it. Apparently, he received the package the same day he filed the dispute. He had commented on the dispute that he had gotten packages from China faster. Anyway, things like this are exactly why we would like to tighten our shipping locations a little more to only include those areas that will receive their packages in a shorter amount of time. I can see them not wanting to wait so long for a package, but we have absolutely no control over USPS or any other shipping company. Rather than complaining to the post office, they blame it on us.