advise or assistance in internatinal sale...

sellmysoul

sellmysoul

O.G.
Feb 1, 2006
736
3
#1
I am a small US based ebayer and have never sold internationally. (simply because I am not experienced with international sales and would hate to lose something!) I had an inquiry about shipping a currently listed bag to Spain. The value of the item is aprox. $1000.00
Is there anything I need to know regarding duties etc before I respond to this potential buyer? What is the best method for shipping to Europe, with respect to tracking/price/ and peace of mind mostly? Any advise would be greatly appreciated!
 
#2
sellmysoul said:
I am a small US based ebayer and have never sold internationally. (simply because I am not experienced with international sales and would hate to lose something!) I had an inquiry about shipping a currently listed bag to Spain. The value of the item is aprox. $1000.00
Is there anything I need to know regarding duties etc before I respond to this potential buyer? What is the best method for shipping to Europe, with respect to tracking/price/ and peace of mind mostly? Any advise would be greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...

Addresses in spain cannot be confirmed with paypal meaning if the buyer pays with paypal you are not covered by seller protection. It is best to tell the buyer you are happy to accept her bid but she will need to pay by bank tranfer / wire. You can then send the item out to her with insurance and tracking. Custom and taxes is something the buyer should look into really!
 
#3
I sell internationally and I have shipped to Spain from the US. I always ship via usps Express Mail, which is the only way the US post office will provide you with a tracking number (regular international priority mail doesn't provide tracking anymore). Insure the item for the amount paid and make sure you list the entire amount on the customs form. Don't say it's less because then you're on the hook if something happens to the item and the buyer makes a claim.

Like designermummy said, you don't need to do anything about customs. That is the buyer's responsibility.

I always accept paypal, even for international, and thankfully I haven't had any issues.
 
#4
I am unsure why sellers refuse to ship internationally even with confirmed PayPal addresses - surely if you purchase insurance, the risks are just the same as shipping to a confirmed US address?
 
#5
Some people just don't want the hassle of dealing with overseas postal services, customs, law enforcement etc if something goes really wrong. At least when it's in the US you know who to turn to when you have a problem.
 
#6
I usually have zero problems with international bidders; however, I'm in a terrible mess right now because one of my buyers from the Czech Republic is refusing to pay the customs fees and is trying to return the item...:cursing: Because of her, I don't think I'll ever ship internationally again!
 
#7
mawsey said:
I am unsure why sellers refuse to ship internationally even with confirmed PayPal addresses - surely if you purchase insurance, the risks are just the same as shipping to a confirmed US address?
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Im not sure what your tring to say! The original poster is enquiring about sending an item to Spain, Spain do not have confirmed paypal addresses. If you send an item to an unconfirmed address you are not covered by paypal seller protection.
Should the buyer be fraudulent and say that there credit card has not been authorised then the buyer can intiate a chargeback and you have no cover as a seller. The parcel would also have been signed for so you cannot claim through them.
The buyer can state item not recieved and again you are not covered if you choose to send to an unconfirmed address!

The best thing as a seller is to offer to send internationally to paypal a confirmed address which can be UK, CANADA and US. Other countries request bank transfer. Although this method only protects the seller- so as a buyer they then need to look into sellers history etc to see if the seller is trustworthy, etc!
 
#8
kimalee said:
I usually have zero problems with international bidders; however, I'm in a terrible mess right now because one of my buyers from the Czech Republic is refusing to pay the customs fees and is trying to return the item...:cursing: Because of her, I don't think I'll ever ship internationally again!
Click to expand...


I had a similar problem last year and she put in a paypal claim which i lost and recieved the parcel 2 months later once I had paid the customs fees, the bagage return fees etc. Now that I only accept bank transfers from international bidders without confirmed addresses, I have not had a problem since. Paying with paypal they know that if they refuse the parcel they can get their money back either with a claim or charge back. If they had paid by bank transfer you would not have this problem as you would have their money and they would have no choice but to pay the customs if they want their bag!
 
#9
Thanks for the advice ladies.. it really helps alot!
As far as my fear of international, its just my inexperience and infrequency of listing items really. I don't mean to be a difficult seller but I would really hate to mess up with this item as its the highest value item I have sold.
thanks again for your input!
 
#10
I got stung once from an international buyer, having sold fine for years, I then changed my policy to no international bidders. I then got request from international bidders everytime I listed. So I opened it up to international bidders but if they had a unconfirmed address they had to pay with bank transfer. Although im sure this puts some people off as the buyer has no protection I still regularly have international bank transfers, you tend to get more emails form them until the item arrives which is understandable as they have no protection! But as long as im covered im happy!
 
#11
Just to add, if the auction did not state previously that I, as an uncomfirmed address buyer, would have to pay by wire transfer, I would not do it. It just sounds shady to not have said it before and suddenly come out and say you can't pay by paypal. Now understand that when the person pays by bank transfer, he/she gives up all hope of them getting her money back, while you're protected. The point is, if he/she refuses after hearing this, please don't file NPB against them. It's simply not fair to jump out at them and say 'thank you for bidding, now hand over your only protection so i'm protected in case something goes wrong.'

So I would explain nicely that you're not protected if you send to an uncomfirmed address, what that means for you, and be honest about the fact that she's not protected AT ALL if she sends this bank transfer. Honesty is your best policy here if you want a stranger to wire you money.

I completely understand why designermummy would ask for bank transfer, i'm not arguing with that by the way. But I think she may have mentioned it earlier in her auction? If you didn't mention it in the auction, it's just not fair. I've had someone file NPB with me because I refused to wire money to a complete stranger who said I could pay by paypal two days ago.
 
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