Buyer from Reunion, Indian Ocean - do I post?

mssw157

mssw157

Member
Apr 24, 2009
4,639
4
#1
Hi, your help would be very much appreciated.
Just logged on to my Ebay to see that the boots I was selling had been purchased by a buyer from Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean. I had specifically asked for buyers abroad to contact me before bidding or hitting BIN. She didn't.

I principally have no problem sending abroad, but have no experience with the reliability of postal services to Reunion. Also, according to Wikipedia, it's part of France and therefore part of the Eurozone. I somehow doubt though that our post office will put European postage on this...
From experience, I know that even if sending by registered post, I will have virtually no insurance on this. However, should Eurozone rates apply, I have much greater insurance on the parcel.

Should I just contact the buyer and tell her that I can't send it or just take my chances.
 
#4
Reunion is a French territory and part of the EU, so sending things there should work just as it would for sending a parcel to France. You'd have to confirm with your local post office, but I believe that the services available and prices would be the same or highly similar to those for anywhere else in France. (I don't know about sending a parcel there internationally, but IIRC, sending a letter to Paris from Reunion costs the same as sending a letter across Paris.)
 
#5
Thanks for your comments ladies.
I actually did a postal rates check on our Irish postal service and it did come back with postage for "Rest of the World", not EU.
Yes, boots are high end - Chloe, and I would hate them getting lost in the post. Registered mail only pays out up to EUR35 in insurance money when sending stuff outside the EU...Totally ridiculous.

However, I have checked the buyer's feedback (only 7) but she likes her designer French designers and it looks like she received everything so far. I decided to take the plunge...
Thanks again for all your comments.
 
#6
How about a courier like Fedex or DHL - I'm British (I live in Canada now) but cannot remember what courier services they use, plus Ireland is not England. This may sound funny but sometimes couriers have cheap rates for heavier items, you could always take a look and if you could get a signature and FULL insurance with a courier if it was a little heavier then put a stone in there to add to the weight - LOL
 
#7
Don't send via FedEx, DHL or UPS........the actual shipping charge is probably cheaper, but the brokerage is outrageous!!

They take it through customs, pay that fee and then charge for doing it and it is hefty. If your buyer does not wish to pay the fee, then they will come after you.
 
#8
Hi, I didn't think I was going to post on this again, but events have taken a turn!
Buyer got back to me - in French (which I don't really speak!) to say that she was sorry, but heels were too high for her on the boots and that she had to cancel the purchase!
U N B E L I E V A B L E !!!!
I was quite p***** off; especially after I decided to send the boots and maybe risk them never turning up! Told her that Ebay will be notified (have to get my final value fee back!) and hopefully there'll be a strike against her name. I have now re-listed the boots as I don't really want to waste any more time on her and maybe this was a sign not to send them all the way to Reunion...
 
#9
I think you did the right thing. When a buyer back out, there is nothing you could do other than cancel the transaction and let her receive a non-paying strike. Think of the bright side, at least you don't have to deal with return and custom charges.

Good luck with your 2nd sale!
 
#10
She may have done you a favor by backing out. Now you won't have to be concerned about shipping, insurance, and all that stuff. Yes, relisting is a pain but a smaller one by far I would think.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top
Back