eBay, etc. General Question/Answer Thread

[nicole0612]

I purchased two items on eBay recently, one was from the UK and one was from Germany. The UK purchase was $2,000 less, yet I was hit with a $58 foreign transaction fee + an additional $5 foreign transaction fee for that purchase (that listing also had me prepay customs when I checked out, which is new to me - it was built into eBay and only showed up after I had already hit buy it now and went to my cart to pay). The item from Germany was more expensive, yet it had no foreign transaction fee and I will pay customs in the usual way, when it comes through customs.
Are these foreign transactions fees due to the type of listing, the location or my payment method (AmEx).
The item without the foreign transaction fee was purchased with a Capitol One card.
Both listings were "international" listings (showed the price in their local currency).
I would also love any input on the prepaid customs built into eBay on one of the purchased. Is this an option when a seller lists an item?
Thank you!

Ok, I can answer my own question, the foreign transaction fees are just from my credit card (it doesn't matter if it is purchased on the US eBay site), and it was split into to payments - one for the item and one for the customs pre-payment.

The prepaid customs in eBay checkout turns out to be because the seller shipped with the"Global Shipping" option, which I found out means a freight forwarder. Through eBay freight forwarding from U.K. to USA, after customs it is transferred to UPS. I have spent hours on the phone with UPS and eBay, apparently UPS has no record that I prepaid customs through global shipping on eBay, and eBay concierge admitted to me that this does happen sometimes. Ebay offered to pay the new customs charge and give me a coupon towards a future purchase on eBay. I declined because I don't want a coupon and because I actually overpaid customs through eBay's estimate (eBay has actually been very helpful, but this has been an hours and days-long process). So they agreed instead to refund me my previously paid customs through their checkout ($199) within the month if I pay the actual customs due ($127) and then can collect my item.
The take away is that I would avoid global shipping if you possibly can, because it makes customs very difficult, there is a good chance you will have to pay customs twice before being refunded for one payment, and delivery has been delayed for a week already.

 

[Kidclarke]

You said that the seller apologized and "said it had gone through." Does that mean she apologized for canceling and sending anyway?

Have you even received it yet?

Once you receive it, open a case that you want to return, enter the tracking number and send it back. (One can assume the seller will agree to the return since she already sent the shipping label.)

It was completely my fault for canceling, the seller agreed to the cancel. It said canceled and went off my purchases. Then I got a shipping notification about a day later. They sent me the return label in reply to my question if the cancellation went through or not (I haven't canceled before so I thought it was a glitch if they sent it to someone else). The item says it won't be here until Friday. Is it at all possible to send them the amount for shipping too? I honestly haven't come across such a nice seller who just sends return labels as I expected to pay return (they accept returns).

 

[Kidclarke]

Oh and yes they apologized for sending anyways, they said their was an error on their end since the payment went through they assumed to send. It's odd eBay lets cancelation payments go through or maybe I did something. It says cancled even still so I'm surprised they were able to print out to ship and all. It's a big shop so I think the cancelation must have been overlooked once payment was received.

Thank you for the help. Your advice is always on point and appreciated.

 

[MAGJES]

I am trying to make an offer on a handbag right now on ebay (BO listing) and the response I keep getting is this:

****The seller cannot respond....please review the listing to see if it answers your question.*****
What does this mean?

My 1st thought is that I am blocked but I have no past history with this seller at all.

 

[jellyv]

I am trying to make an offer on a handbag

****The seller cannot respond....please review the listing to see if it answers your question.*****
What does this mean?
all.

Perhaps the offer price falls below the threshold she set to automatically decline?

 

[BeenBurned]

I am trying to make an offer on a handbag right now on ebay (BO listing) and the response I keep getting is this:

****The seller cannot respond....please review the listing to see if it answers your question.*****
What does this mean?

My 1st thought is that I am blocked but I have no past history with this seller at all.

I'd had that happen over the years and thought it had something to do with the seller's settings. But I recently learned that you get that message when you're on the seller's BBL!!

I tested it by trying it with 2 IDs. The one I'd previously asked a question on (that apparently the seller didn't like) was blocked. The other ID that I rarely use was able to get through.

ETA: I posted about it here:
https://forum.purseblog.com/threads...n-answer-thread.646884/page-466#post-31428257

 

[MAGJES]

I'd had that happen over the years and thought it had something to do with the seller's settings. But I recently learned that you get that message when you're on the seller's BBL!!

I tested it by trying it with 2 IDs. The one I'd previously asked a question on (that apparently the seller didn't like) was blocked. The other ID that I rarely use was able to get through.

ETA: I posted about it here:
https://forum.purseblog.com/threads...n-answer-thread.646884/page-466#post-31428257

oh wow. Thanks for the info.

So strange - they are out of the country - Netherlands - I've never interacted with them but you never know....maybe did years ago or when they had another ID.

 

[MAGJES]

I'd had that happen over the years and thought it had something to do with the seller's settings. But I recently learned that you get that message when you're on the seller's BBL!!

I tested it by trying it with 2 IDs. The one I'd previously asked a question on (that apparently the seller didn't like) was blocked. The other ID that I rarely use was able to get through.

ETA: I posted about it here:
https://forum.purseblog.com/threads...n-answer-thread.646884/page-466#post-31428257

My daughter is visiting me atm....she rarely shops ebay but has an account - she logged in and tried to ask a question and even submitted an offer - got the same message.
It can't be that she is blocked - there is no way.
There must be another reason we are getting this message.


This is what we both received :
Attention Buyer
The seller isn’t able to respond. Review the listing again to see if it answers your question.

 

[chicinthecity777]

I have a question on how to find out what offer was accepted on an item. I am eyeing something from this seller. The listing is BIN with BO option. He had some items sold with BO in the past, which I can see from his feedback history. How can I find out how much were the offers he accepted on these other items? I want to gauge how much I should be offering. Thank you in advance for your help!

 

[MAGJES]

I have a question on how to find out what offer was accepted on an item. I am eyeing something from this seller. The listing is BIN with BO option. He had some items sold with BO in the past, which I can see from his feedback history. How can I find out how much were the offers he accepted on these other items? I want to gauge how much I should be offering. Thank you in advance for your help!

You used to be able to see what the offer was before the hid the buyers' ID but I don't think you can now.

 

[BeenBurned]

My daughter is visiting me atm....she rarely shops ebay but has an account - she logged in and tried to ask a question and even submitted an offer - got the same message.
It can't be that she is blocked - there is no way.
There must be another reason we are getting this message.


This is what we both received :
Attention Buyer
The seller isn’t able to respond. Review the listing again to see if it answers your question.

Hmm. I have no idea then why you can't ASQ. (I know I'm blocked by the seller I mentioned.)

 

[Catbird9]

I have a question on how to find out what offer was accepted on an item. I am eyeing something from this seller. The listing is BIN with BO option. He had some items sold with BO in the past, which I can see from his feedback history. How can I find out how much were the offers he accepted on these other items? I want to gauge how much I should be offering. Thank you in advance for your help!

You used to be able to see what the offer was before the hid the buyers' ID but I don't think you can now.

I use Watchcount. http://www.watchcount.com/

You put the item number in the yellow "Keywords" search box and hit "Show me what's most popular!" On the resulting screen, you should be able to see the price it sold for. If not, click on "History" and you can usually see the offers declined and accepted.

If that doesn't work, run an eBay search for Sold items like the one you are interested in, using a few of the same title words. The item you're interested in should appear in the results. Sort the list by price, and you can see approximately what it sold for by looking at the prices of the items just before and after it in the list.

 

[chicinthecity777]

I use Watchcount. http://www.watchcount.com/

You put the item number in the yellow "Keywords" search box and hit "Show me what's most popular!" On the resulting screen, you should be able to see the price it sold for. If not, click on "History" and you can usually see the offers declined and accepted.

If that doesn't work, run an eBay search for Sold items like the one you are interested in, using a few of the same title words. The item you're interested in should appear in the results. Sort the list by price, and you can see approximately what it sold for by looking at the prices of the items just before and after it in the list.

I tried the first method and it worked! Thank you! You are a star!

 

[shillinggirl88]

I would like to get opinions/advice on how to handle a buyer as this situation has not come up for me before.

I had someone make an offer on a handbag, I countered and she accepted and paid first thing the next morning. I shipped that same day emailed her about it, thanking her etc. Now a day later she sends a message she made an error - she thought the handbag she was buying was black when it is navy. Title of listing says navy, description within listing says navy, picture of pricetag in listing shows navy.

Now, I do not accept returns, that is what my listings say. What are your thoughts? Should I be nice and let her return even though totally her fault? Of course she would not be refunded for shipping and she would have to pay for return ship. Should I charge her a restocking fee?

I just don't know...frankly I am quite ticked as my listing has "navy" written all over it. TIA!

 

[Catbird9]

I would like to get opinions/advice on how to handle a buyer as this situation has not come up for me before.

I had someone make an offer on a handbag, I countered and she accepted and paid first thing the next morning. I shipped that same day emailed her about it, thanking her etc. Now a day later she sends a message she made an error - she thought the handbag she was buying was black when it is navy. Title of listing says navy, description within listing says navy, picture of pricetag in listing shows navy.

Now, I do not accept returns, that is what my listings say. What are your thoughts? Should I be nice and let her return even though totally her fault? Of course she would not be refunded for shipping and she would have to pay for return ship. Should I charge her a restocking fee?

I just don't know...frankly I am quite ticked as my listing has "navy" written all over it. TIA!

I understand why you would be ticked by this! It's a clear case of Buyer Error, but unfortunately, I think you'd be better off just taking the return (for the purchase price only, all shipping costs should be borne by the buyer.) I don't think you'll be allowed to charge a restocking fee since you don't have a return policy, but you might call eBay and ask about that.

Sorry this happened to you, but it seems that many people don't bother to read descriptions or even titles!