Shipping and Selling to Germany?

C

cpster

Member
Jan 7, 2007
1,272
1
#1
Hi,

I got a bid on one of my items from a bidder from Germany even though I state that I only ship to the United States. Can German addresses be verified by Paypal at all? I'm considering letting this bid stay since the bidder has pretty good feedback.

Any idea what German customs is like? I would want to ship using EMS with full insurance.

Thanks for the advice!
 
#2
I don't think Germany address can be "confirmed". I have a dozen of regular customers there and none of their shipping address is certified by Paypal as confirmed.

Germany customs are not as tough as Italy and Austria. You should be fine sending by EMS with an invoice attached in the shipment.
 
#3
I'm from Germany and it's really not possible to have a "confirmed address" with Paypal here :yes: Your Paypal account can be "Verified", but your address not confirmed.

Beats me why?! As I understand it a confirmed address only means that your shipping address is the same one that's on your credit card, right? :confused1:

Once in a while when I'm in need for a laugh I call them up and inquire about that possibility, but apparantly as of now there are no plans to make that happen. It really is a shame because a lot of international sellers will only sell to customers with a confirmed address anymore :sad:

As for the shipping: I usually get my items via Priority Mail International or EMS, both are fully trackable now, but I think only EMS offers signature confirmation while PMI only shows "Item delivered" ... you might want to check this with your post office :yes:

The main thing to worry about would be customs. Please make sure that your buyer is aware of that issue. For merchandise the limit is 18€, for gifts it's 45€. Everything about that will be taxed :tdown: Customs here doesn't really have a pattern so it's really hard to estimate whether an item will get taxed or not. Sometimes I think it all depends on the mood of the officer :shrugs: I've gotten bags declared as gift with a 250$ value and had to pay 25€ in taxes, but I've also gotten bags declared at 800$ and was not taxed :confused1: Lately the tax incidents have multiplied though, so make sure your bidder knows about that and understand that all fees are her responsibility. :yes:

Good luck with everything!

What are you selling if you don't mind me asking?
 
#4
It's true, my PayPal address is also only "verified". It's the same with credit cards, my MasterCard which is issued by a German bank has only my name as a confirmation, there is no address indicated on German credit cards, as far as I know, but that hasn't been a problem so far; except that a lot of US online stores (Ralph Lauren, Neiman Marcus) accept only credit cards issued by a US bank and don't ship internationally. Well, it's their loss...
 
#5
Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm selling a LV bandeau. I guess I should figure out how much shipping will be and let the bidder know. The bidder says they are fine with paying customs and I need to clarify the shipping costs. They claim that their address is confirmed, but I wonder if they are confusing address confirmation with being Paypal Verified?

Any advice on how Paypal would work? Does the bidder pay in Euros and do I get charged by Paypal for conversion?

Thanks!
 
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