Situation sounds sticky...

C

chelsssea

Member
Dec 5, 2007
524
3
#1
Hi girls I had listed a pair of Runway Balenciaga shoes with just a Buy it now. I have sold on ebay before, but literally only 3 times. I have been buying on ebay since I can remember.
I have had inquiries from international bidders before, and didn't want to rule it out completely, so here is what I put regarding international bidders:

"If you would like to see any additional pictures, please do not hesitate to ask me! All Sales are final! Please ask all questions before bidding!!
If you are an international bidder, I will try to work with you. Shipping will be more. PLEASE contact me before bidding if you are not in the US. Thank you!"

I did not put anything about 0 feedback buyers, but I meant to. Anyway, I saw that the shoes sold and I was so excited. The buyer emailed me right away and said she purchased the shoes and asked me to send her the total amount. When I checked, I saw she was from MOSCOW and has ZERO feedbacks. In her email, she also mentioned her friend was in Miami until the 19th, so they could be shipped there if they'd be receieved by the 19th.
To me, this sounds like a really sticky situation. I feel like with all the scams I read about here, I'm being set up or something (I think it's the fact that shes 0 feedback and did not contact me prior to bidding). Maybe she just saw the shoes and was really excited about them and bid on them-got the excited hand? I really can't afford to lose out on these shoes right now. I don't even know exactly how to go about finding out exactly how much it's going to cost to send to Moscow (which is another reason I asked international bidders to contact me before)!
Does anyone have any advice or suggestions as to how I can protect myself in this situation? I was thinking I could deliver to her friend and use insurance and signature confirmation, but I wasn't sure if that could be held against me because it's her friend and not her (I would have it in writing that she told me to deliver there-would that hold well with ebay?). I would absolutely not send this package without some sort of insurance/DC but I don't know my exact options when it's overseas.
Any advice/help would be appreciated. The shoes sold for $260 if that means anything in terms of being insured, etc...
 
#2
Honestly, I'd cancel the bid and relist since she did not follow your instructions.

Also, always ship to the confirmed paypal address. Do not ship to her friend. You will not have seller protection.
 
#3
chelsssea said:
Hi girls I had listed a pair of Runway Balenciaga shoes with just a Buy it now. I have sold on ebay before, but literally only 3 times. I have been buying on ebay since I can remember.
I have had inquiries from international bidders before, and didn't want to rule it out completely, so here is what I put regarding international bidders:

"If you would like to see any additional pictures, please do not hesitate to ask me! All Sales are final! Please ask all questions before bidding!!
If you are an international bidder, I will try to work with you. Shipping will be more. PLEASE contact me before bidding if you are not in the US. Thank you!"

I did not put anything about 0 feedback buyers, but I meant to. Anyway, I saw that the shoes sold and I was so excited. The buyer emailed me right away and said she purchased the shoes and asked me to send her the total amount. When I checked, I saw she was from MOSCOW and has ZERO feedbacks. In her email, she also mentioned her friend was in Miami until the 19th, so they could be shipped there if they'd be receieved by the 19th.
To me, this sounds like a really sticky situation. I feel like with all the scams I read about here, I'm being set up or something (I think it's the fact that shes 0 feedback and did not contact me prior to bidding). Maybe she just saw the shoes and was really excited about them and bid on them-got the excited hand? I really can't afford to lose out on these shoes right now. I don't even know exactly how to go about finding out exactly how much it's going to cost to send to Moscow (which is another reason I asked international bidders to contact me before)!
Does anyone have any advice or suggestions as to how I can protect myself in this situation? I was thinking I could deliver to her friend and use insurance and signature confirmation, but I wasn't sure if that could be held against me because it's her friend and not her (I would have it in writing that she told me to deliver there-would that hold well with ebay?). I would absolutely not send this package without some sort of insurance/DC but I don't know my exact options when it's overseas.
Any advice/help would be appreciated. The shoes sold for $260 if that means anything in terms of being insured, etc...
Click to expand...


Hi there....If the buyer is registered on Ebay as being in Moscow and is asking you to ship to a different location than where they are registered, you can cancel the transaction. I had a situation where a buyer was registered in the U.S. but wanted me to ship to Japan where she really was. The shipping would have been much more, not the rate shown. I was able to cancel that transaction.

Another thing to think about when selling internationally is there are many times duties and fees which will be charged. Ebay has language to put in your listing whereby if the buyer is charged these fees by the delivering company, they cannot leave you negative feedback. If the language is not in your listing Ebay will not remove the negative feedback.

Hope this somewhat helps!! :biggrin:
 
#4
To have seller protection you have to send item to the address listed in paypal, I don't think her friends address will be eligable which means you should not ship there.
Being over $250 you have to ship with a method that has signature confirmation that is viewable online.
If I were you I would say no to the shipping to a friend thing, ask if she still wants them and if yes, just go to the usps website and estimate the cost of shipping.

If she doesn't want them maybe try to get them to mutually cancel transaction, in this way you can get your fees back.
 
#5
without question, would not ship anyplace but to a confirmed address.. any and all

reasons, etc would not cloud my better judgement..see if you can agree on a mutual

cancellation of this transaction so at least you can recoup your fees..
 
#6
chelsssea said:
The buyer emailed me right away and said she purchased the shoes and asked me to send her the total amount. When I checked, I saw she was from MOSCOW and has ZERO feedbacks. In her email, she also mentioned her friend was in Miami until the 19th, so they could be shipped there if they'd be receieved by the 19th.
Click to expand...

First, about 0 feedback bidders. We all start from somewhere, even people from Moscow.I have sold tons of stuff this year to 0, 1, and other single-digit bidders from all kinds of places. They paid, so I shipped. This is not the biggest concern. I love international bidders because they simply cannot afford to return the merchandise for a refund, if you know what I mean.

What is her Paypal address? Moscow or Miami? You MUST ship it to her Paypal address to get some measure of protection from Paypal.


chelsssea said:
I don't even know exactly how to go about finding out exactly how much it's going to cost to send to Moscow (which is another reason I asked international bidders to contact me before)!
Click to expand...

What is the shipping charge you have put in the auction description? Just curious, because you may have to abide by it.

You need to decide what carrier to use: USPS? FedEX? DHL?

USPS is the easiest. The shoes will fit into a medium or a large flat-rate Priority mail box. This will come to between $30 and $50. Express shipping won't be much more than that, like $50-$75. Just go to the USPS website and click on the 'CALCULATE SHIPPING' tab. This will give you all available options in one menu.

I personally would also price FedEx and DHL because mail theft happens. Go to Fedex website and use the same settings you have used in your USPS price quote. Like, 8 pounds of weight, 13x13x7 inches measurement. FedEx is hideously expensive but highly reliable. They'll ask for $50 - 100. DHL is going to be less pricey so if you can go DHL then go DHL.

Then e-mail her the price quote. Remember: YOU are responsible for delivery. Therefore, YOU decide which carrier to use. Do not let her bully you into shipping it via some low-cost route (camelback? hitch-hikers?) that would provide no tracking or insurance. This is very risky. You NEED to have tracking. Most international shipping options have some sort of indemnity coverage built into price, so insurance is of a lesser concern. Tracking is mandatory, however, per Paypal. I would also be concerned with pilfering so I, personally, would try to go courier serv ice route (FedEx / DHL).

p-WA
 
#10
You need to be protected as a seller....so you can only ship to the address that appears on Paypal.

If you ship to a different address, the buyer can claim they never received it and get refunded. To be covered by the shred of protection they give a seller, you must follow the rules and ship to the address on paypal. No exceptions.

If you ship to her "friend" in Miami, you'll have no protection, even if you get a signature and insure it. You MUST ship to the Paypal address only.

I have never had problems from zero FB buyers, but I do not sell outside the US. (just can't be bothered).

But you can pack the shoes in a box and take them to to PO and ask them what the shipping would be (tell them you just need a price, my PO does this for me all the time), include insurance and anything else you have to (I don't sell outside the US so I do not know all that is involved). The PO will give you a price for your total, and then you can let your buyer know what that price is, if you choose to go through with this transaction.
 
#11
I looked it up on USPS and came to a quote of $49.50. I'm thinking I would charge $60 to account for the insurance/cover myself if box is a little bit bigger (what I put in is an estimate).
I WILL NOT ship to her friend in Miami (didn't think it was a good idea-but def not after seeing your advice). She said something about a friend in NY. I told her that I had to ship to her paypal verified address to protect myself as a buyer, so I would ship to Moscow.
Now, my question is..I know on ebay when you ship an item over $250, as a seller you are required to have insurance AND sig. confirmation. When you ship internationally, do they have signature confirmation and insurance? Just want to double check

So long as she agrees to have the item shipped to her address in Moscow, and I can get both insurance and signature confirmation to Moscow, I will be sending the shoes. Otherwise, they will be relisted. Does that sound like a safe solution?

Thanks soooo much for all your advice. I've been on ebay for quite some time now, but I am not super experienced as a seller. I did have a good experience selling to a 0 fb buyer before on my last transaction...
 
#12
hotshot said:
without question, would not ship anyplace but to a confirmed address.. any and all

reasons, etc would not cloud my better judgement..see if you can agree on a mutual

cancellation of this transaction so at least you can recoup your fees..
Click to expand...
Agree with Hotshot. Cancel this, because you will not be covered by PP if you send to any but confirmed PP address. Also you can block international bidders in your selling preferences when you relist. Sounds very risky to me. If she is serious about her "friends" in the states, she can officially add them to her PP account. Once you are sure that this is done (and I would call PP to make sure), you will need to cancel the first sale and then she can pay again with the new addition to her confirmed address. That is the only way I would consider this.
 
#13
chelsssea said:
Now, my question is..I know on ebay when you ship an item over $250, as a seller you are required to have insurance AND sig. confirmation. When you ship internationally, do they have signature confirmation and insurance? Just want to double check.
Click to expand...

You will need to purchase insurance separately, such as at the PO. Regarding signature, there exists a return receipt option. This gives you date /time of delivery + who signed for it. Inquire at the PO, you probably won't be able to print this stuff in Paypal.

p-WA
 
#14
I agree you will not get paypal protection if you don't ship to a confirmed address. But what if she pays by wire transfer? Would the buyer be able to claim non-delivery and win if she was shady?
 
#15
If you ship by USPS International Express, it will come with signature confirmation, but you'll have to purchase insurance separately, it's not pricey though, anything from $200-$500 costs $2.15 http://www.usps.com/prices/insurance-prices.htm
And it will automatically come with tracking. You should always ship by International Express if you're shipping through USPS, since it's the only international option that comes with tracking (as I was told).
And always ship to a confirmed Paypal address for Seller Protection.
 
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