Strange International Buyer

[ZoeyZoo]

I could use some advice from all you wise ladies who sell on Ebay. I'm just a seller who sells items I no longer use so not a ton of experience with international sellers - especially with Ebay's new program.

I listed a high end designer bag (Balenciaga) and had a lot of bids. The winner was an international bidder (which I previously had blocked but the Global Shipping Program seems to have changed this for me).

What I find really strange is it's been 2 days and they haven't paid me. Not only that but they have sent me 4 questions on the bag AFTER they won.

I've been thinking about sending a second chance offer to the next bidder who was only a few dollars from this one. I'm not sure I like the risk of the international shipping plus they seem to still be making up their mind. Feedback is OK but not a high number (30).

What would you do in this case?

 

[JustAgUrL]

It is VERY possible that they did not see what the IMPORT Charges were going to be and have decided not to buy it.....

with the GSP... the buyer can't see those actual charges until they go to the next page
when they try to pay......

where is your buyer from????

 

[JustAgUrL]

I could use some advice from all you wise ladies who sell on Ebay. I'm just a seller who sells items I no longer use so not a ton of experience with international sellers - especially with Ebay's new program.

I listed a high end designer bag (Balenciaga) and had a lot of bids. The winner was an international bidder (which I previously had blocked but the Global Shipping Program seems to have changed this for me).

What I find really strange is it's been 2 days and they haven't paid me. Not only that but they have sent me 4 questions on the bag AFTER they won.

I've been thinking about sending a second chance offer to the next bidder who was only a few dollars from this one. I'm not sure I like the risk of the international shipping plus they seem to still be making up their mind. Feedback is OK but not a high number (30).

What would you do in this case?

I might ask the buyer if they have decided they don't want the bag....
and ask if they were wanting to cancel the transaction.....

then you could go with your second chance offer....


I would do it in a REALLY polite manner.... like overly polite and understanding....

explaining that you know that they
are not able to see all of the charges until they go to try to pay....
and you would totally understand if those charges are too high and they are wanting to cancel......


If it is a safer country to ship to..... Like Sweden, or UK etc...

You could offer to cancel the transaction and list it again for the buyer without the GSP...... and then ship it Express where it will be Online viewed signature.....

That would depend on the country the buyer is in tho.....

and you would have to let them know that they would still be on the hook
for import fees and such..... But, that they would pay those in their OWN country....

 

[Love Of My Life]

There is a certain amount of time a buyer can take to pay for their item.. ( is it 2 days?? or 4 days)

If you don't receive payment you can open a NPB

Were the ?'s they asked pertaining to the bag description or something else..

Do you want to cancel the transaction because they haven't paid & are you

not feeling comfortable about something??

The buyer does know they are responsible for custom/duty in their country..perhaps
they are estimating what the duty might be & hence not paid

 

[JustAgUrL]

There is a certain amount of time a buyer can take to pay for their item.. ( is it 2 days?? or 4 days)

If you don't receive payment you can open a NPB

Were the ?'s they asked pertaining to the bag description or something else..

Do you want to cancel the transaction because they haven't paid & are you

not feeling comfortable about something??

The buyer does know they are responsible for custom/duty in their country..perhaps
they are estimating what the duty might be & hence not paid

You would be shocked at how many UK buyers are unaware that they have to pay import fees and customs Taxes etc......

I see it on the ebay boards all the time..... and it is always buyers in the UK....

 

[ZoeyZoo]

The questions I'm getting about the bag are things like the dimensions (even though I list style which only comes in one size and is still sold on major sites like Barneys), if I have tried to clean it, do I have papers for it, etc. These are the types of things I would expect a buyer to ask before they bid if its something they care about. That with the lack of paying are what I am concerned about.

The buyer was in Australia. I have shipped internationally on a few buyers who have asked me to open the auction up for them and they had lots of good feedback. I really prefer not to ship internationally and that had been on my settings. This is the first time I've listed since the Global Shipping Program started so I didn't realize my settings were overridden.

I also didn't realize they couldn't see customs fees and such until they checked out.

I'm on day 2 of no payment.... just have received 4 questions which is what has me nervous on top of the international sale and little feedback. On top of that it's a used high end bag.

 

[vernis-lover]

I see it on the ebay boards all the time..... and it is always buyers in the UK....

Well I know about the taxes so it's not me!!

Anyway .... back to topic ....

After 2 days, you can start the non-paying process - that might prompt the buyer into paying or, has been suggested, politely email them and see what the issue is. If you do start the non-payment process then you have to wait another 4 days before you can close it. Might be worth just emailing the under-bidder to see if they might still be interested.

 

[Love Of My Life]

Well I know about the taxes so it's not me!!

Anyway .... back to topic ....

After 2 days, you can start the non-paying process - that might prompt the buyer into paying or, has been suggested, politely email them and see what the issue is. If you do start the non-payment process then you have to wait another 4 days before you can close it. Might be worth just emailing the under-bidder to see if they might still be interested.

A good suggestion..

 

[ZoeyZoo]

A good suggestion..

Can you second chance it during the NPB? The next couple of bids were very close in price and were domestic so I feel better about it regardless. I also want to make sure I get my fees back if this doesn't go through.

It used to be 7 days for NPB so it looks like a lot has changed since I last sold anything.

 

[Apricot Summers]

You cannot do the 2nd chance until you close the NPB. I wouldn't write to the buyer and wouldn't open the NPB early. If you don't want to ship via the Global Shipping program (and I would NOT - you give up control over returns) - then just sit tight and on day 4 you can open and close the NPB without waiting. Then do the 2nd chance.

You need to go back into your settings and make sure you have opted out of global shipping and double check all your settings for international shipping and sales.

When the new user agreement went into effect - if you clicked to accept the agreement it AUTOMATICALLY put you into the Global Shipping program. It did this for everyone. Now you just need to go in and opt out. Everyone should check their settings for this.

 

[JustAgUrL]

Well I know about the taxes so it's not me!!

I do wonder tho, why it is always UK buyers who get upset
when they get hit with import taxes and such......

 

[JustAgUrL]

The questions I'm getting about the bag are things like the dimensions (even though I list style which only comes in one size and is still sold on major sites like Barneys), if I have tried to clean it, do I have papers for it, etc. These are the types of things I would expect a buyer to ask before they bid if its something they care about. That with the lack of paying are what I am concerned about.

The buyer was in Australia. I have shipped internationally on a few buyers who have asked me to open the auction up for them and they had lots of good feedback. I really prefer not to ship internationally and that had been on my settings. This is the first time I've listed since the Global Shipping Program started so I didn't realize my settings were overridden.

I also didn't realize they couldn't see customs fees and such until they checked out.

I'm on day 2 of no payment.... just have received 4 questions which is what has me nervous on top of the international sale and little feedback. On top of that it's a used high end bag.

You list the style... But, you don't list the measurements????

HONESTLY, I think it is always a GOOD IDEA to include measurements
in your listing...... then you don;t get the Neg Feedback that read....
"I thought the bag was bigger than this.. "



many of the bags I buy I have NO IDEA what sizes they come in...

I always want to know what the measurements are of all the bags I buy.....

I just bought a bag, and it was after I had my FRIEND buy it off ebay for me
I realized I had no idea what the bag measured... I was so excited to get the bag,
I did not think to ask....

then of course I had my friend measure it for me, so I could know what to expect...
Of course now, I am even MORE excited for the bag to arrive....

So, I don't think that is an out of line question.... these sound more like
questions of a "I'm just curious" nature... NOT of the "I don't want the bag anymore" nature....

but that is just me....

just so you know, if the buyer still is OK with the GSP...
You are VERY safe shipping via this method.....

By the way.... did you set your Paypal to not accept NON US Paypal payments????
maybe that is why she has not paid....

 

[ZoeyZoo]

The bag was a Balenciaga city so it's pretty easy to find the specs. In any case it's not such a strange question. It's just something I would ask before bidding and winning an auction. I would probably only take that risk on a low price bag.

So I got two more messages... If I had receipts and can they pay Tuesday their time which would be 7 days from the auction close. They said "if you aren't desperate to be paid can I pay Tuesday my time" which is Wednesday here.

How safe is the GSP? It's a heavily used bag so I do have some concerns even though I did list the details of the wear and tear and included a lot of pics with close up pics.

I'm on the fence about doing a second chance. I want to be be fair to this buyer but I'm apprehensive by the questions, late payment, international shipment, etc.

 

[JustAgUrL]

The bag was a Balenciaga city so it's pretty easy to find the specs. In any case it's not such a strange question. It's just something I would ask before bidding and winning an auction. I would probably only take that risk on a low price bag.

So I got two more messages... If I had receipts and can they pay Tuesday their time which would be 7 days from the auction close. They said "if you aren't desperate to be paid can I pay Tuesday my time" which is Wednesday here.

How safe is the GSP? It's a heavily used bag so I do have some concerns even though I did list the details of the wear and tear and included a lot of pics with close up pics.

I'm on the fence about doing a second chance. I want to be be fair to this buyer but I'm apprehensive by the questions, late payment, international shipment, etc.

OK... let's see here....

YES... I think it is safe to use GSP to ship....

being that she is asking if she can pay on Thursday, or Tuesday if you need....
I bet she will pay....
Tho, I do think she should have asked THAT question before she won....

I would just make sure she is aware that this is a used bag..
and ask her if she really looked at all the photos....

also I would inform her that papers on a handbag do not make it authentic...
and would not ever be used for authenticity purposes.... so, she should not need them....

You can direct her to the Balenciaga subforum to have it authenticated so she will have piece of mind......

and as for the measurements.... I have seen those bags in person, but would still
want the bag and the measurements.... as I have no way around my house to find the bag to see how big it is..... Tho, I would still want the bag....
and actually that is my next bag search... and I will still want to know what the
measurements are..... even tho I know I want the bag....

and really had I bought my Mahala from the seller rather than my friend buying it
for me to ship to me, I would have bought it... and even tho I wanted the bag NO MATTER what the answer was, I would have asked for the measurements....
So, I really think you are safe..... ON that one....

I would just make sure she has see the photos and knows it is a really used bag....

other than that.... shipping GSP, tho I would NEVER use it..... Cuz, I'm not in the USA and I hate their charges.... You are perfectly safe to ship with them.....

Just explain tho, that if she would for some reason want to return the bag, that
it is a NIGHTMARE to try to get the taxes she paid upfront refunded....
and that YOU have NOTHING to do with that part of the transaction....

Good luck with it.....

 

[BeenBurned]

Well I know about the taxes so it's not me!!

Anyway .... back to topic ....

After 2 days, you can start the non-paying process - that might prompt the buyer into paying or, has been suggested, politely email them and see what the issue is. If you do start the non-payment process then you have to wait another 4 days before you can close it. Might be worth just emailing the under-bidder to see if they might still be interested.

Can you second chance it during the NPB? The next couple of bids were very close in price and were domestic so I feel better about it regardless. I also want to make sure I get my fees back if this doesn't go through.

It used to be 7 days for NPB so it looks like a lot has changed since I last sold anything.

The problem with sending a SCO prior to closing a non-payment case (or canceling) is that the second buyer might buy and the first buyer might pay. In that case, you'll have sold the same bag twice and given that you only have one bag, you'll risk a neg from one of the buyers.