posted on December 11, 2002 02:09:35 PM new
Hi Linda K
I see you do have the same problems. I agree we cannot keep checking on bidders to see where they live, and your point is well taken about snipers as well.
I think rarrifles idea would at least show us if they don't read the TOS or just choose to ignore it.
I don't think I would dare go that far though as it might me look bad to my US customers.
posted on December 11, 2002 02:16:25 PM new
Linda K : "I've just recently experienced this. An other-than-US bidder emailed me when I cancelled their bid and said almost that same thing to me. I live in the US 1/2 of the year, and in XXX the other half. I respectfully answered, "And how would I know that, your ebay registered address is in XXXX". I politefully said that if they had emailed and explained the situation, before bidding, I might not have cancelled their bid."
Seems like you lost out on a potential sale. If a Canadian bidder has a US address then why should he email you before hand. You took the time to cancel his bid. Why couldn't you have politefully emailed the bidder saying you only ship to US addresses before cancelling his bid?
I have had this type of thing happen to me as well. If I could ship the item outside of the US with no problems I did it. If not I offerred the item to the next bidder and moved on.
posted on December 11, 2002 02:55:52 PM new
logansdad - Sellers choice. Basically that's the reason. We, as sellers, each make this decision for ourselves. Our past experience has made it not worth the additional problems doing so incurs. We understand this may cost us a loss of higher bids and have made a decision that that doesn't matter to us.
On the checking and email any but US bidders. We do this for fun...not for an income to live on. We don't want to spend the time to email and ask the bidder if they have a US shipping address. These last two sets of auctions were only the second time I can remember ever checking who was bidding.
lindajean - I know what you mean. It would be so much easier if ebay just didn't 'allow' these bids to go through when a sellers lists 'ships to US only'.
posted on January 16, 2003 06:10:15 AM new
lindajean, I believe there is a town in California called Quebec so maybe "Quebec, CA" was California and not Canada? I see how that could be confusing.
Since eBay has our location on file and the sellers can click on "ship to USA only" on the auction form, why can't they prevent bidders outside the shipping area from bidding or allow the seller to make exceptions if a bidder outside the shipping area has a U.S. address they want it shipped to. Computers are supposed to make things easier not more difficult.
posted on January 16, 2003 05:20:50 PM new
antelope67: I believe eBay can keep out-of-area bidders from bidding. Someone needs to suggest it, and I guess that someone is me.
Thanks for adding to this discussion and bringing it back up near the top.
posted on January 17, 2003 06:44:18 PM new
If you state that in your auction description
(in words, or using the eBay option when
posting, or both) then the bids violate
your TOS. You don't have to follow through,
but of course you could end up with an
undeserved Negative as a result, but that
could happen anyway for other reasons.
Good luck!
---
"Cannot say. Saying, I would know. Do not
know, so cannot say". -- Zathras (Babylon 5)
