posted on June 1, 2005 07:30:54 AM new
Actually, the BESTEST way is to select "SHIPS TO USA" in the SYI form everytime you launch...
PLUS, if you select "PAYPAL IMMEDIATE PAYMENT" that will also concert the listing into a USA only listing...
But...they STILL can wreck yer listings...
"I'm going to spend a lot of time on Social Security. I enjoy it. I enjoy taking on the issue. I guess, it's the Mother in me."—Guess Who? Washington D.C., April 14, 2005
posted on June 1, 2005 07:58:48 AM new
It must depend on what you sell and which sort of age group or proclivity you sell to. In all my years of selling, I've had only one international buyer go missing on me. Collectibles and books, these days mostly books, are mostly what I sell.
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posted on June 1, 2005 09:48:47 AM new
thanks Tom - I changed it to US only. I don't mind shipping to Japan. Never a problem.
Roady - I sell anything and everything - whatever jumps out at me goes on auction.
The Aussie was itching about shipping costs and threatened me with a negative. I counter-offered with a reciprocal negative and he backed down. Hah!
posted on June 1, 2005 06:23:14 PM new
no way, airmail parcel post for 12 ounces was 15.40 and 1.85 for insurance.
airmail letter post was 8.40 and 7.50 for registered mail.
posted on June 1, 2005 07:37:42 PM new
We use kilos and grams. i can ship an airmail parcel to you weighing. 250.gms.for $6.50.us.
for about 1 lb it will cost $10.50.us.
for 1 kilo. about 2 lb 2 ozs. for $19.us.
insurance is $1.25.us. about. for $100.us.
we cannot send registered parcels or articles to the usa.
sadly there are those that do charge too much for postage. giving those good sellers a bad name.i have personally had this happen to me with a very excessive overcharge.
i do agree he had no right to threaten you. But why punish the rest of the world because of one person. Put him on your black list, not the whole world. your just cutting off your nose to spite your face, business is business
posted on June 1, 2005 08:54:51 PM new
Personally I love selling International. My shipments range in weight from 8 to 25lbs. Destinations have included the UK, much of Europe and the Netherlands plus Hong Kong. With out a doubt Parcel Post Air is the most reasonable and time saving method for me. Costs have amounted to as much as $122.00 with insurance. PayPal is my only accepted method of payment for International shipments. To date I have not had one lost or delayed shipments nor any complaints on shipping costs. In addition because the Dollar's value sucks in many overseas markets our items are a better buy than they have been for some time. Even had several special orders I have built-then been paid for-then I shipped, no problems no sweat. Maybe I have just been lucky however I am planning on a strong effort in overseas sales during this years Holiday season. Using Google and Yahoo search engines leading domestic and International buyers to my Vendio Store works great too! Hope you all have great profits with a B I G part of our buyers in the International Market Place. Thanks, Larry
posted on June 1, 2005 10:35:48 PM new
Business is Business for sure but I will not do business with Austrailians. Gripe and Compain was all I heard for "actual" shipping costs. I made not "one dime" extra on shipping costs to them and spent hours reading there rambling emails about how they felt cheated. My time is better spent giving better customer service to my other customers. More and more sellers are refusing to sell internationally and there is a reason for that.
posted on June 1, 2005 10:53:16 PM newMore and more sellers are refusing to sell internationally and there is a reason for that.
Does anyone have a link to some info that verifies that claim?
If so, I'd love to read it because I've sold internationally for years with very few problems and it excites me to think that my opportunities for sales are even better now that there is less competition.
posted on June 2, 2005 04:33:49 AM new
there ya go Bootclan. This is not the only occasion and it is has been building up until I said to hell with it. First the Canadians and now the Aussies. Like you say, endless emails about how I tried to cheat them (I don't charge for handling), and then they try to get me down in price to make up for the postage. I get my postage off the internet from the USPS and then if they #*!@, I drag the widget into the post office, wait in line, then back home to tell them and then fill out customs forms, etc. etc and more emails. Had enuf !!
posted on June 2, 2005 05:03:46 AM new
We all know that america is the most expensive country in the world to ship from. but when you go into usps and check their rates, and find out that the seller is charging from 50% to 150% more then the advertised rate. customers tend to get upset. fortunately there is only a small amount of sellers doing this. thus giving them all a bad name. i always put the price of the shipping in the auction. this is usually to the usa. any other country, i ask them to write and ask first.
posted on June 2, 2005 07:47:53 AM new
I hope more sellers decide not to sell to international customers, because overall I love them. Yeah, they sometimes complain (who doesn't) but some of the stuff is hard to find outside the US - I've gotten some good bidding wars between international bidders. Once an item I expected to sell for $15 to $20 was bid up to $100 to a UK bidder.
I've probably shipped 300 packages to Australia over the years, never had a single problem with an Aussie bidder. They are among my favorite, along with Japan. The biggest "pain" is Canada with them wanting items marked as a gift. I would probably want the same if I lived there too! I just mostly ignore these requests, I've never gotten an email back after the fact getting mad at me for doing something that is basically illegal.
Anyway, even with a little more hassle, international bidders make a big difference on the bottom line. I can't imgagine one bad experience (and that is not that bad, it is just a complainer) changing my policies.
posted on June 2, 2005 05:53:19 PM new
I have my Paypal preferences set for "US buyers only", so I don't have to do it every time. I am wondering if Paypal will change the option to include Candian buyers when they are included in seller protection later this month.
posted on June 2, 2005 10:10:43 PM new
I agree with ebayvet! I have also sold internationally. Lately the international sales have been booming! I think it is due to the weak dollar. Lately, about 30% of my sales have been international. I've only had one PIB. Keep the international sales rolling!
posted on June 2, 2005 10:54:36 PM new
I to like selling international. They bid high, pay fast and are a pleasure to deal with. So far I have never had a problem with international buyers. I have sold to Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, China, Iran, UK, Africa and more countries than I can remember at the moment. Actually the UK and Australian buyers seem to be my most polite and friendliest buyers. I have made quite a few friends in Australia and email them quite often. As for payment, I only accept Paypal, and make it very clear in the listing NO EXCEPTIONS. Most items ship Global Priority Mail or Air Mail Parcel Post, and to date, no lost or damaged shipment's yet.
If you are using US Postal PS Form 2976A (the large customs form) you can order them from the postal printer pre printed with anything you like on them. I get mine pre printed with my name, address to save me a little time. It cost no extra and they are easy to order, you just need to call the order in as the order can not be placed online for these.
In my opinion when I started to sell internationally it was the best thing I ever did.
posted on June 2, 2005 11:03:29 PM new
Just like birds, idiot buyers know no borders. I gladly ship internationally, and have from the start.
Received this surprise gem with a mailed payment yesterday (the buyer just happened to be American), hand-written, educated penmanship.
"Your shipping charges are pretty exagerated. You are mailing to U.S. not xxxx."
Where "xxxx" names an European country. Immediately followed by "mail to" with a nice arrow below pointing their stick-on address return label.
My folks came to Canada from Europe and my last name readily reflects that origin. I'm pretty sure the buyer knows the item is being sent from Canada as they clearly wrote that as part of my address.
I only charge 50¢ - $1 over postage fees to ship anything that's not a major chore to custom package.
I'm hoping it's only that the buyer thinks somehow that the item, a book, is being sent by media mail (not available from Canada) that he would choose those rather unfortunate words. In that case only, could any normal buyer then think they were being overcharged on shipping.
posted on June 3, 2005 10:27:35 AM new
I love foreign customers, but don't love foreign postal services. 90% of my lost packages went abroad. And you can't use Priority to many countries, such as Italy and most of Mexico.
I don't feel bad about charging a few extra bucks for handling, either, since it takes about twice as much time to do a foreign mailing.
posted on June 6, 2005 03:18:26 PM new
I've had good luck with international buyers. I stopped selling for a period of time and will start back very soon. (I still kept items in my eBay store, but no auctions to advertise them.)
Currently I show "ship to US only", and that's because I need to get back into the swing of things and determine what my international shipping methods and costs will be. Then I'll open it back up to PayPal accepted countries.
As for payment, I prefer BidPay for international payments, but will accept PayPal where its accepted.
posted on June 6, 2005 04:07:24 PM new
Ye sell pearls & jade & ye accept PayPal from furrrineers?
Yer kumquats must be of the large, brass variety...
"I'm going to spend a lot of time on Social Security. I enjoy it. I enjoy taking on the issue. I guess, it's the Mother in me."—Guess Who? Washington D.C., April 14, 2005
