Need Advice On This Transaction

[Atari 5200]

Yesterday, an auction I held on ebay ended. The buyer requested that I send him an invoice. When I did, I realized that he was from Italy. I don't usually accept international buyers, so I sent a request to cancel the transaction.

When I woke up this morning, I got a message stating that he doesn't want to cancel the transaction and feels that the transaction should go through b/c I didn't "specify" that I didn't accept international buyers. Now, my argument is that on the auction page, where is says "ships to" only says "United States" and not "worldwide".

Is this my fault, or his?

What should I do? I don't want to cause a scene. Any input would be great! Thanks!!!

[c0ldb33r]

I fail to see the problem. The auction is clear. You ship to USA. If he wants it shipped within the USA, you'll be happy to comply. Otherwise, he can go screw himself.

If you want to be nice and make an exception in this case and ship to Italy, go ahead, but I don't think you're under any obligation to do so.

Is he willing to spend the extra for shipping or is he trying to get shipping for the same amount quoted within the USA?

[Joe West]

Hey its your auction, ship to who you want.....

[Atari 5200]

I hate ebay...


Anyway, here is the message I'm going to send the idiot. What do you think?

"Check the auction page again. It says "ships to United states." If it said "ships to worldwide" I would go through with the transaction. Unless you have a US address to give me, there's nothing I can do."

[c0ldb33r]

Sounds good.

Can he leave negative feedback on something like this?

[Atari 5200]

Sounds good.

Can he leave negative feedback on something like this?


heh, probably. After this I think I will quit with ebay. Their fees are racking up and these people that are wanting to pull something fast are becoming too many.

[Sniderman]

Actually, I'm surprised that - if you ship only to the U.S. - why aren't your auctions set up to only accept bidders from the U.S.?

Under Buyer Requirements, you can select:

Block buyers who:
Are registered in countries to which I don't ship

And under "International Shipping," choose "No International Shipping."

Easy-cheesy, Louisie. You could have saved yourself a huge headache if you had just taken care of that previously.

[megasdkirby]

And under "International Shipping," choose "No International Shipping."


I know it doesn't have much to do with the topic, but when I saw that I remember past Ebay sellers who were adamant that PR was international, and then they state that they don't ship internationally.

Ok, if they have the option you mentioned above listed, and my bid goes through, then shouldn't that be proof enough to those intelligent Ebay sellers that PR isn't international?

Sigh...

Going back to topic, be prepared for a neg. You could fight it, but Ebay will most likely never help. And even if you do send the package to Italy, the guy may still give you a negative.

:(

[Atari 5200]

Yeah, I just sent that message to him. Well see how this works outX_x Thanks sniderman for helping me with the preferences. I didn't know they existed. :frustrated:

[c0ldb33r]

I know it doesn't have much to do with the topic, but when I saw that I remember past Ebay sellers who were adamant that PR was international, and then they state that they don't ship internationally.
That's absolutely hilarious. I'm Canadian and I know better than that. I'm amazed that Americans wouldn't know better.

Oh well, every country has its fair share of morons.

[ryborg]

Find out how much it would cost to send the item via USPS International Express (EMS). Add a $5 handling fee or whatever and charge the buyer that amount. That way you'll have a happy buyer and you'll know for sure that the item arrived. The Italian mail service is probably the worst of all civilized nations, so I only use an incredibly secure, signature-mandatory service like EMS for items more valuable than $10 or so. At this point, you can change your preferences like Sniderman said and be on your way.

[Atari 5200]

The little bastard didn't agree on the shipping I gave him. I thought I would vent a little... Here's what I said to him:

Are you trying to call me a liar? I hope not. Listen, I'm not going to try and scam you out of some kind of crap, I'm not like that, but when I take time out of my day and make an exception for you after telling you that I DON'T ship overseas, I expect you to uphold your end of the deal. You told me you would pay for the shipping. I gave it to you. I know you didn't like the price. You know what? I even double checked the post office. I went up there myself and asked them how much it would be ship to Italy. Guess what? Same answer. Do you want to call them yourself to see if I'm lying to you? 1-336-903-4926.

Also look here:

http://postcalc.usps.gov/IntlMailServices.aspx?Country=10212&M=2&P=3&O=0&sd=1

I don't see a one that's under $20.

So you can either pay up, or you can cancel the transaction like I asked you to in the first place. Do you understand now why I don't like to ship overseas? It's because we can NEVER agree on the shipping price. It's because I have to take a lot of time away from school and work to find out prices for international shipping.

Good day sir.

[Kitsune Sniper]

The Italian mail service is probably the worst of all civilized nations,

... Ha ha ha. YOU, sir, do not live in Mexico. Our Postal clerks STEAL THE MAIL IN FRONT OF YOU. Assholes. *coughs*

[c0ldb33r]

... Ha ha ha. YOU, sir, do not live in Mexico. Our Postal clerks STEAL THE MAIL IN FRONT OF YOU. Assholes. *coughs*
Yeah, but he said of all civilized nations. LOL

[Xander]

In the past 2 months, 90% of the auction I won specifically said, in bold red flashing letter with lasers that they WON'T ship to Italy. I don't know what is wrong with this country's postal service but it appears to be a major issue.

And I really hate Shipping to USA only auctions :( Why don't you guys include at least Canada? We are sooo close (we are America's hat!). Canada postal service is also very solid, I've never had a single lost package in over 50 transactions over the years.

[gum_drops]

And I really hate Shipping to USA only auctions :( Why don't you guys include at least Canada? We are sooo close (we are America's hat!). Canada postal service is also very solid, I've never had a single lost package in over 50 transactions over the years.

The main reason for me at least is the excessively high shipping. It costs $17.00 before handling to ship a nes game to Canada with tracking via priority mail. It depends on the cost of the game but for many its just not worth listing a $10 game with a $17 shipping fee before handling.

It also avoids any potential issues with newer ebayers who are unaware of the shipping situation and decide to take it out on my feedback. For a long time I would take money orders from Canadian bidders and ship via whatever method they wanted but ebay has squashed that.

[c0ldb33r]

In the past 2 months, 90% of the auction I won specifically said, in bold red flashing letter with lasers that they WON'T ship to Italy. I don't know what is wrong with this country's postal service but it appears to be a major issue.

And I really hate Shipping to USA only auctions :( Why don't you guys include at least Canada? We are sooo close (we are America's hat!). Canada postal service is also very solid, I've never had a single lost package in over 50 transactions over the years.
I run into that problem as well. I've got a place in northern Maine that accepts packages and you pick them up there. They charge $3.00 per package and will hold it for a month. It's well worth it, and the trip practically pays for itself because I gas up the car while I'm there :)

[ryborg]

Yeah, but he said of all civilized nations. LOL

This. I stopped shipping to Mexico YEARS ago. I've been to Mexico (real Mexico, not the touristy places) and while there's good people there, the country kinda has some infrastructure problems.


Canada postal service is also very solid, I've never had a single lost package in over 50 transactions over the years.

Are you insane? Canada is just SLIGHTLY better than Italy for mail service. 50 transactions is NOT an acceptable sample size. I ship 10-15 packages there every two weeks or so and I've had many, many problems with their mail service, especially in the past year. Even the postmaster himself at my local office absolutely rips Canada Post.

I've had to deal with lost packages (even with upgrades to EMS and Priority), massively late packages, and damaged packages, all going up north. I had to raise the shipping cost of items going there by 30% to cover myself from chargebacks from impatient Canadians.

[jb143]

In the past 2 months, 90% of the auction I won specifically said, in bold red flashing letter with lasers that they WON'T ship to Italy. I don't know what is wrong with this country's postal service but it appears to be a major issue.

And I really hate Shipping to USA only auctions :( Why don't you guys include at least Canada? We are sooo close (we are America's hat!). Canada postal service is also very solid, I've never had a single lost package in over 50 transactions over the years.

I used to ship worldwide but stopped recently because it's such a pain. I concidered adding Canada but I've problems there in the past. Not from the buyers or anything but because of the post office. I had a package returned to me once because the return address wasn't written in block letters! If they're able to return it becasue of that rule then obviously, if needed, they could return it regaurdless, therefore they should have just delivered the package.

If someone asked me before they bid though, then I'd probally make an exception.

[Kitsune Sniper]

Yeah, but he said of all civilized nations. LOL

Oh go to hell, you gringo :P


In the past 2 months, 90% of the auction I won specifically said, in bold red flashing letter with lasers that they WON'T ship to Italy. I don't know what is wrong with this country's postal service but it appears to be a major issue.

And I really hate Shipping to USA only auctions :( Why don't you guys include at least Canada? We are sooo close (we are America's hat!). Canada postal service is also very solid, I've never had a single lost package in over 50 transactions over the years.

Oh, I ship to Canada, but not now - I don't want any crazy Canuck to say the package was lost because it's the holidays and such.


This. I stopped shipping to Mexico YEARS ago. I've been to Mexico (real Mexico, not the touristy places) and while there's good people there, the country kinda has some infrastructure problems.

Very few people use the postal service here. We send telegrams or use private couriers instead (or email). And in regards to tracking to Canada, Priority Mail isn't trackable, last I heard.

[Bratwurst]

And in regards to tracking to Canada, Priority Mail isn't trackable, last I heard.

USPS at least supports delivery confirmation with Priority International to Canada, it's the only rate I will use to ship there anymore.

[Kitsune Sniper]

USPS at least supports delivery confirmation with Priority International to Canada, it's the only rate I will use to ship there anymore.

Are you sure? Because my local post office says otherwise. Then again they're raving idiots so maybe something changed and I wasn't told.

(Besides, Priority International is HIGHWAY ROBBERY.)

[c0ldb33r]

I've never had a package lost in Canada.

The only problem I have is that sometimes packages are SLOW. Sometimes they get at the border, most times not. Canadian buyers must understand this.

[Bratwurst]

Are you sure? Because my local post office says otherwise. Then again they're raving idiots so maybe something changed and I wasn't told.

(Besides, Priority International is HIGHWAY ROBBERY.)


I'm pretty sure it does have delivery confirmation, at least when I've printed my labels online through USPS.com or Paypal, and if you can fit the object in the flat rate envelope, you're golden. This works especially well if it's just a game or two you can fold over with bubble wrap. Costs $10.95 or so, takes 7-10 days. In light of that, I think it's extremely reasonable, especially since it costs 8 dollars for airmail overseas for anything over 9 oz. as I recall.

[Cornelius]

I think DC was available for Priority Mail excluding Flat Rate Envelopes. I'm not sure if that is still true or not, it may have changed in the last couple months.

Of course, to satisfy Paypal since their changes, it only takes the customs form or something along those lines.

[Kitsune Sniper]

I'm pretty sure it does have delivery confirmation, at least when I've printed my labels online through USPS.com or Paypal, and if you can fit the object in the flat rate envelope, you're golden. This works especially well if it's just a game or two you can fold over with bubble wrap. Costs $10.95 or so, takes 7-10 days. In light of that, I think it's extremely reasonable, especially since it costs 8 dollars for airmail overseas for anything over 9 oz. as I recall.

Oh, that?

My local post office won't let me use flat rate envelopes. They say they're for documents only.

Douchebags.

[ryborg]

My local post office won't let me use flat rate envelopes. They say they're for documents only.

Haha, what? It says RIGHT ON THE ENVELOPE ITSELF that you can put whatever you want in there, as long as it closes by itself normally using the adhesive.

[Kitsune Sniper]

Haha, what? It says RIGHT ON THE ENVELOPE ITSELF that you can put whatever you want in there, as long as it closes by itself normally using the adhesive.

I know. I tell them this. They refuse my envelopes anyway. I got yelled at for putting ONE CD with a bit of bubble wrap in it!

Like I said, douchebags. And guess what? The POSTMASTER is the one that told them this. And I can't complain, if I tell someone higher up the chain they'll know it was me.

[Xander]

I am really surprised about problems with the canadian postal service O_o. My mother-in-law works for them and they are really strict on the good service.

Most of the time the packages I receive are with the slowest, cheapest form of shipping. Without any kind of confirmation on delivery, and it stills never get lost. It takes 2 weeks to get it, but I get it.

And when dealing with other canadian, it's ridiculously cheap$ and fast. I get my item in 2 days, wherever it is in Canada.

[c0ldb33r]

Most of the time the packages I receive are with the slowest, cheapest form of shipping. Without any kind of confirmation on delivery, and it stills never get lost. It takes 2 weeks to get it, but I get it.

And when dealing with other canadian, it's ridiculously cheap$ and fast. I get my item in 2 days, wherever it is in Canada.
I'm also surprised. I've never had them lose a package, whether from the USA or within Canada. I only have problems when it comes through the border, but I've not had problems with losing parcels, only that they're slower than I'd like.