INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING DISCUSSION: Added International Shipping to all my auctions now, but, boy, was it a journey! Any thoughts?

[jeffgamer]

Hi, all! I just added International Shipping options to my eBay auctions, and thought I'd share what I've learned through the process and see if it might spark discussion or ideas.

 

Here's my journey from this past week:

 

I'm beginning to actively sell a lot of classic gaming items on eBay. When completing the auction write-up, it says under the International Shipping section: "eBay International Shipping......Your listing will show up for buyers worldwide, where applicable. Ship to our domestic shipping hub, and we’ll handle the rest, including customs and returns—at no extra cost to you."  It also allows the option to add additional international shipping methods.  I didn't add additional methods...didn't see a reason to since eBay had a program for that and I'm included in that program."

 

What they DON'T tell you on the seller's page is that electronics are excluded from that program...which means that all video games listed under the Video Games category won't display International Shipping as a choice...and they will also not even allow international bidders to place a bid.  I wouldn't have even realized there was a problem if someone hadn't contacted me last night asking if I could include an option to ship to Canada for one of my auctions and I responded that I thought the option was already there.  

 

I was able to revise the listings for all of my auctions in order to add the "additional international shipping methods"...sellers need to ship directly to international buyers, not through the eBay service.  But I was NOT able to revise the listings for the two items that already had received bids -- Democrat for Fairchild Channel F and Rush Hour for 2600 -- because the system won't let you revise or add shipping options once a bid is in place. 

 

For the Rush Hour, eBay advised me to cancel the one bid it had received...then add International Shipping options...then ask the bidder to put a new bid down. But they advised me incorrectly...even after cancelling the one bid, the system still treated the auction as if the bids were still active and I could not add International Shipping. The only option the next eBay rep could think of was to end the auction early and relist. Not my ideal...I like ending all my auctions around the same time on Sundays, and I like to be predictable and reliable for anyone bidding in my auctions...but that's what I needed to do.

 

For the Fairchild Democart, it already had 10 bids on it and ends this upcoming Sunday evening (a little over 2 days from now), so I was NOT going to cancel all those bids. Best I could think of in order to accommodate non-U.S. bidders was to add a note to the Democart's page which read: "NOTE TO INTERNATIONAL BIDDERS: First -- YES, I will ship internationally...if you are an international bidder who wants to bid on this item, read on.....  **The dilemma**: The seller listing tool says that International shipping is included through an eBay program...but, apparently, electronics (including video games) are excluded from that program and it did not tell me I needed to manually add international shipping options. The system also will not let me add international shipping once a bid has been received. Sooo...if an international bidder for this particular auction wants to bid, you'll need a U.S. eBay user to place the bid for you (I can find someone for you if you don't have anybody). If you win, you'll need to cover the extra cost for shipping to your country...but I am absolutely happy to ship internationally. Message me if you have questions."

 

Sooooo.....

 

Anyone have any thoughts on the above? Is there a better way to accommodate International bidders on the Fairchild? Is there something about International Shipping that I am not aware of and should know for the future? I may have come to the best conclusions...or those with more experience selling items on eBay might have other perspectives that never even crossed my mind. At the very least, sharing the above with ya'll might be helpful to others listing on eBay...and at the best, perhaps there might be some friendly community discussion to be had from it!

 

Cheers!

 

Jeff

[+OLD CS1]

I stopped selling internationally except to Canada years ago.  Between stupid things like the eBay ISP, customs declarations, buyers who demand I list the item as a gift on forms, and the impossibility of dealing with international fraudsters, I just stopped altogether.

 

Selling the in US, I have recourse against frauds.  Canada works similarly to the US, and I can file a police report or suit against a fraud.  Never rely upon eBay for any kind of protection.  It simply does not give two shits and will almost always decide in favor of the crook.

[jeffgamer]

I never in the past had a problem with declaring gift when requested...are there downsides to that that I should be considering?

 

What sorts of frauds have you had to deal with internationally?  

[Bratwurst]

7 hours ago, jeffgamer said:

I never in the past had a problem with declaring gift when requested...are there downsides to that that I should be considering?

 

What sorts of frauds have you had to deal with internationally?  

When you declare an item as a gift, you're generally also asked to mark the value low- like $20 instead of $200. This declaration interferes with an insurance claim if something happens to the package before it arrives. The buyer's request puts the seller at a disadvantage.

[jeffgamer]

On 2/24/2024 at 5:39 PM, Bratwurst said:

When you declare an item as a gift, you're generally also asked to mark the value low- like $20 instead of $200. This declaration interferes with an insurance claim if something happens to the package before it arrives. The buyer's request puts the seller at a disadvantage.

From what I remember, I never actually considered that when honoring that "low-value / gift request", Bratwurst. Have you ever had that actually come back to bite you?

 

[Bratwurst]

Certainly, but just once. It wasn't a ton of money, but it was enough to realign how I approach international deliveries. The simple matter is if you declare an item on the customs form for a lower value than it actually is, that lower value is what the courier is going to insure it for. Carry or discard that counsel at your discretion.

[jeffgamer]

39 minutes ago, Bratwurst said:

Certainly, but just once. It wasn't a ton of money, but it was enough to realign how I approach international deliveries. The simple matter is if you declare an item on the customs form for a lower value than it actually is, that lower value is what the courier is going to insure it for. Carry or discard that counsel at your discretion.

Sage advice.  Thank you! 👍

[+OLD CS1]

On 2/24/2024 at 9:49 AM, jeffgamer said:

What sorts of frauds have you had to deal with internationally? 

Fortunately, I have only had to deal with domestic fraudsters.  It was difficult enough dealing with them, and the potential for international abuse turns me away from the prospect entirely.

 

I have had a problem with customs and gift declarations.  I acquiesced, ill advisedly, to a Canada purchaser who wanted an item listed as a gift in shipping, so he would not have to pay import taxes.  CBSA (Canadian Border Security Agency) customs decided there was no way the item was a gift and issued a tax violation on it.  It was held in customs until the recipient paid the estimated duties, and I was issued a warning.  Happened about 20 years ago, and I was only a little butthurt over the event because I could have lost my shipping privilege to Canada.  Since then, I have told people that if they do not like import duties on person-to-person sales, they should vote better.