posted on October 12, 2001 05:50:26 AM new
I ship Internationally and I don't believe it's fair to assume that just because the payment services can't "verify" non-US credits cards, that would lead to any greater chance those credit cards are stolen vs. the US credit cards.
BTW, I've been burned once on a credit card and it was a US bidder.
I've also been paid with personal checks from International buyers with US-based bank accounts. And I've just been burned on a personal check, my first bounced check, again a US bidder.
I dislike making blanket assumptions and feel that by opening up my customer base to include the whole world, it more than makes up for any potential losses in increased bids and better sell-through.
posted on October 12, 2001 06:34:29 AM new
samsonart, the problem is that not all non-US deals go as smoothly as yours do. I have sold to UK, RoC, Brazil, Netherlands, Canada and Australia. I have misjudged shipping costs a couple of times (my fault) and was not offered any additional $ even when I had stated they were responsible for FINAL charges. In a couple of other cases, I could have sold within the U.S. for a couple of $ less and a whole lot less work. I am sorry that you and 1000s like you are subject to my problems with others. Now I just leave the international part out of my listings and if I get an email from the UK asking to bid, I say "thanks for the email, please bid." I don't think dealers should get their knickers in a twit when they get a nice email asking to bid. However, I do not appreciate it when a winner springs a Brazil address on me AFTER the auction. Insuring stuff to some of these countries can be a real pain. Anyway, most of us do appreciate business from the UK and Canada.
posted on October 12, 2001 08:35:26 AM new
I ship all over the world, (and yes I am a power seller also) and take any form of payment. If asked I always say I prefer Bidpay for international customers because usually it is easiest for most. in three years I have had 3 cases of chargeback due to possible fraud. ALL three in the good ole USA. It's business and fraud will happen no matter what. If you want to limit YOUR customer base that is fine. Just create a verified customer list. In the meantime all those that don't want to deal with that can feel free to bid on my auctions hassle free. LOL
