posted on November 14, 2004 09:03:51 AM
I have an auction that has become quite sizeable due to two bidders that have gotten into a bidding war. There is still 3 days left on the auction. The problem is two-fold. The highest bidder doesn't bid all that often, has a feedback of 18 with 4 neutrals and 1 neg in 56 transactions (although the neutrals are retaliation FB for non-delivery of items from a seller), but does bid high and seems to pay. The second highest bidder at the moment, I have a pretty good communication with, pays with no problems (100% positive FB of 170 in 261 transactions) but is located in the U.K. Should the UK bidder win and pay via paypal (which he will), then I have a problem if he says that he didn't receive it. Right now the auction stands at $200.00 and could go higher (although I seriously doubt any other bidders other than these two will bid on it). What would you do in this situation? I'm tempted to cancel the high bidder and close the auction selling it to the UK bidder. How should I handle this? This has NEVER happened to me before and while I am totally ecstatic, I am really nervous at the same time.
Thanks, o high Vendionians, for any help you can give me!
posted on November 14, 2004 09:07:17 AM
why dont you email the UK bidder and say you expect him to use bidpay,if he said no,he should cancel his bid now.
OR say you want him to use bidpay and you will give him a discount enough to pay for the fee.
It is up to you.
-sig file -------Life is one big happy 'All You Can Eat' buffet .
posted on November 14, 2004 10:20:30 AM
My vote is with Stopwhining. Good advice, and I'd do the same, I think.
I know how you're feeling, though. Some of us don't often have an item that goes that high, and I will find myself checking my auction description to make sure I included all the defects, etc. It is exhilarating, but scary, too.
posted on November 14, 2004 10:25:54 AM
Bidpay is the only way to go with overseas sales! Paypal is fine within the usa but never for more than you are willing to lose if it goes south.
posted on November 14, 2004 10:28:56 AM
Well I'm not expert and I'd be peeing my pants with glee if I had a sale go that high but I looked at the auction and I would just leave it as is. The lower feedback person DOES have lower feedback but maybe they just don't buy as often? The neutrals are all retalitory and it seems that they do pay.
I'd be nervous too (I get excited when an auction goes to like...$20) but I'd let it ride and give the current high bidder the benefit of the doubt.
I wouldn't cancel the first bidder. If she doesn't pay, you can always offer it to the second one with the advise Stopwhining suggested.
I just sold some thread to a bidder with low feedback for $222. I almost cried when I found out she was from Australia. But she paid within 2 minutes and had it shipped to California, a confirmed address.
Debbie
Be kind. Everyone is fighting their own secret battles.
...Author Unknown
posted on November 14, 2004 10:57:49 AM
May I suggest you do nothing. There may be someone who is just waiting until the end to bid. I take Paypal all the time for international bidders and no problem yet but Bid Pay may be the way to go. Good luck and let us know how it ends up.
posted on November 14, 2004 11:44:46 AM
Why not add to the description stating PAYPAL ACCEPTED AT SELLER'S OPTION AND WINNER SHOULD HAVE A CONFIRMED PAYPAL ADDRESS FOR ANY ITEM OVER $50.00 - ASK BEFORE USING IT SHOULD YOU HAVE ANY DOUBTS. PAYPAL IS NOT ACCEPTED ON ANY INTERNATIONAL SALES BUT WINNER CAN USE BIDPAY
PLEASE BID ACCORDINGLY.
I have this in ALL my listings.
Anyone who bids after you add this is bounded by it - of course if you get no other bids, that another story.
This covers you either way - but if you have dealt with the international bidder before - I don't think I would be too worried about them.
Also some of the high price item bidders DON'T bid very often so that's not that bad either.
Since you are adding it after the fact - you may want to soften it up with seller prefers etc - depends on how firm about it you want to be.
Hope this will help you feel better if you just let it ride.
posted on November 14, 2004 12:19:59 PM
dadofstickboy
I have had numerous problems with packages going to Australia. They get there OK, but once they hit customs it's another story.
I sent an $80 dog over there that got hung up in customs. Even though I make it very plain in my description that I am not responsible for customs problems, she gave me a hard time and demanded a refund. Fortunately, the argument went past 30 days and she couldn't file a PayPal chargeback.
Another one was a Christmas ornament that had two tiny FAKE pine cones on it. They wanted $48 dollars to fumigate it and said it would probably be destroyed in the process. Or she could pay a $40 fee to have it returned to me. She gave me a hard time also.
I understand why both of them were upset. I would have been also. But it wasn't my fault and I couldn't afford to give the first one a refund on an expensive dog I wasn't going to get back.
Be kind. Everyone is fighting their own secret battles.
...Author Unknown
posted on November 14, 2004 12:49:42 PM
This is how I handle my Canadian and International bidders. I have a clickable link from my Payment and Shipping Details to my about me page which has my guarnatee in it. The guarantee reads.
CANADIAN AND INTERNATIONAL BIDDERS
I will happily sell to you but I want you to read my guarantee before bidding. I will not lie on Customs Forms. As insurance is not available for Canadian or International sales I can not guarantee delivery. Please take this into consideration when bidding. Postage to Canada is approximately the same as in the United States. All International Sales will go Air Letter Post unless buyer wishes Global Priority. if you abide by these Terms of Service please bid. Thanks
I have no idea if they read it but I have never had problems with any Canadian or International Sales.
As sellers we have to cover all bases as there seems to alot of new buyers out there that don't know the ins and outs of buying. It is not up to us to educate them fully but if we can help a little it might make the transaction smoother. I am sure your high bidder if she always pays that she wouldn't mind using bidpay. I can't understand why there can't be international tracking. Wouldn't that be nice.
If you put a customs form on all foreign sales you do have proof of mailing because when you mail your package the postal clerk scans the customs number and it does appear on your receipt. I do know that it isn't trackable but it is proof of mailing. Your postal clerk keeps those forms for about a month.
Thats some great sale Bizzy. Congratulations.
_________________
To Quote John Kerry in his concession speech. "But in an american election, there are no losers, because whether or not our candidates are successful, the next morning we all wake up as Americans
posted on November 14, 2004 12:55:29 PM
Bizzy I wnat to congratulate you on your business. You have done a great job in such a short time. Something I am sure takes a lot of time but your rewards are good. My hats off to you....
_________________
To Quote John Kerry in his concession speech. "But in an american election, there are no losers, because whether or not our candidates are successful, the next morning we all wake up as Americans
posted on November 14, 2004 01:45:05 PM
LIbra - there is international tracking, it's just that it is a rather expensive option. On something like what Bizzy is selling, she may might consider doing it, especially if this is a pattern low weight and compact.
I don't put customs on packages unless it is weight required. Right now I am shipping about 200 packages a week - I would not have the time. I hate addressing the things as it is, doing it twice for the customs form might just turn me from the kind agreeable happiy go lucky individual that I you know now into a real grouch
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on November 14, 2004 01:51:03 PM
ALL which is HUNHY-DORRY wunderfuuuul, but has NADA to do with PayPal!
CONFIRMED or UNCONFIRMED!
VERIFIED or NON-VERIFIED!
HUMAN or ALIEN!
Don't mean DIDDLY-SQUAT when yer talking about PAY-PAL!
We go thru this over & over & then folks come & cry that PayPal jerked the moola out of their account EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVE PROOF OF MAILING!
BFD! Makes no difference!
>>>READ<<< If you accept a PayPal payment & ship the item OUTSIDE THE USA, and the jerk whines to PayPal FOR ANY OR NO GOOD REASON, PayPal will YANK the MOOLA out of yer account, & you are left...
HOLDING THE BAG (IOW: without recourse)!
Ralphie's MORAL to this story:
USE ONLY BID-PAY for INTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS!
FDR gave America THE NEW DEAL... JFK gave America THE NEW FRONTIER... DUBYAgives America...THE FINGER!
posted on November 14, 2004 02:41:23 PM
Tom - I realise that that is your favorite song but you might want to consider that sometimes it's not financially responsible to require Bidpay. Also as we come up on the holidays again - remember that last year there were delays of up to 10 days to get BidPay to approve payments.
BidPay is a great service but to make a blanket statement that the ONLY way to do international transactions thru them is rather narrow minded. It may be the best for you, but that does not mean that it's the best for everyone.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
What I care about is folks LOSING their moola because they donna understand how PayPal works, & others here yack about "TRACKING" and "CONFIRMED" etc,etc,etc &
ALL THAT has nothing to do with PayPal!!!!!
I use PayPal everyday & love it!
But if ya accept it for INTERNATIONAL bidders, then yer butt is hanging out there with no safety net!
The ONLY advantage of BidPay is that they CYA for INTERNATIONAL payments ....
PayPal DOESN't, & that's fine if yer willing to GAMBLE on $200!!!!
I sure can't...
FDR gave America THE NEW DEAL... JFK gave America THE NEW FRONTIER... DUBYAgives America...THE FINGER!
posted on November 14, 2004 03:12:48 PM
Tom is right,all intl addresses are unconfirmed as far as Paypal goes,so dont waste your money paying for intl tracking.
-sig file -------Life is one big happy 'All You Can Eat' buffet .
posted on November 14, 2004 03:14:29 PM
you may want to consider USPS insurance,using the blue slip which has a tracking number.
If the buyer complains of no receipt,he is insured.If you wonder where is the package ,ask post office.
-sig file -------Life is one big happy 'All You Can Eat' buffet .
posted on November 14, 2004 03:34:39 PM
Thanks, everybody, for your input. For those that would like to watch the auction, it's item #8145911599. I will take everyone's input seriously. Fortunately, I do have a good rapport going with the UK bidder as he has bidded on some of my other items.
Thanks for the congrats, too. I never ever thought I would have an auction run this high.
posted on November 14, 2004 03:50:17 PM
Stop - not correct - I recieved three payments just today from the UK that are from PayPal confirmed adresses. They just do not offer seller protection international shipments. Thing is, that's not even hard and fast. If you use USPS Global Express or any other method that actually has online tracking and confirmation - PayPal will find in the sellers favor if the online tracking show the package was delivered.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on November 14, 2004 03:58:25 PM"If you use USPS Global Express or any other method that actually has online tracking and confirmation - PayPal will find in the sellers favor if the online tracking show the package was delivered."
PLEASE show the appropriate clause in PayPal's TOS to support that claim...
PayPal has told me (telcon) the EXACT OPPOSITE of that statement, & their FAQ states the following:
posted on November 14, 2004 04:07:28 PM
The reason I called PayPal about this is:
For 1 year, I was offering ONLY USPS GLOBAL EXPRESS MAIL as the shipping option for NON-USA bidders who wanted to use PayPal -- BECAUSE GEM does have online trackability as required by PayPal...
BUT, USPS GEM is outrageously expensive (approx 2-3X > AIRMAIL LETTER POST), so, after hordes of furrrriners complained about this shipping fee, I called PayPal for:
CLARIFICATION...
AND was told: "If ye ship outside the USA, we donna care if ya have a video of Mother Teresa or Suopie Sales or Fred Flintstone delivering the packie -- ye be SOL"
So, I repeat...SHOW RALPHIE IT IN WRITING!
FDR gave America THE NEW DEAL...
JFK gave America THE NEW FRONTIER...
DUBYAgives America...THE FINGER!
posted on November 14, 2004 04:19:25 PM
Tom - sorry sweetie - don't have it in writing - just have the actual experience of having them find in my favor when I gave them tracking info that showed item delivered and signed for.
As I said, they have their stated documented rule, but it is not hard and fast and they do find in a sellers favor if they have proof that a bidder is being less than honest.
You are right about GEM, as well as any international express shipments, being pricy. I generally use it only when a customer buys a number of items and the combined shipping covers the cost. I only actually offer airmail letter post but will upgrade the method if the shipping paid will cover an upgrade. It's a nice surprise & customers love it.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
[ edited by fenix03 on Nov 14, 2004 04:26 PM ]
posted on November 14, 2004 05:45:31 PM
fenix~Sorry, snook'ums, but that sounds too much like tap-dancing on quicksand for my taste, but HEY! Knock yerself out...
As Mahareshi-Ralph says: "Some days ya get the elevator, and some days ya get the shaft..."
FDR gave America THE NEW DEAL... JFK gave America THE NEW FRONTIER... DUBYAgives America...THE FINGER!
posted on November 14, 2004 08:02:28 PM
Fenix is always wrong. We all need to just remember that as a given. She is also stating that items under pound don't need a customs form. That fact is, it only applies to letters, not merchandise. If she gets caught, she will be doing federal time.
.
.
.
Alive in 2005
posted on November 14, 2004 08:14:03 PM
ROFL!! I know it's just wrong to laugh at the mentally handicapped but when it comes to you Stone, I just can't help myself.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on November 15, 2004 05:33:22 AM
I'm not an expert........but I have been accepting paypal for international bidders for years.
I ship all over the country and everything seems to arrive to them with no problem.
I never worry about charge backs, or items getting lost because if I did I would loose lots of sales, which has happened to me in the past when I didn't accept paypal as payment from an international bidder.
I have also sent expensive items with no problems, I don't lie on the customs form either and I let them know this in my listing, so I state: Don't ask me to.
Guess I have been lucky.......lol
I have had bidders with very bad feedback bid on my auctions but I let the auction run to the end and I don't worry about that, if they choose not to pay, I will just file for my fees, but they turn out to be good payers, sometimes feedback does not speak the full truth about a bidder.
I wouldn't worry about who is bidding on your auctions, I don't have the time to give that a second thought, If they are the high bidder and they don't pay, then I just file for my fees, I don't even email them, I don't care to waste my time with emails to people that know they won and should pay.
Paypal emails them, Ebay emails them, then when you file for your fees Ebay emails them again, so I think thats plenty of reminders that they are the high bidder.
