posted on September 19, 2000 02:16:52 PM
It really burns me when a winning bidder from another country puts the pressure on us as sellers to mark the shipment as a "Gift"! I expect that most international buyers are well aware of the Customs fees and should figure that percentage as part of their total expenditure BEFORE placing a bid.
Perhaps that should be grounds for eBay to issue a warning to the buyer. Such action just might reduce the number of "Sorry, we are LEGIT" e-mails we have to compose.
Although I am not sure what, if any, repercussions there would be for a seller who did mark "Gift" on a regular basis, it would seem that lying on any official form would not reflect well on the business. (Especially if the business is located in a small town, where the PO KNOWS you don't ship FREEBIES!)
I also am unsure what kind of feedback to leave for such prompt but slick buyers!
I get that ALL the time! I now have this stated in my TOS:
INTERNATIONAL BIDDERS: Your bids are always welcome, but please note that shipping out of the U.S. may be very costly. If you would like a shipping amount before bidding, please send me your country that I will be shipping to and I will get you the information as soon as possible. And please do not ask me to fill out the customs form as "gift" - the customs form will be filled out HONESTLY as "merchandise" and the amount will be the amount of your bid.
Even with that statement I *STILL* get bidders telling me to mark the item as a gift! I personally think it's rude of them to ask us to deliberately LIE on the customs form - and I will do no such thing! So far, no one has insisted after I tell them I will not lie on the form.
As far as feedback, I have not left any Neutrals or Negs for this but it sure is tempting sometimes!
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The only place you'll find success before work is in the dictionary.
