posted on December 14, 2000 02:59:54 PM
If eBay wants to block something, I wish they
would put a function in that if you have
US shipping only checked, then if an international bidder tries to bid the system would say sorry or something. U.S. Shipping Only is also very clearly stated in our auctions. Sorry, I guess I am venting.....More international bidders again this month....why do they keep bidding on auctions that clearly state sorry but NO!
I have nothing against international, it is just an area that we do not wish to sell in, some do and that is ok, but we do not and state so very clearly.....OK....I'm done now
just needed someone to talk to.
posted on December 14, 2000 03:17:40 PM
I am an international (e.g. non-North American) bidder. When I see "US only" I email the seller first, to see if they would consider shipping to the UK. Most say yes - especially if they take Paypal or Billpoint payments, as it is easy for them to get their money quickly.
If they say no, and I really want the item, I have a sister in the US that I can have items shipped to. If Ebay wouldn't let me bid, I couldn't even have the item shipped to an alternative address.
posted on December 14, 2000 03:31:45 PM
mivona - you have good points!! see I said I was venting, when we vent we don't always think first (it was just--we have had 12 of these now since November and just got another bid on an item but it now, again another international) if like you they would email and ask (which is what I would also do), I guess I would understand better. PS--I don't think anyone from anywhere is horrible I have tried to talk my partner into trying international and he no way wants any part of it, he has read and been told so many horror stories and problems with it, I can not get him to change his mind.
posted on December 14, 2000 04:05:50 PM
That would stop all the international bidders that have US chequing (checking) accounts and US mailing addresses.
A friend of mine has been bidding on tons of stuff--now that I have a PO box inthe states....I pick it up---and pay the taxes at the border---but he gets an item that was recently FORBIDDEN to him
posted on December 14, 2000 04:18:10 PM
Try adding to your TOS There is a $5.00 extra charge to ship out of the USA. Then if they still bid the extra $5.00 will make it worth while.
posted on December 14, 2000 04:29:07 PM
Better yet, why not make it $1000.00 - that way you'll really be sending the message that you prefer being "an island unto yourself" ...
posted on December 14, 2000 04:41:22 PM
sylswa
I don't know what you sell, so this might not be feasible, but do you have a small item or two that you can convince your partner to sell internationally?
Larger items can be a pain to work with, but smaller items are pretty easy to ship abroad.
In the year + I've been selling internationally I've not had a single problem.
I have gained some wonderful repeat customers in Australia, New Zealand, England, Brazil, Scotland and, of course, Canada.
Just a thought, if you'd really like to persuade your partner to expand your business.
posted on December 15, 2000 01:37:01 AM
Well I guess I qualify as an international bidder seeing as I am outside the US where the sun rises and sets lol Seriously, I'm a seller too and I have to admit I get really annoyed with buyers who dont read terms before they bid (especially the strictly Visa/ Mastercard only part!). If it's something I really want I always email the seller first but just be aware that you are potentially missing out on a lot of business as most buyers are in the habit of skipping over items that say US bidders only. Partly it is out of respect but in my case it is also because it appears as if the seller isnt interested in their customers enough to make a trip to the PO to fill out a form. Obviously you arent one of those but I just wanted to point out that being in Australia 99% of my trade is "international" and I have never had any "horror stories". Online payments have probably reduced a lot of problems. Actually the only problems I have had have been with australian buyers. Figures! Now does any-one want to vent about npb's? AAAGH.
posted on December 15, 2000 06:59:13 AM
spotthedog ... "most buyers are in the habit of skipping over items that say US bidders only"
Spot On! And, many of these that are skipped over do include a statement that the seller may charge a little more for International shipping. I think the problem is that many sellers don't tick the "will ship internationally" box. eBay shows "US only" as a default - this should be changed to 'force' the seller to pick something. If I had a buck for every "US only" seller who I have contacted before bidding, and who have told me they would be happy to ship to Canada, I wouldn't need to sell any more!
posted on December 15, 2000 10:59:57 AM
I did international shipments for awhile and decided it was more trouble than it was worth. I still get bidders who ignore the "U.S. Only" in the description. Most irritating are the bidders who email to ask if I'll make an exception in their "special" case, AFTER they bid on the item. A few of these characters started sending vulgar email and messing with my auctions. So now I let them waste their time mailing the payment. Maybe they'll get the message when their items don't arrive because I threw their payments in the trash.
posted on December 15, 2000 12:14:30 PM
International bidders are just like U.S. bidders. 90 percent are nice, reasonable folks and 10 percent are people you'd rather not deal with. But when you have someone bidding against a clear request not to, the chances increase signficantly that you're dealing with part of that 10 percent; that's why stories that start out with "I SAID U.S. bidders only...." frequently have bad endings!
This has been my experience, too. I sell mostly small, light, moderate-value items and never restricted bidders...have shipped to Australia, the U.K., the Philippines and Singapore w/no problem. Small-packet rate is very reasonable, and it's kind of cool to chit-chat back and forth with international bidders....part of the fun of ebay.
BUT I sold a china music box that was a fairly bulky, fragile, costly item, and I thought long and hard before indicating "U.S. bidders only." You guessed it. Top bidder from Mexico. Nope. Relist. Top bidder from Singapore. Sigh.
Since I feel a bit more comfortable about Singapore's postal service, I went ahead and shipped. Postage was nearly $50, and bidder was not happy....came very close to getting my first neg on that one. All along, both bidders blithely ignored my stated TOS and struggled mightily to put me in the wrong. ("Why are you charging so much? Why won't you send it before you get the money? You better pack it well."
I really got a bad taste in my mouth from that one...I can see why people just starting out get scared away.
posted on December 15, 2000 01:15:16 PM
Whenever I see an item I wish to bid on and it says "Ship to the US only" I always ask the seller if it would be OK and point to my feedback and that I have completed many sales and purchases with US citizens.
About 80-90% reply and say it's no problem if I bid - the rest never respond and I assume that is their answer.
I think the best thing is to also state it in your Terms of Sale in Bold Letters - not just on the check box eBay supplies.
If they still bid then at least you can say you tried!
posted on December 15, 2000 01:21:25 PM
Every international bidder that has bid on my stuff has emailed me first asking if it was okay.
All but one have paid promptly and not balked about the extra postage.
I still hate filling out the extra form but I really can't complain.
I am thinking of dropping the ship to US only from my TOS, but I'm a little afraid to get a slew of bidders from those countrys where all the CC fraud is coming from.
I have tried to talk my partner into trying international and he no way wants any part of it, he has read and been told so many horror stories and problems with it, I can not get him to change his mind.