posted on June 18, 2001 06:54:43 AM
How the heck do I stop people from outside the USA from bidding? I check the proper button, yet this weekend MOST of my auctions ended with foreign bidders! I am so upset, they just keep bidding! I don't want to ship to them! What can I do?
posted on June 18, 2001 06:58:01 AM
1) Place in your auction: "Bidders with US shipping addresses only". (This will stop a majority of them if you put it in a bit bolder/red letters in your terms. Note: This will NOT stop all of them)
2) Others have suggested adding: "Foreign bidders ignoring the previous term will be assessed a $25 additional order processing fee". (This will keep those that care about money from bidding even if they don't care about your first rule)
If foreign bidders still bid after that, you can choose to either assess the fee and ship (and make a profit for the extra time and hassle it will cause) or you can refer to rule 1.
posted on June 18, 2001 07:04:15 AM
If you're that Adam Ant about not selling Internationally, you could start your description with "No sales outside USA". Something like that might grab their attention.
Have you considered that if they are bidding on and winning your auctions that they are the ones that are willing to bid high enough to win? Your perogative of course, but IMO you're throwing money down the drain by disallowing these bidders. Not to mention the overseas bidders that may end up being under-bidders, thereby raising the final auction price for you.
[ edited by loosecannon on Jun 18, 2001 07:08 AM ]
posted on June 18, 2001 07:08:35 AM
kyms just out of curiousity what are you selling?
Is it really that difficult to ship?
Another thing to consider when plastering NO INTERNATIONAL SALES all over your auctions is that those bidders raise your prices of the item and they don't always win.
You may have 10 international bids on your items with only one being a high bidder, just look at all the extra money those bids bring in.
posted on June 18, 2001 07:14:31 AM
I don't feel I am throwing money away, I LOSE money when I ship outside the USA almost every time. I run too many auctions to take extra time with weighing packing etc, they never tell me they are foriegn until the money gets here...$3.00 postage doen't cover postage to Canada, Japan, UK etc. Most are offended when I ask them to cover the rest of the postage etc... I cannot easily track these orders, and many tell me "My Item Never Got Here"... I then give refunds (because I can't trace the package...). I have lost enough. I love the $25.00 idea, it would be worth my time for that...Thanks for the food for thought!
posted on June 18, 2001 07:28:58 AM
The only problems I've ever had with Int'l transactions is once in a great while the payment is slow getting here, plus a few deadbeats, but not a large amount. Never had one complain about shipping amounts either. They tend to know going in that shipping will be more expensive.
You seem to have had more than your share of problems with Int'l. I think that most here would say that it's a relatively trouble free way of doing business. Guess I can't blame you for not wanting to do it.
posted on June 18, 2001 08:03:15 AM
I've done it for three years, I am just tired of it...Thanks for understanding. I sell records, they are not that hard to ship, but the other problems take up too much time, money and effort..
