posted on October 24, 2004 11:48:13 AM new
A couple of years ago, I was shipping to Canada, the UK, and Australia, but encountered so many problems, I stopped shipping outside the USA.
Now, I have found a intermediately company to handle shipments to Japan, so shipping to Japan is back on my shipping list.
I just checked the USPS shipping information, and find I can now get a SIGNED, RETURN RECEIPT, for items shipped to the UK, and Australia, so I am adding them to my shipping to list.
We've been taken too often by "I never got my item," so that we require a signature on absolutely everything we ship, USA, and any where else. We have not had complaints regarding such.
BUT CANADA, I don’t find any way to get a SIGNED, receipt for the merchandize, except to ship through UPS (which I personally prefer), but which is much more costly.
MY QUESTION IS: IF you ship to Canada, how do you obtain a SIGNED RECEIPT when the merchandize is delivered to the customer?
IF you ship outside the USA do you accept PayPal? Do you feel protected via PayPal?
IF you don’t accept PayPal on foreign shipments what type of payment do you accept and why?
THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE IN THIS MATTER….
posted on October 24, 2004 12:01:04 PM new
They can sign the Magna Carta -- tain't gonna do you NO GOOD if they WHINE to PayPal -- yer still screwed outta yer moola!
NO, I do NOT accept PayPal for international shipments -- BidPay work quite nicely for them!
Ye be NO NO covered for shipents outside the good ole USofA -- donna care if ya have bonny Prince Harry & his pub-mates videotaping the recipient accepting the packie & broadcasting it on SKY-NEWS with Rupert Morlock commentating...YOU LOSE!
PayPal offers a very slight amount of protection if you ship to confirmed address within the USA & receive a SIGNATURE for orders over $250 -- other than that, PP offers anti-protection for any other scenarios for USA sellers.
(tis differing rules for Canadian, UK, & Elbonian sellers)
"At this time, the Seller Protection Policy is only available for U.S. or Canadian sellers transacting with U.S. buyers, and for U.K. sellers transacting with U.K. or U.S. buyers"
It's been watered down to very SLIGHT protection if ya follow all 679 1/3 rules & join the Jesuits at the same time:
posted on October 24, 2004 12:41:38 PM newTHANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR REPLIES
About 2 or 3 years we were burned bad by chargebacks because we had no signature proof, from the UK in particular, but also from Canada. We have had the most trouble with Canada.
Therefore after reading your comments, it was as I thought - I will add shipping to countries via USPS, who have a Return Receipt Service. To Canada, we will restrict it to UPS ONLY with signature required.
TIP TO JAPAN
They are located in the US. And you simply ship your order for Japan to them, and they handle it from there. Shipping charge is via cost from you to the West Coast. Since they are US based, they use PayPal safely.
Thanks again!
~"It does not matter what I think, it does not matter what you think. The only thing which matters is: What is the TRUTH!"~
posted on October 24, 2004 02:34:52 PM new
jwpc: Generally speaking, what do you sell? Is there a particular age group you sell to more frequently? Just curious.
posted on October 24, 2004 02:40:32 PM new
jwpc,
what are you shipping overseas that you are eating chargeback left and right??
Certified mail is cheaper than registered mail and they have to sign for it,in any country which accepts postal delivery.
But if you think signature is going to protect you from a chargeback,you better think again!
If the excuse is they never receive the item,would insurance be better than mere signature??
-sig file -------Life is one big happy 'All You Can Eat' buffet .
We have been shipping overseas for donkey's years and while the occasional delivery can be slow to arrive, none have ever gotten lost. Your problem can charitably be described as "fraud via PayPal". Paypal is the least safe method of accepting payment from overseas buyers.
You can protect yourself by insisting on payment from international customers by money order, bank transfer or even cash you won't be out of pocket due to PayPal fraudsters who claim not to have receive your shipments. You can also obtain a "proof of posting" certificate at the Post Office which can be used to start a trace when a package really is delayed or goes missing. Most "lost or delayed packages" are simply stuck in customs in the destination country or awaiting delivery after payment of any due duty or sales tax, etc. PayPal protects no one but themselves, in much the same way that eBay fails to protect sellers (who pay the fees that generate PayPal/eBay's income) from deadbeats, retaliatory feedback, etc.
If you still want to accept PayPal for international orders then insist those customers pay for USPS Express Signed-for with Return Receipt service so you can lay mail fraud charges in the event of a delivered package being claimed as "non-delivered". The Post Office Inspectors will notify PayPal and request their cooperation in investigating all such cases of mail fraud.
posted on October 26, 2004 11:01:18 AM newROADSMITH We sell everything from jewelry, to cast iron functioning water pumps. Remember we have 4 large web sites that are a major, major part of our shipping.
When I decided to “try” shipping outside the USA again, I am limiting it to items no more than 10 pounds, most about 5 pounds. Which would include genie lamps, Menorahs, many Jewish/Messianic items, women’s clothing, etc.
This time I set up strict rules – INTERNATIONAL MONEY ORDERS ONLY, NO PAYPAL, PERIOD. Bid-Pay for the UK, which Bid-Pay covers.
We insure EVERYTHING, always have. In the USA, we ship UPS, Insured, Signature required. We do have our own merchant’s account.
I checked various countries yesterday, and IF I can insure items shipping to those countries, THEN, we will ship to them. I am trying to keep this rather limited in this test. I have not opened up “outside the USA” shipping to any of our web sites, just testing it on auctions.
IS THERE A SITE ON LINE, where foreign customers can purchase International Money Orders on line? A site which works similar to Bid-Pay? NOT Western Union, where one has to run out to some weird location to pick up their payment, but one which either does an automatic bank deposit, or sends a check??
When we use to ship outside the USA, we specified (charges through our own Merchant account) or preferably, INTERNATIONAL MONEY ORDERS, and some foreigners didn’t seem to have the slightest idea of what we were talking about and sent foreign currency, or Money Orders drawn on foreign banks (which our bank won’t process). I thought if there was a site where one could direct customers to on line for INTERNATIONAL MONEY ORDERS, then it might solve the “understanding” issue.
***********
agitprop Thanks so much for your insights.
When I was encountering the chargeback issues, they WEREN'T via PayPal, but our own Merchant Account Processor, and specifically on smaller items going to the UK, but pricy items. I have had the similar experience with Canada, in fact, I'd rather ship to Timbuktu than Canada, we have had endless problems with Canada.
Let Me Ask do you place your shipping outside the USA, information/rules on your ad, or via a link?
Thanks again!
Thanks!
~"It does not matter what I think, it does not matter what you think. The only thing which matters is: What is the TRUTH!"~
posted on October 26, 2004 12:46:22 PM new
i doubt if there is a website which will accept credit cards from all over the world and send you a us dollar money order??
Bidpay does not serve website sales,only auctions and i remember there is a limit of 700 dollars.
Unless bidpay has made changes,it is auction only and they want to know which auction and which auction number and only if you are the high bidder.
I would think some of your customers may be savvy enough to know where they can go to get you a money order in local market or local website-canadian and japanese can go to post office and get you a postal order,others may prefer gong to amex to get you an amex money order ,some may go to their local bank and buy you a foreign draft (drawn on us bank) or some prefer wiretransfer.some like tom said can send cash.
I know on Yahoo shopping,we all accept credit cards and every time we get an intl order,we do our best to verify the order-check with the bank,check his ISP,check his local addr,ask for cc statement etc.
We do not sell to Nigeria,Indonesia,Russia,Romania but there is no way to stop them from placing order,some orders are just ridiculous and get trashed the minute we get them.
you may want to consider accepting amex card only as amex customer service is more helpful than MC.VISA.It will tell you if your customer name is on the card .
-sig file -------Life is one big happy 'All You Can Eat' buffet .
Since we are based in New Zealand virtually all our sales are international or to tourists visiting our country. Back to the problem - we have found bank transfers to be the safest for both parties as it leaves a clear record and can't be easily reversed. We maintain bank accounts in all our major sales markets and inward transfers are fast and free to both parties. Even cross-border Euro transfers are free within the EU. But this probably isn't useful to others without the ability to open foreign bank accounts.
Does the USPS still allow non-US customers to purchase USPS Money orders online using a credit card? Might be useful to follow up on.
posted on October 26, 2004 08:09:11 PM new
USPS has never allowed anyone -us or non us customers to purchase postal order online.
In fact i dont believe it is an option.
Citibank(bless its soul) shut down its citibank internet service site,now,this is the site your customer can tap his citibank account and ask citibank usa to send you a check in us dollars.
-sig file -------Life is one big happy 'All You Can Eat' buffet .
