overseas purchase problem

wickerman_3

hi

i've just won an item from an overseas buyer & did not notice he did not take paypal.

they state in the 'sellers payment instructions' section

'PAYMENT METHODS FOR BUYERS OUTSIDE THE USA - International Bank Transfer or Cash (I accept US $ / UK £ / Euros) sent securely please.'

the item was for us $12 inc p&p. i've checked with my bank & it seems that a international bank transfer (swift etc) will cost £20 to arrnage, over twice as much as the item!!

what should i do??

soolin

what should i do??

Unfortunately all you can do is pay the bank transfer charges and read the auctions better before you bid in future.

Realistically sending cash is a poor option as you will need to pay a fortune for secure and signed for post. However try shopping around for other banks where you hold an account as they may be cheaper, I was quoted £12 recently for a transfer made via HSBC and at that time other users on here were saying they had been charged even less.

There is a possibility that your seller will release you from your obligations, but usually you would need to offer to pay all their fees, which means you are still faced with payment problems, so a Catch 22 situation.

Soo

wickerman_3

thanks soo - so sellers can ask for international bank transfer within ebay?

~cleo~

if its a low amount which really $12 is i'd go for cash and send international signed For or Airsure - I think Post office still do 0% commision on Foreign Currency

if it worked out to less that a bank transfer

wickerman_3

yeah that is what i was thinking - could i report them for listing cash though??

~cleo~

i dont think so, but i dont think cash is covered by Ebay's Standard Purchase Protection Programme - which if you dont recieve item difficult to prove you sent payment - depends on what you think to seller, their feedback etc..

this sort of thing happened to me about 3 years ago when i first started using ebay and i bought an item from the belgium for about 10 euros sent cash etc.. and had no problems but there are risks associated with it

wickerman_3

they have 1700 positive & 1 negative (i've just looked & the negative is from a member who is no longer registered whatever that may mean?)

they have been around for 5 years

soolin

wickerman wrote:

yeah that is what i was thinking - could i report them for listing cash though??

technically yes, they can be reported if their listiing has cash as an option. However ebay are unlikely to do anything as cash (I believe, please correct me if i'm wrong) is still allowed on ebay.com? However there ar eother options which is why I think ebay won't act on a single example.

Incidentally International signed for will cost you £3.50 on top of the normal airmal postage costs.

Soo

wickerman_3

that is what i thought when i checked the terms as there is another option. the guy has good positive feedback so i may go with the cash

bleugh

twelve dollars, just bung cash in the post normal delivery, wrapped in a few sheets of A4 paper

don't even bother with signed for delivery, at the end of the day, it's not that much money, the seller won't risk a neg

sp41700

soolin wrote:

Incidentally International signed for will cost you £3.50 on top of the normal airmal postage costs.

Soo

thanks for that soo, i didnt even relasie the price had gone up lol

G