Would you send abroad untracked?

angelic84

Hi,

I have had an American buyer enquiring about buying quite a lot of stock off me through ebay. Looking at her feedback she buys lots of the same type of thing (which i think she resells at car boots). However she states she is disabled and cannot get to the post office to collect tracked delivery mail, as this is how i said i would send it as a bulk lot would be worth quite a bit. firstly do people in America have to collect items delivered this way, i was under the impession it would be delivered to her house as it is over here? She is requesting that it is sent normal post as it would also save her money. I am a bit worried about doing this but she is willing to buy quite a large amount from me. Obviously this way she could easily claim that it has not arrived. What would others do in this situation? I had in mind to post in separate lots up to the value of £39 so I could claim from RM if anything happened but she stated she cannot afford to pay for more than one lot of postage.

thanks!

cyberbob

I never sen items abroad tracked as I don't sell items worth over £39 abroad.

I would though never let a buyer dictate postage to me I have a minimum postage which they can upgrade at request but never let them downgrade.

I'm not sure if youe on about sending surface mail which I would never do as you don't know haow long it will take and is normally a bit of a nightmare due to this.

Your buyer could be guenuine but the whole thing sounds so complicated that it could quite easily end up being a really problematic and stressful sale. My wife is disabled I have never played that card when buying something so always confused when others do.Personally due to that I would decline the request. If she cannot afford the postage its not worth it. You could be doing someone a favour and end up out of pocket and have all the stress.

soolin

Firstly it is not uncommon for there to be no door to door deliveries in the States, my sister was across the border in Canada and all post was delivered to a central office which residents had to go and collect.

All my stuff overseas goes untracked but i only sell items below £39 so that I am covered with a POP if the things get lost. However, the moment a buyer starting dictating terms to me i would get worried. Playing the disabled card also suggests to me that she could be a scammer and I owuld be tempted to stop selling to her and cut your losses.

If you send te stuff tracked don't forget to add the £2.20 insurance uplift to the postage quote.

alfiesmum

How does she get out to resell at a car boot sale then? I mean if sh'e disabled to the extent that she can't get out to collect a parcel?

angelic84

thanks for your replies. I was a bit confused myself as to how she can get out and about but not to collect anything! think i will put my foot down and say tracked or nothing unless the items she wants come to under £39 (wont tell her that obviously)!

StaffsSW

What about a courier like UPS or DHL instead? On larger or heavier items they are more often than not better value than standard Airmail, tracking is generally included and door to door collection and delivery is the norm.

angelic84

stevew8975 wrote: »

What about a courier like UPS or DHL instead? On larger or heavier items they are more often than not better value than standard Airmail, tracking is generally included and door to door collection and delivery is the norm.

Thanks, hadn't thought of that. Will have a look into it.