Buyer from Spain didn't ask for shipping cost before winning auction - what to do?

jap200

Crowqueen wrote: »

Sorry my reply wasn't polite, but it's frustrating when people come on here for advice, and then don't bother taking it.

I have actually heeded the advice and thanked those who have given it, so I'm not quite sure why it has generated such criticism.

Apologies if I have caused offense to anyone. It certainly wasn't my intention. I am clearly an Ebay 'novice' compared to many on here and have much to learn so am grateful for the advice given - particularly from Soolin who took the time to write several replies.

macfly

There are no ebay or paypal guidelines which tell you to specifically send items tracked for overseas buyers. Nor has anybody on here given that sort of advice for an item sold for £3.50.
Selling worldwide is exactly the same as selling in the UK. It's a trip to the post office.
I just think if you are stressing out over a minor sale, you would be better off doing an extra hour at work and giving ebay a swerve.

mobile48

macfly wrote: »

Selling worldwide is exactly the same as selling in the UK. It's a trip to the post office.

I came across a German seller yesterday who jumps on a low cost plane once a month only to post ebay items in the UK

terra_ferma

jap200 wrote: »

I think you have misunderstood me - I was very aware myself that it would be expensive, but I doubt that the buyer was because they didn't ask me first. I usually don't have time to add the International shipping rates to each listing (the fact that airsure prices have gone up today was also something I wasn't expecting) which is why I add the sentence asking buyers to contact me first and I believe this is fairly standard as I have seen it on many other listings. It might not be a requirement for them to contact me, but then does it mean that they have to accept whatever I charge them?

you see al sort of things on listings, like 'I'm not responsible for lost items' 'I don't accept negative feedback', unfortunately following other people's example is not always a good idea.

Adding postage does not take that long, it takes much longer to deal with problems that may occur (like dealing with irate buyers, receiving negs and low stars and even posting about it here)

soolin

mobile48 wrote: »

I came across a German seller yesterday who jumps on a low cost plane once a month only to post ebay items in the UK

Wow :eek:

Mind you I'd hate to see his DSRs for despatch times!

alx2010

soolin wrote: »

Sorry to hijack this, are you able to share where you get your mug cubes from please as the last ones I bought were much dearer than that and I have a couple of items here to sell and it would be easier in a pre formed cube.

Hi, I got my mug cubes from buyking
http://www.promo-mugs.net/packaging-promotional-mugs.php
But I got a cheaper price because I also had 500 mugs printed with them...

jap200

macfly wrote: »

There are no ebay or paypal guidelines which tell you to specifically send items tracked for overseas buyers. Nor has anybody on here given that sort of advice for an item sold for £3.50.
Selling worldwide is exactly the same as selling in the UK. It's a trip to the post office.
I just think if you are stressing out over a minor sale, you would be better off doing an extra hour at work and giving ebay a swerve.

Thank you once again for your kind advice. Yes it is indeed a minor sale, but I'm not stressed about it - I simply asked a question for some advice about it what to do in those circumstances and have followed that advice.

Interestingly MSE's own selling tricks article states the following: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/selling-on-ebay

"Always get proof of delivery
You MUST, MUST, MUST send items overseas items by a ‘trackable’ postage service. This is because sadly some overseas scammers claim an item hasn’t arrived, then try to claim the money back through Paypal, meaning you lose your cash, particularly with high value items such as iPods. Some MoneySavers will not sell to foreign buyers for this reason.

The only way to protect yourself against ‘item not received’ claims’ is to get proof of delivery, not proof of postage. To do this, you have to use a courier with online tracking, such as Royal Mail’s international Airsure service. To satisfy eBay, the online delivery status must say ‘delivered’ and show recipient’s address. You must also have sent the item within seven days of receiving payment."

It does say "particularly with high value items...", but the implication is that it should be for all.

Also, each time I click on the 'details' button next to a PayPal transaction I am 'reminded' always to send items by a trackable service.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing and Airsure is obviously OTT for a very low value item, but I was simply trying to do what I thought was the right thing and following that advice.

By the way, the buyer paid with no problem.

jap200

No one has commented on the contradictory advice about tracked overseas postage!

Spanish buyer paid quickly and left postivie feedback - all 5 stars still intact for P&P costs too. I have changed my preferences to UK buyers only and removed the sentence from my listings asking international buyers to contact me first before bidding. I also added a sentence saying that I will only post within the UK. Despite all that, last week I had a German buyer buying one of my BIN listings (a hard to find spare part), although he did email me immediately asking if I would make an exception about posting overseas, so I did.

leoetal19

well im glad it all worked out in the end xx

soolin

jap200 wrote: »

No one has commented on the contradictory advice about tracked overseas postage!

Spanish buyer paid quickly and left postivie feedback - all 5 stars still intact for P&P costs too. I have changed my preferences to UK buyers only and removed the sentence from my listings asking international buyers to contact me first before bidding. I also added a sentence saying that I will only post within the UK. Despite all that, last week I had a German buyer buying one of my BIN listings (a hard to find spare part), although he did email me immediately asking if I would make an exception about posting overseas, so I did.

For full paypal protection you must use tracking, however as tracking is not available via RM and we can receive compensation for items under £41 with just a COP most of us do not bother.

The MSE article works on the basis that new sellers might want to know how to be 100% protected, most of us have our own comfort levels that do not require tracking.