EBAY selling - sending abroad???

frugalfrog

Hi

I am new to selling on Ebay, and I have had someone request the postal costs for sending the item to Russia. I wasnt planning on selling outside the UK, however, I dont want to turn valid buyers away. Is is riskier of getting scammed if you are sending things abroad? Any tips?

jjennison

Hello,

Not necessarily about the scamming thing as you don't send before you've been paid for the item in the first place. You could find out the cost on the Post Office website or something similar if you know the weight of the item to Russia. Just make sure that you do not actually send the item until they have paid you for it!

Deru

I've sold a number of things online but maximum is around £60 value for going abroad.

Selling abroad doesn't increase the risk of being scammed. You are just as likely to get scammed shipping within the country.

If they request to send to a country like Nigeria and Indonesia, then I wouldn't trust them though. Most other countries are okay.

Check the buyer's feedback. If they've been around for a while, then I'd feel a bit safer (doesn't guarantee anything though).

Ship to confirmed address and mention in the listing that it must be a confirmed shipping address.


Not sure if International Signed for is much good as trackability is poor once outside the country so not sure it's worth the £4 extra or whatever it costs nowadays. Get a certifciate of posting if it's a cheap item.

If much higher value, may want to consider a courier and insure it fully. Otherwise, tell the buyer that you won't ship outside the UK if it's too expensive. Check your listing settings and mention that it's a UK only auction in the item description.

mizzame

I send probably about 20% of my items abroad, never had issue with payment via Paypal from anywhere overseas. You often find foreign buyers are willing to pay more for things they cannot pick up in their own country so dont rule them out!

qwertykeys92

As long as you make sure you've received payment before sending it, it should be fine. You need to tell them it will take upto a month to get to them, though (some get impatient after just a few days even though they live thousands of miles away). Choose a good reliable postal service, and one that's insured if the value of your item is anything over £48 (if you don't insure items which are worth more than this you won't get compensation from the Royal Mail if it goes missing).

Also, it never hurts to check the buyer's feedback. I know sellers can't leave neutrals or negatives for buyers anymore (which doesn't seem quite fair to me), but if you look at the feedback the buyer itself has left for other sellers, you can see whether they leave neutrals or negatives for seemingly no reason. Then it's best to just steer clear of them as they could ruin your 100% positive feedback for a whole year.

I hope this helps you!