John Black
Offline
Buy and Sell: On
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When selling overseas and using Paypal, most addresses are NOT confirmed, so the seller is on shakey ground from the start. If somebody says XYZ is their Ebay ID, how do you know? I could pick any account and say that's my feedback. Things to remember -
1) Paypal costs more, 1% more, so factor that in.
2) Shipping overseas can be expensive - check the shipping cost first. I use the U.S. post office's "EMS" grade. Generally $30-$40 gets you anywhere in the world; insurance is expensive (adds ~$5 to $10 for most shipments).
3) EMS has full tracking - you need tracking to cover your @ss with Paypal.
4) The insured value MUST MATCH the stated value. You cannot declare an item as $10 and then insure is for $1000. Post office won't honor an insurance claim if the values don't match.
5) Declaring an item as a gift (when it's not) is a crime. Buyers often ask for this, so they are politely asking you to break the law.
6) If you think a cc payment may be flakey, sit on it for ~2 days to see if Paypal reverses it. I've had this happen twice.
For the record I've sold ~$15k of gear to overseas buyers. I've had 3 or 4 shipments drop off the radar for several weeks, but in the end they showed up. Customs in Canada and the U.K. and take a week or more, though Canada has been much better lately. With the dollar being so weak, international buyers are saving quite abit. Even with tariffs, it's still very cost effective.
It's very important to temper the buyers expectations regarding shipping time. Shipping time may only 5-7 business days, but customs can lengthen that process substantially. The EMS tracking shows when a package is sitting in customs. At least this way the buyer knows the delay isn't your fault.
Edited on Dec 10, 2007 at 09:46 PM
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