I'm currently dealing with a trouble oversea transaction and would like to share my experience with all US sellers.

- do not declare your item as gift or at lower value than your item's worth just because buyer requested it.
- make sure your item is insured for full amount. US post office might not insure your item for some countries. Don't ship to those countries
- make sure you have tracking number for your item. If US post office doesn't provide tracking number to some countries. Don't ship to those countries.
- keep your shipping receipts

Just to let you know I didn't do any of those things listed above except the last one and now I'm paying for it.

Feel free to share your experience on the DO's and DONT's.

Thanks

What happened?

Buyer claimed item was lost and wanted to get the money back from Paypal so I got screwed.

Sorry to hear that. Which country is it?

Was it a buyer on here?

if it is of valure say over a 100 I always do sig required or a tracking.

Same common-sense rules for shipping anywhere, especially if PayPal is involved.

PayPay have very strict seller's rules to follow since many years !
Don't skip them or that story will come up again and again ...

I like the one where the guy tried shipping a dumb bell vs a body I think it was. Lucky the guy opened it in front of the FedEx guy and he had insured it for the full amount. Don't remember how that happened but I do the same. I pick up at the fedex point and open there, just never know.

I won't mention which country since there are good and bad people in every country. I didn't there are Paypal rules for shipping.. Interesting. I'll look it up.

PayPal aren't that saint too. Rules are unclear and spreaded in many places.
For example - confirmed addresses are required for US and overseas shippings but only US, Canada and GB addresses are recognized !!!
If both bank and buyer are not very honest it's easy to catch a ftu

was it really lost? Sometimes shipments can be delayed in customs in some countries for a week or 2.

US sellers beware on overseas transactions

US sellers have screwed overseas buyers too I am sure. In fact, I have been scammed by an American seller myself, on some Snap-On sockets. All should be cautious when entering a online private transaction, not just Americans on overseas transactions.

I can't tell if it's lost or not. The buyer told me he never received it. AFAIK he can lie to me and said it was never received. He said in the mean time he wants the money back and will ship the lens back when he received it. I got ripped-off need I say more.

If you're confident he ripped you off, giving us his name would be nice so the rest of us can look out.

Dave

I tried selling my camera gear on craigslist before listing here. Had 3 different people contact me that happened to be on assignment out of the country and wanted to pay me via paypal then have me ship it directly to their sons/daughter going to school overseas. I emailed paypal to see what the ramifications of this was and if this was something to be careful of. Never got a clear answer from them. I'm glad I didn't fall for it.

Good for you. It's a lesson learned for me. Most people I deal with are decent and honest just a few out there that we need to watch out for.

Everyone needs to be more careful with international transactions. They're simply much harder to track and become very difficult to dispute when a problem arises. I'm pretty sure USPS tracking for most international packages ends once the package leaves the US. From there on it is given to a local shipping company in the receiving country.

I've always checked off the "Gift" option, but I truthfully declare the item and its value. I've never had an issue with it, though I've only shipped internationally a few times and never over $150 in value.

Wickedfn4u wrote:
I like the one where the guy tried shipping a dumb bell vs a body I think it was. Lucky the guy opened it in front of the FedEx guy and he had insured it for the full amount. Don't remember how that happened but I do the same. I pick up at the fedex point and open there, just never know.

That was me. To make the story short, the other guy got busted with the local police there. American Express refunded my money (I paid with Paypal through my AX card).
Dan

thats disgusting. anyway sorry to hear that!!

Well hi again Dan, you opened my eyes on that one. Like I said now on bodies and lenses I pick up at FedEx and open there.

Wickedfn4u wrote:
Well hi again Dan, you opened my eyes on that one. Like I said now on bodies and lenses I pick up at FedEx and open there.

I hate Fedex they have screwed my deliveries over more than once. As a matter of fact they had troubles delivering my last two items that were to be delivered the same day.

Fedex and UPS charge brokerage fees outside of US and if the buyer doesn't want to pay for it they will turn around and collect from seller.

I think that it would be fair and appropriate to let us know if this is a person that is on the B/S boards based on the fact that there are a lot of international sellers and buyers on here that may be affected by a "is this one that ripped off cdnguyen" syndrome when we are considering buying or selling from them. There are a lot of trustworthy people outside the US that I would hate to see their credibility hurt or questioned based off of this.

BTW I am not trying to be Ameriocentric here. My referencing here is only because cdnguyen is obviously from the US and this transaction is with someone that isn't.

JMHO,
Aaron

CONUS, PayPal and insurance.