Block or not?

[honeybadgerposter]

This is a posting ID. Several weeks ago I had an antique necklace (not something I usually sell) up for auction at $100. I was contacted by someone offering $70. I responded that I'd let the auction run its course, and also noticed that clicking on the potential buyer's name (new to ebay as of this March) indicated she was in Europe. So I felt I had had a heads up moment to not accept any offers from her later fearing an accepted offer would override my "ships only to US" settings -- I'd accept $70 eventually, but not from her if it meant I'd be shipping to a foreign country. The item didn't sell so I did another 10 day auction at $80. Didn't sell again, dropped price to $75 fixed price and sold it to another buyer a day later.

I still have several antique brooches for sale fixed price (after they did not sell at auction) that are similar design and same semiprecious stones as the necklace. Now Ms. Europe is back making offers on several -- $25 for a $45 item, $10 for $20 & $30 items.  So three new messages received. I again told her my price is my price until I lower it myself, and besides I don't ship to foreign addresses. Then she's "foreign?" in one message and "I am in Southern City" in another. I replied "when I click on your user name it says you are in Europe, I don't ship out of US".  Another message regarding she has a friend in "Southern City" who she sends things to, and I'm thinking "lady you have 11 feedback and have been a member since March, doesn't sound to me like this is something you do all the time". I answered   "as I stated, I don't accept offers". Now I have another message again saying she wants to pay me $45 for items listed for about $95.

At that I went right to the BB list (where it has been probably 6 years since I added anyone), but I paused to come here. I'd actually happily make a special listing with three pieces for say $70ish and ship it to "Southern City". But she's been so pushy, and didn't keep watch when the original necklace was within $5 of her offer price, so I'm also thinking she's sort of flaky.

[city*satins]

When potential buyer told me she ships to a friend in the US, then I allowed the sale.   Totally within my rights.   

Yes. And the OP, when told the same thing decided that the buyer was a liar.  The difference?  No idea except something about the account only being a few months old.

She can do what she wants, of course.  But one of the things she wanted to do was post her story here and seek opinions.  So....

[simply-the-best-for-you]

Yes & I was simply offering my opinion of reasons she may not want to ship to a non-US buyer that do not involve the "xenophobia" you implied in post 9.

I'd have BBL'd the prospect after her 2nd attempt at making an offer once I told her it was not welcome. But, I think OP is long gone, so it doesn't really matter. Just pointing out that there are lots of reasons not to ship to foreign buyers that have nothing to do with "xenophobia".

[city*satins]

But if I understood you correctly originally, you would never have told her she wasn't welcome because you wouldn't have assumed she was lying that she had a US shipping address.

I mentioned xenophobia because of the language she used to describe the buyer - Ms Europe seemed uncalled for to me.  I may be oversensitized to that kind of language though, having originally sold to US buyers when I lived in Canada, and getting some really bizarre comments about being in Canada and arguments why my explanation that (for example) I couldn't ship a doll to the US by media mail because Canada didn't have media mail plus it wouldn't have qualified anyway, was met with some very errr.....odd epithets about Canadians that didn't involve actual obscenities but came close.

So that might definitely affect my perspective.

[nuclearomen]

the reason why she is seeing your listings at all is because her shipping address is in the US, I had this happen 2 weeks ago, someone made a purchase and then mailed me asking me to ship it to Canada... long story short I canceled the order, refunded their money and blocked. 

[simply-the-best-for-you]

Thank you for explaining your Xenophobia comment. In my perspective, esp with what's going on in the US at this time, I read it as though you were insinuating she was xenophobic & it rankled my feathers a bit b/c I was not born in the US, but I still didn't ship to other countries for most of my 20+ years on Ebay & it had nothing to do with xenophobia. I do think that implication is out of line, but I can see where you may have thought that based on what OP said. I would not have 'verbalized' it in a public forum, but that's me. I just think it's a serious insinuation & I doubt that's what the OP meant.

Personally, no I wouldn't have assumed she was lying, but I definitely would have (and did in a situation I just had like this one) ask the buyer if she had an addy in the US she was shipping to. Mine was low FB also & honestly, I was skeptical. (Just had a low FB buyer open a case on me b/c their pkg did not get delivered in Ebay's "promised" timeframe - it had only been 3 business days)!  So the location of a country that GSP doesn't even ship to, combined with the low FB  & that she wanted me to take an even lower price than my offer, definitely made me skeptical. 

But mine did have a US shipping addy & so I was ok selling to her. Interesting though, I was able to send her an offer, but she was unable to accept it, which is why she wrote to me in the first place.

I am sorry you are experiencing negative unwanted commentary about your lovely country! That sucks! The world is a weird place right now. If it's any consolation I've been to almost every province & I LOVE your country 🙂 DH & I joke about moving there, all the time. If only it weren't so darn cold (not everywhere I know). Some people just suck. No matter what country they're from!

[atikovi]

You should look into the Global Shipping program. You ship to a U.S. address but people in Europe can buy through the program. 

[honeybadgerposter]

OMG @city*satins , I referred to the potential buyer, who has now come back yet again raising her offer price another $5 on the brooch listed for $45 because I did not yet block her, as Ms. Europe so as to not disclose the country she lived in. A country I'm sure filled with lovely people, and a country I have not yet visited but would like to.