International buyers using Ubuy warehouse in Kentucky to buy but I don't sell internationally

[mattsrcfun]

I just had this happen. A buyer is registered in the UK but was able to buy my product even though I don't sell or ship overseas. The address is Ubuy in Kentucky though. I really don't have an issue with it except that Ebay charged me an additional almost 2% on my sale because they are registered in the UK. That's money right out of my pocket. It was about $5 so not huge but some of my margins can be small. Honestly I didn't even realize it was an international buyer until I looked at how much was taken out as fees. I had already shipped the item. I have asked Ebay how they are going to fix it but of course "they will report it to tech support" which means they will do nothing. I understand I can block this person which I will at some point. I also understand I can cancel the sale but that can lead to unwarranted negative feedback. I may just end up canceling any other purchases if it happens again with an email explaining the extra costs to me.

So anyone had this happen? Any issues? Any ideas?

[bashort]

Yes, I have this happen on a regular basis, nothing that you can do about it.

[slippinjimmy]

Q - Is Kentucky "International"?

A - No it is not!

eBay does not allow blocking buyer based on their location of residence or citizenship. eBay is not asking you to ship outside the US.

The International fee is 1.65% for that to add up to $5 the sale must have been for just over $300. Would you give up a $300 sale over $5?

Buyer pays......you ship!

[mattsrcfun]

Well if you are fine with money coming out of your pocket, good for you. My stuff sells well and I don't need it to cost me more when it will sell within the US just fine.  This is just a hobby for me but I had over $36,000 in sales last year. You are incorrect as to not being allowed to block buyers based on address. You can change your seller settings to do this very thing. I have all buyers blocked that do not have a US address as that is a setting you can do. That is how this buyer that is registered in the UK got around my block as they used Ubuy which is a US address.

[mattsrcfun]

Is it different buyers each time or is it the same one?

[klhmdg]

No way to block international sales that ship to a US address.

MP does not allow sellers to block payments not in US dollar so sellers pay a fee of 1.65% for the foreign transaction fee.

eBay is not and will not "fix" this because it is working as designed.

[mattsrcfun]

Well in my opinion this is unacceptable. If there is going to be an additional fee associated with certain transactions, I should be able to say no to those transactions and hence the fees associated with them. Ebay continually raises the fees on sellers and I don't need anymore. 

[Anonymous]

If an extra $5 charge is eating up most of your margin on a $300 sale, your margins aren't big enough on what you're selling. You're losing money in the first place.

You also shouldn't care where the item is going to if you only have to ship it to a U.S. address......a sale is a sale.

Most of us here would do that transaction 10 times a day, 7 days a week.....happily.

Your only real problem with this is your small margins. If your margins were adequate, you would have no problem absorbing the $5 charge or doing this type of transaction.

Sell with larger margins and it is no longer an issue and you'll have more sales.

[fashunu4eeuh]

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@mattsrcfun wrote:

Well in my opinion this is unacceptable. If there is going to be an additional fee associated with certain transactions, I should be able to say no to those transactions and hence the fees associated with them. Ebay continually raises the fees on sellers and I don't need anymore. 

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The ability to say no to eBay’s practices is not altered from what it has always been. It is to take one’s business (or hobby) elsewhere. 

Can you elaborate on the assertion that fees are being continuously raised? 

[dbfolks166mt]

No way to block international sales that ship to a US address.

MP does not allow sellers to block payments not in US dollar so sellers pay a fee of 1.65% for the foreign transaction fee.

eBay is not and will not "fix" this because it is working as designed.

     Another one of those perks that you got with PayPal. There was a setting in PayPal that would allow you to block payments in foreign currency. A better design that eBay chose not to implement under MP. 

[fab_finds4u]

$600 is a hobby.

$36,000 is a business.

[mattsrcfun]

And your point is? How does this help my situation?

What I was saying is I don't need help selling my items in a more expensive way. If all my sales were to go through this way, it would cost me close to $600 and it seems there is no way to stop it.

[mattsrcfun]

I have been selling on Ebay since 2007. My seller fee was 6% then plus then Paypal. Went to 8% and now is 10%. Then when they went to the managed payment the percentage went up again. They try to make it look better by quoting a 12.55% on the sale. The problem is they charge it on the entire sale including the sales tax. I don't charge the tax nor do I receive the tax but I have to pay fees for it. My sales actually average 13.4% fees so another raise. Then this 1.65% fee because they allow people in other countries to buy my products without my approval. So now that is over 15% right off the top.

[ittybitnot]

it seems there is no way to stop it

@mattsrcfun 

Basically, you are correct.  The 1.65% fee is because a NON-US payment instrument was used even though you are shipping to a US freight forwarder address.  eBay allows international uses to bypass your requirements if they provide a US shipping address.  PayPal allowed sellers to block payments from users without a US PayPal account.  eBay allowed them to bid/buy, but they could not pay.  

One advantage of shipping to the US address is. if you get a subsequent claim for 'item not described',  you only have to provide a shipping label from the US address back to yourself.  If you use the eBay Global Shipping program, you are expected to fund the return from the international destination. 

eBay's managed payments system has no such option to block international payment instruments.  They want the money!   Cancelling these sales are likely to get you into trouble with eBay.  

[newlifeforoldstuff2]

Very, very old issue. Ebay has and will do nothing about it. It is one of the reasons I stopped selling on ebay. Too many of these sales ended up in disputes with buyer getting item AND refund. When I could do PayPal only, PayPal would block foreign payments so it was not an issue for me. But...then the PayPal only option was taken away from us and ebay refuses to allow sellers to block foreign payments. 

There are no options other than to block buyers after the fact, check every sale and cancel those with foreign payment and be penalized by ebay or sell elsewhere. As a small hobby seller, I chose elsewhere. I get better prices and no such drama on other sites I am using.