Should I accommodate this buyer's request? And if so, how?

[gurlcat]

This is from an auction winner.   If I understand right they want me to cancel their order and relist the item as a BIN.  The are in China but their account is a decade old and they have 795 positive feedbacks including 6 in the past month, so I'm not thinking this is any kind of scam setup.  Well unless by "open a new link" they are talking about an off-eBay purchase, but I don't think so.  

Am I being naive?  It is strange that they say the amount breakdown "changed" -is there any reason eBay would do that on the buyer's invoice?  If you think this is a safe and straightforward request, how should I price the BIN?  -As you can see I didn't actually charge them $49 for shipping, so I assume they're seeing overseas stuff included in their shipping cost.  Goodness sake, now I realize I don't even know if this is an EIS purchase or if they're talking about the quote given to them by a freight forwarder.  I probably need to ask them a question or two, but I'm not even sure 'what' questions to ask them. I just know they seem like a good buyer and I really don't want to start this auction all over again! 

The email:
"Hello, I'm sorry for the delay in payment for a few days. Due to customs clearance issues with previous packages, I would like to ask for your assistance. The original total price was 187.5+49.1=236.6 (total price), but now it has been changed to 125.5+111.1=236.6 (total price). The total price remains unchanged. However, due to the price exceeding the requirements during Chinese customs clearance, you can cancel the order and open a new link. I will purchase again at the bidding price. I hope to receive your understanding and assistance."

[solidguitar1961]

Customs fraud 

[dbfolks166mt]

     I looked at the listing and provided the Chinese buyer is not using a freight forwarder this item would go through the EIS program at checkout. I am not what the buyer is referencing with regards to the "price change" but if they have not paid yet they may not have any intention of paying. I would probably just cancel the listing using buyer requested. I would reach out to the buyer and let them know you have canceled the order and are working on relisting the item as BIN/IPR but you cannot guarantee some other will not buy it after it i posted. Repost the listing and as soon as it is up send the buyer a link to the new listing. 

     As for relisting it I would price it at the $187.50 with Immediate Payment Required (IPR) and calculated shipping. Its the same price the auction ended at so not sure what the buyer will see when they open the new listing. 

[albertabrightalberta]

I'm not sure what he's asking either as I don't know what those numbers represent but I'm guessing it a way to get you to lie on the customs form. 

Instead of selling the item as 187.50, he wants you to make the price 125.50. And you're supposed to make up the difference by padding the shipping charge. 

I wouldn't do it. 

[ebooksdiva]

Call me skeptical, but I'm not buying into the buyers claims. The auction price wouldn't change unless you sent a discounted invoice. 
If it was my auction, I would cancel the order per buyer requested, then block the buyer. Send second chance offer to the next highest bidder. Because to me it sounds like a problem waiting to happen. 

[gurlcat]

Oh I should have been clearer -I won't be filling out any customs forms, lol I have no idea how people do international shipping on their own.  I do only EIS, or if someone has an order shipped to a FF that's fine with me too.  

After I made this post I realized it's late at night so I probably won't get a lot of member advice.  I decided to just go ahead and create a BIN listing for $187.50 (their winning bid) plus $8.85 (my original shipping price) re-titled it 'PRIVATE LISTING FOR _____ ONLY!'  and sent them the link.  I said if they pay for it, then I'll cancel the auction order.  I want to help if they're asking for something I can do without jeopardizing my own money or relationship with eBay, so what I did will have to do, or SORRY!  

[a_c_green]

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@albertabrightalberta wrote:

Instead of selling the item as 187.50, he wants you to make the price 125.50. And you're supposed to make up the difference by padding the shipping charge. 

That's it exactly. The purchase price of $187.50 is apparently incurring a higher duty fee on him than if he got you to re-jigger the pricing to be a $125.50 purchase with a higher shipping charge (which he hopes you will agree to as it keeps your original total for the sale).

The $49.10 Shipping cost he mentions sounds like what he is getting from eBay for their eBay International Shipping; if he was using a reshipper he would be seeing only a domestic (U.S.) shipping charge.

His English makes things a little confusing. Instead of writing "you can cancel the order" he means to say "can you cancel the order" and then send him a link to a new listing with revised pricing.

I don't see the point of indulging this buyer. I would either cancel right away as Buyer Requested (which it technically is), or tell him in a short and clear reply that you are not able to revise the terms of sale, so all you can offer is a straight cancellation (don't get into haggling a relisting) or let him pay the balance as it stands right now. If it is eBay International Shipping, they're going to pile on their international fees regardless of how you change the Shipping costs on your end.

[gurlcat]

The only theory I have is that the strange "changed" price breakdown is what a freight forwarder is giving them as an invoice, not eBay.  But then again, I don't really know how things work with FF's so that's my only guess.  

[a_c_green]

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@gurlcat wrote:

Oh I should have been clearer -I won't be filling out any customs forms, lol I have no idea how people do international shipping on their own.  I do only EIS, or if someone has an order shipped to a FF that's fine with me too.  

After I made this post I realized it's late at night so I probably won't get a lot of member advice.  I decided to just go ahead and create a BIN listing for $187.50 (their winning bid) plus $8.85 (my original shipping price)  

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That won't change anything; don't do it. The high Shipping charge is from eBay (shown to the buyer, not to you) as part of their international shipping (for Customs fees or Duty charges or whatever). The buyer will end up seeing the same numbers as before.

[chapeau-noir]

FWIW, I believe postal duty into China starts at 500 yuan - about 65$ US.  

[gurlcat]

I took it as them saying what it was changed TO was problematic, so they need a listing that is like it was originally intended to be.  

If you're right and they're trying to get me to change the item/shipping prices in the BIN, I guess I won't do that, although I can't see what difference it would make for me, not even in my eBay fees.  

[gurlcat]

Dang it, now I wish I hadn't checked my email before a good night's sleep. I have such smooth sailing most of the time, stuff like this just riles me up.  And I had such a GREAT DAY of azz-kicking, did a bunch of stuff I had been procrastinating, and until about an hour ago I was marveling at how none of the things that could go wrong did.  

Now I'm looking at my bank accounts and realizing the guy at Costco got me to use the wrong card for the core charge refund on my old battery, and I reallyreallyREALLY don't want to go all the way there again. Now this thing with a buyer.  -Tell you what, if I have to cancel this order I am reporting them.  I just had a non-payer last week.  

[a_c_green]

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@gurlcat wrote:

I took it as them saying what it was changed TO was problematic, so they need a listing that is like it was originally intended to be.   

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Well, maybe so, but the unexpected fees they are seeing were due to eBay handling the international shipping for you, part of which is to collect the Customs/Duty fees on behalf of the buyer's country. If you shipped the item directly to the buyer in China, he would have to pay that same amount to his post office. If you undervalued the sale and jacked up your Shipping to compensate, AND shipped it internationally yourself instead of handing it off to eBay International Shipping, then he might pay less at the receiving end, but I see no advantage in helping him evade Customs fees that don't involve you in the first place. That is his problem, not yours. Don't make it yours.

[gurlcat]

Oh I am definitely not taking a crash course in direct international shipping for someone who should have asked at any point in the 7 days before sniping this win.  As it stands, they can pay for the auction win or  pay for the listed BIN, or get nothing but reported to eBay.  

[dbfolks166mt]

      Regardless of whether the buyer is using a FF or this is going through the EIS program the only thing you have control over as far as the shipping is the domestic leg. If it goes through a FF that piece of the transaction is outside of eBay and is between the buyer and the FF. What the FF does with regards to the customs forms is between the buyer and the FF. 

     If this were to go through the EIS program, which it is what it sounds like the buyer is seeing, you have no control or ability to send the buyer an invoice that is done by the EIS program and includes the cost for the item and both shipping legs, your domestic leg as well as the international leg. EIS collects taxes and duties for some countries, China apparently being one of them. I am guessing that those are shown separately in the invoice EIS sends to the buyer and are not part of the $49.10 shipping cost. So the buyer is probably getting an invoice for $187.50 + $49.10 + taxes/duties. 

     The buyer is wanting you to change the sale price to $125.50 and increase the shipping cost to reduce the taxes/duties but unless you put a fixed price of $62.00 on the domestic shipping leg there is no way you can alter/change the international leg but the total shipping cost the buyer would see on the invoice would be the $111.10 they are alluding to. 

     Below is probably what the buyer is seeing for the shipping cost.