What is the right protocol when I can't create a label for the buyer's country?

[kellyandcharlie]

So, someone from Russia bought a large figurine from me, and while I offered worldwide shipping I warned international buyers to contact me before bidding, as the dimensions of the box required for the figurine may be too large for some countries. Therefore Ebay would not generate a label for these countries. So this is the case with this item, and any other carrier would charge over $1000 to ship the item. I cannot lower the box dimensions and risk breakage so I have asked the buyer if I can cancel the transaction. I am not getting a response, can I cancel anyways, and what would be the best reason for this so I don't get slammed. Also, do I need to try and send the buyer an invoice with the astronomical shipping amount. Ebay will not calculate an amount because no label can be generated. Some countries allowed the size, while Russia does not.

[martin2001]

1. If you have not sent them an invoice yet, do send it with the 'astronomical' postage. The buyer will most likely ask you to cancel the order. Then you can cancel it for  'Buyer changed his mind'.

If you send them an invoice with less than 'astronomical' postage and they pay, make sure to insure it. If you can't print the label via ebay, sign up for a free (for ebay sellers) account with stamps.com. There you can also insure the package. You can also sign up for a free pirateship.com account. They do insure packages but Russia is excluded.

2. If they do not respond to anything, send them one more message indicating that if you don't hear from them, you understand that they are not interested in the purchase anymore. Then cancel it for the same reason as above.