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International Buyer Issues

I've been having issues with international buyers recently and not sure what to do. I only ship to continental USA and state this in my description. I also exclude all other countries in my listing. However I keep getting winning bids from international customers whose accounts are based in China, yet give me a US address to a distribution facility. I've googled the facilities addresses on google and they've been linked to scams. I've had to cancel multiple orders because I don't want to be involved in any scams and lose money. Is there anything I can do about this? Should I look into the international shipping program? 

Message 1 of 22
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21 REPLIES 21

International Buyer Issues

Perfectly within Ebay rules for buyers to specify a US address......a reshipper.  Millions of sales using them go fine........ 

Message 2 of 22
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International Buyer Issues

Ships to US doesn't mean the same thing as sells to US on eBay.  You can't restrict the location of your buyers, only your shipping locations.  These buyers you're getting from China are meeting your shipping terms by providing a US address for shipping.

 

What sort of scams are we talking about here?  Once the tracking of your item shows that your item has been delivered to the US address, you're protected against fraudulent claims of non-delivery and claims of fraudulent payments.  If you can prove that the address the item was sent to was a forwarding service, the buyer can't make a successful claim that the item was "not as described," at least in theory.

 

The eBay International Shipping service may or may not be any help here as it's not going to stop buyers from using their own forwarding scheme instead of eBay's if that's their preference.  What sort of merchandise are you selling that's attracting all these Chinese buyers?  Are they losing their eBay registration shortly after they try to make a purchase from you?

 

 

Message 3 of 22
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International Buyer Issues

You can't prevent international buyers from purchasing from you, per eBay's rules.  You can only prevent them from making you ship international. What you're doing (cancelling those orders) is a quick trip to the end of your selling days on eBay.

 

Reshippers, usually known as freight forwarders, are perfectly legit, and while scammers can use them too, nothing about those orders makes them likely to be a scam. Also, you have some additional protection against INR claims if you can prove to eBay that it was reshipped from where you sent it, per policy.

 

Lastly, you can just enroll in the eIS program and forget the whole business of not shipping internationally, because then eBay guarantees the transaction and you have much lower risk that any domestic sale.

 

Basically, change your thinking and your practices or you'll be in a heap of trouble with eBay at some point.

Message 4 of 22
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International Buyer Issues

The majority of freight forwarding systems are legit....there are various reasons for a buyer to utilize them. Mostly to consolidate purchases into one larger final shipment to their destination. Saves them a ton of money.

I have to also add to your statement....

"...I've googled the facilities addresses on google and they've been linked to scams..."

 

Here is an example of a 'scam address' when you use Google to research....

 

Search 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (The White House) Top Result

"...Most of the scams originate from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue..."

 

 

 

 

Message 5 of 22
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International Buyer Issues

So you think that freight forwarding addresses aren't legitimate?

When you ship to a FF, you ARE shipping to the continental US.

Message 6 of 22
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International Buyer Issues

@losu7217 

 

For what it's worth, I have shipped to international buyers using Freight Forwarders and have never had an issue with any of those sales.

Message 7 of 22
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International Buyer Issues

 I don't want to be involved in any scams and lose money. Is there anything I can do about this?

 

@losu7217 

When PayPal processed the money, a seller could choose to NOT accept payments from non-US sources.  eBay has no such thing.  Yes, there are alot of "bad reports" out there for these forwarders, but presently on eBay they are basically safer than a domestic sale.  Of course, that requires a seller to be ALERT and know when they are shipping to a forwarder, because the "scam" part usually occurs post sale.  

eBay states that the use of a freight forwarder disallows Money Back Guarantee coverage to the buyer.  That is all fine and dandy, but eBay just ignores that fact and process any claim just like it was a regular sale.  A seller who does not know that they shipped to a forwarder, processes the return for an albeit fake SNAD claim, and it gets worse from there. 

Had the seller been aware that they shipped to a freight forwarder, they could contact eBay PRIOR to processing a return (usually via one of the social media contact portals) and the case would be closed.  Instead, what will transpire is the "fake tracking return scam issue".   Since the buyer is not in the US, they really can't or don't want to return the product.  The idea is to get it for free, but they have to show they returned it to get the refund.  So they will either purchase some cheap product in the US or more recently use the eBay label, have someone in the US alter the PDF file and change the addresses to something else in the seller's zipcode to obtain tracking/delivery confirmation.  

This satisfies the eBay bot, and regular customer service that the parcel was returned.  Of course it wasn't, so now the seller victim has not only to deal with a scammer, but has to deal with repeated eBay denials as well.  eBay will require proof in writing from the carrier that the return was not intended for the seller.  That often not easy or impossible to get,  so your claim can easily be denied.  

So it is best to KNOW when you are shipping to a freight forwarder, so you can be proactive.  Some examples can be found in the following discussions that may help to explain.   Remember, just about anything can be had for free (at your expense) with the right sort of phony claim.  Know your own tolerance for risk, and don't put up anything for sale here you can't afford to lose. 

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Buyer-using-USPS-return-scam-Ebay-decided-case-in-buyers-favor...
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Help-Miami-Freight-Forwarder-says-wrong-item-sent-and-returnin...
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Getting-screwed-over-for-months-as-a-seller-on-on-an-blatant/m...
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Ebay-refunded-a-buyer-without-me-getting-my-item-back-from/m-p...
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Return-scam-nothing-new/m-p/34302635#M2358896
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/The-new-buyer-scam-and-eBay-s-ignoring-Policy/m-p/34301810#M23...
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Return-Scam-so-simple-but-super-effective-What-should-I-do/m-p...
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Scam-and-ebay-ignores-it/m-p/34356453#M2372717
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Seller-Beware-of-Buying-amp-Return-Scam/m-p/34386391#M2379744
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Scammed-on-My-First-Major-Sale-A-Buyer-s-Deception-and-Lack-of...
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/What-more-proof-could-eBay-possibly-need/m-p/34425944#M2389459




Message 8 of 22
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International Buyer Issues

I checked your listings and it shows that you ship WORLDWIDE.   To opt out of international shipping  go to SITE PREFERENCES, SHIPPING (opt out of EBAY International Shipping).

 

I while back...EBAY automatically put everyone into their international shipping program (unless you opted out).

Message 9 of 22
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International Buyer Issues

Thank you! I have opted out of any of the International countries. But since these buyers are using a Delaware or Oregon address they would still be considered Domestic. 

I just hope it  all works out & they don't try to return it and file a phony claim. 🤞

Message 10 of 22
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International Buyer Issues


@jenncar-73 wrote:

Thank you! I have opted out of any of the International countries. But since these buyers are using a Delaware or Oregon address they would still be considered Domestic. 

I just hope it  all works out & they don't try to return it and file a phony claim. 🤞


In this scenario, if the buyer wants to return you provide a USPS return label using the forwarders address. It's then up to the buyer to figure out how to get the item back to the forwarder (pretty much impossible) or pay for the return shipping themselves.

 

Personally over the 25 years I've been selling here I have shipped a couple of thousand orders to forwarders without any issues whatsoever. This in spite of the fact that I ship International to pretty much anywhere (I dropped South America during Covid and still have SA blocked).

 

 

 

 

Message 11 of 22
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International Buyer Issues

What sort of scams are we talking about here?  Once the tracking of your item shows that your item has been delivered to the US address, you're protected against fraudulent claims of non-delivery and claims of fraudulent payments.  If you can prove that the address the item was sent to was a forwarding service, the buyer can't make a successful claim that the item was "not as described," at least in theory.

 

     This only applies if the buyer files a claim through eBay. If the buyer opens a chargeback with their CC company you have little to no protection from and INR or a NAD claim. Of course the same is true for a domestic sale but the INR is easier for the seller to win since they can prove delivery to the final destination. This may not be quite as easy if the item goes through a FF. 

Message 12 of 22
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International Buyer Issues

     As caldreamer mentioned you have not opted out of international shipping. Following is the shipping information for one of your listings. Note the countries you DO ship to. You need to opt out of the EIS program as well as set your seller preferences to exclude all foreign locations. Even after you have done this it will not stop international buyers that utilize a US based FF from bidding on or purchasing your items. 

 

dbfolks166mt_0-1714627262609.png

dbfolks166mt_1-1714627285797.png

 

 

Message 13 of 22
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International Buyer Issues


@dbfolks166mt wrote:

Of course the same is true for a domestic sale but the INR is easier for the seller to win since they can prove delivery to the final destination. This may not be quite as easy if the item goes through a FF. 


No, it's just as easy. All you have to do is prove that the item was delivered to the address provided with the transaction, which would be the FF.

Message 14 of 22
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International Buyer Issues

this is ebay's way to trick you into selling outside the USA . 

Message 15 of 22
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