What does 'Your excluded shipping locations will soon be managed by eBay' mean?
What does 'Your excluded shipping locations will soon be managed by eBay' mean?
I just got a email 'Your excluded shipping locations will soon be managed by eBay' that states:
'We're writing to let you know that starting May 16, your eBay International Shipping settings will be updated to automatically manage excluded shipping locations for your listings. This change will help you reach even more buyers on a global scale, as your items will be available to locations based on their export eligibility. Our International Shipping Policy has also been updated to reflect this change'
I currently do not ship to 219 countries, as eBay and the post office do NOT track packages beyond the US border to those countries, and do NOT offer any kind of 'protections'. I use 'international shipping', just not to those 219 countries.
What does this new policy mean?
1) that eBay now offers tracking/protections to all countries world-wide?
2) that eBay will now allow all buyers world-wide to buy my items(even if I have those 219 countries excluded), but will not track/offer protections?
3) something else?
Thanks
falconsys
·2 years agoI shared this in another related thread, but I'll add it here too. Seriously? Y'all wouldn't imagine why someone would want to opt-out? Have you ever BEEN subjected to eBay International Shipping?
I have an item that I absolutely *will not* ship outside North America, because of a history of issues with international shipments. (the item itself is only applicable to the NA region as well, so that's another factor.) The average issue/incident rate with domestic shipments is under 1% for me - nobody ever reports not having received their item. However, for shipments outside North America (that is, int'l to Canada is OK), the incident rate is more like 33% - one in 3 shipments. I consider an incident/fault to be where a buyer *ever* reaches out to me regarding their shipment. If someone pings me asking for updates or saying they haven't received it, that's a whole block of stress and headache and uncertainty and "I'm sorry I am completely unable to affect change to your situation; honey I can't control the weather" that I don't want to deal with.
Contrary to eBay's messaging, it is a complete lie to say that eBay handles INRs and shipping issues. Buyers contact me through messaging, demanding updates on their item. I've even had a buyer enter a complete nonsense address (which I didn't see at the time), and after shipping it, they pinged me asking for a refund/return/cancelation now! Now! Now! (They even opened a "return" request, entered a bogus return tracking number, immediately marked it as "shipped", and demanded a refund) Oddly enough, the shipment fault rate to Jordan was higher than anywhere else (2 out of 3 shipments faulty), but overall, no matter where they went, there were issues with extremely long shipping time (3-4 weeks, usually), and buyers clicking DIRECTLY into messaging without even checking tracking. It's like the "send message" button is larger than the "track item" button.
I'm beyond fed-up with it, so I completely blocked all regions outside of North America from being able to buy the item.
I hit "opt out" so fast I was surprised eBay didn't want to ask "whoa, why?".
I can't understand why eBay wants to shove its horrible, slow, unreliable shipping service down our throats this bad. I don't want it. Buyers can use THEIR OWN shipping proxy if they want, but as long as it's related to eBay, the responsibility lands on me - in the buyer's eyes. And eBay doesn't do nearly enough to separate the buyer from the seller in the shipping process.
yellowpark5
·2 years agoI opted out, as I don't want to deal with foreign currency conversion rates that are unfavorable to me.
quicksilverdiecast
·2 years agoIf you prefer not to sell to a certain country for whatever reason, and is on your sold chart you can always choose cancel order - something wrong with address.....
chrisp22
·2 years agoMy experience with international shipping last fall was a surprise. Ebay turned on international shipping without my realizing it. So when I got an order using international shipping, it was a surprise. I contacted Ebay, due to confusion about shipping and pricing - since the receipt posted extra shipping costs that I did not receive. When I learned that the package was going to the Hub, and I had no idea where the package was going after that - the Ebay rep told me 'not to worry about it', because I 'didn't need to know where the package was going.' And at that point, all communications were between Ebay and the buyer; no feedback would be posted for that sale. That is, I was completely out of the loop.
While a sale is a sale, this process seems creepy. I like knowing who my buyers are. And I have no idea how Ebay is handling any potential issues.
Thanks for posting about this; I'll check for messages from Ebay about this new wrinkle in international shipping.
marnotom!
·2 years agoMy sense as a Canadian buyer (and past seller), @chrisp22, is that eBay really wanted to make sure that eIS was an option for sellers and if one missed the seller updates or news that made mention of it, they'd be sure to know that the program existed once they received a sale with it.
You and your international buyers are still able to message one another just as you would your domestic buyers. eBay hasn't taken that away from you. Unfortunately, there are some sellers who don't want anything to do with international buyers and go so far as to not want to sell to them, not just avoid shipping to them, and even the eIS system won't placate them.
As far as issues go, eBay often removes possibly problematic international destinations right on the listing page already for listings where eIS forwards the item. For shipments that may seem problematic in other ways, the hub usually catches them and they dead-end. The problem there is that sometimes the buyer isn't notified of this and as a result they're not automatically issued a refund out of eBay's pocket, and that's where you may end up hearing from your buyer first.
steady2304
·2 years agokyle@ebay devon@ebay elizabeth@ebay
If I have my listings with flat rate and no EIS shipping enabled, will I still be able to block certain countries and geographic locations (ie. Africa, S America, Middle East, France, Germany etc.) or will eBay override my exclusions list to those areas and show those with EIS shipping.
I am currently not enrolled in EIS shipping.
marnotom!
·2 years agoIf you currently are not enrolled in eIS, then you don't have any eBay International Shipping settings to update or modify.
adamcartwright
·2 years agoIf you opt out of EIS, you're on your own all the way around.
I don't know why anyone would opt out, though. Seems nuts.
marnotom!
·2 years agoSome stuff doesn't ship too well through eIS, @adamcartwright, due to restrictions on what eIS can handle. Also, some stuff can be shipped much cheaper through direct shipping rather than eIS. For example, a seller using the right postage provider and carrier can get a CD to me here in Canada for less than half of USPS's counter rate for First Class Package International. If a seller is selling low-risk merchandise, it seems nuts to make international buyers pay more to receive it.
adamcartwright
·2 years ago@marmars
Ahh, thank you.
I was looking at the seller protection angle, but you've made a good point.
stainlessenginecovers
·2 years agoHow do you use International Shipping if you have EVERY country blocked/excluded?? (219??)
popch3
·2 years agoBecause there are more than 219 countries(which eBay/post office used to not track to, but they may now with this new policy)
stainlessenginecovers
·2 years ago@popch3 The VERY MOST amount of countries you can exclude, (not counting the US- what would be the point, not counting US protectorates. PO Boxes, APO's etc.) that a seller can exclude is 218 countries.
tkmops
OP2 years agoDoes anyone know if 'opting out' will remove your listings from the global shipping program entirely, or keep you in the global shipping program, but not implement the new changes?
I want to keep my global shipping program, but only if eBay will still provide 'cover' and 'protections'.
shipscript
·2 years ago@tkmops
Which items are you shipping globally? I don't see any on this account. They all have international shipping turned off, at least for the FR, AU, UK, and CA countries that I tested. And your blocked list includes every continent and region (in addition to the ones eBay blocks).
I really love this new eBay International Shipping (EIS) program, as it is far better than eBay's old Global Shipping Program was. Anything going through the EIS hub becomes eBay's responsibility once it safely reaches the hub. You pay to ship to the Illinois hub and will cover any losses on the way to the hub. EIS charges the buyer directly for the international leg (you won't see that charge), and handles any issues thereafter.
Countries are automatically blocked by EIS when items are not allowed into those countries. If a sale goes through, and EIS discovers they can not ship it, they refund the buyer out of their own pocket and sell the item locally. If a buyer wants to return an item, for whatever reason, EIS refunds the item, collects it, and disposes of it locally. Your obligation ends at the hub, so you keep your sale and payout.
The countries to which EIS will not ship are based on embargoes, product restrictions, and value limits. So the un-shippable countries may vary by product category, and those countries will be missing from the EIS country list on your listings. Additionally, if you choose to block specific countries, EIS has, in the past, honored your choice to block those countries. I think what is changing is that EIS will no longer honor your blocked list when shipping through the hub, but you can maintain that blocked list for your non-EIS exports.
I have no excluded countries, so probably won't receive this letter. But I do see the new toggle on this page:
https://www.ebay.com/ship/prf/excludeRegions
"Allow eBay International Shipping to ship eligible listings to your currently excluded locations and we’ll take care of customs, international returns, and refunds. Excluded locations still apply when you ship on your own."
eBay allows a seller to offer both EIS and their own export methods in the same listing, so this looks like a good move to me. Sellers can choose their own gambles, and EIS can do the same.
popch3
·2 years agoThanks for that link. It says 'Allow eBay International Shipping to ship eligible listings to your currently excluded locations and we’ll take care of customs, international returns, and refunds. Excluded locations still apply when you ship on your own.' On/Off switch.
Ah ha! If only eBay would have put the above into that original email.
So, I'll turn that on, and if anyone who lives in one of my 219 countries buys an item, they will be forced, in the check-out page, to use the 'global shipping program', where I am covered, and have those 'protections'?
I just want to make sure, as I have had buyers in those 219 counties, buy an item, but bypass the global shipping options, and somehow, place their order using 'direct shipping'(no eBay protections'.) Then I have to cancel the order(some buyers get 'pissy' about it), refund their funds, and relist the item. I don't want to go through all that again.
valueaddedresource
·2 years ago@tkmops just to avoid confusion, from the text of the email you provided, it looks like this would only apply to items shipping through the eBay International Shipping program (where you ship it to one of eBay's domestic hubs and eBay handles the international side of things).
It would not apply when a seller offers their own international shipping options directly.
As far as what it means in relation to the screenshot and policy I posted above, I'm not sure yet and don't want to possibly provide info that may not be correct - but I'll let you know if I find anything else out about it!
valueaddedresource
·2 years ago@tkmops Interesting, that part of the email sounds like eBay is possibly planning on overriding seller country exclusion lists. 🤔
But it also references that the terms have been updated as well and it does look like they were updated on March 12, 2024.
https://pages.ebay.com/internationalshippingprogram/seller/terms/
However, that update added language that says sellers are still in control of their exclusions list and there will be a toggle so they can control if the list is applied to EIS or not (presumably so they can keep exclusions for direct international shipping options, but opt not to exclude through EIS if they offer both).
Not sure if that email means they are updating it again so that eBay can automatically manage your exclusions for EIS or if the seller will still have this toggle for control.
@wastingtime101 I know you did a lot of work on understanding and documenting some of the nuances of EIS, any thoughts on this?
tkmops
OP2 years agoThanks for the detailed explanation. Still somewhat confused...if I still want to ship world-wide(but not to those 219 countries, should I:
1) opt out, and keep my 219 country exclusions
2) not opt out, and trust that eBay will 'cover' all my shipments world-wide(including those 219 countries)
lakefor94
·2 years ago@tkmops
If you are in EIS, it don't matter where eBay ships it once it reaches the EIS hub. When it is accepted at the hub and eBay ships it to wherever, you get to keep the sale no matter what.
So basically, you would perhaps get more EIS sales with no risk to yourself.
tkmops
OP2 years agoSo, this is new eBay policy...that they 'cover'(item lost in the mail, item not received, item damaged, etc....) shipping anywhere in the world now? That's not how it's been for as long as I've been selling, since the mid '90's. I've been burned twice, many years ago, before not shipping to those 219 countries..item not arrived/damaged, and eBay would not cover it...losing the items and the $200 refunded purchase price.
kensgiftshop
·2 years agoIt doesn't matter if there's no tracking to other countries.
If you use Ebay International, you just have to get it to the hub.
Once there, Ebay takes care of anything that happens after that.
popch3
·2 years agoIt does matter if there's no tracking to some countries...when I first started selling in the mid to late '90's, I sold a item to someone in Malaysia...they said they never got it, and eBay said that they don't track beyond US borders to that country
steady2304
·2 years agotkmops
OP2 years agoSo, has this policy been in place for many years? And, what's new with 'Your excluded shipping locations will soon be managed by eBay'?
In other words, if this policy has been in place for many years, why is eBay sending out this notification now?
kensgiftshop
·2 years agoIf Ebay International is used, you don't have to worry about International shipping.
You just have to get it to the US hub, then Ebay takes over.