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AUTO ENROLLED IN INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING! NO THANKS
I got a message from ebay today stating I was automatically enrolled in international shipping and returns. Takes a lot of nerve to auto enroll sellers in programs without asking! You have to go into your account and opt out. I have NEVER shipped internationally and have no intention of doing so now.
Update: No I don't care about ebay sales. It's a hobby to get rid of decades of stuff. If I sell some fine, if I don't it'll eventually go to various charities. I am not doing this for a living. I've done fine as far as I'm concerned since restarting just a month or so ago. It fills some of my spare time which I have a great deal of. I'm more concerned with the vacations I'm planning for 2025. Why are you so worried about what I do or don't do? Just a comment. You don't have to agree.
robbie31415
·1 year agoI ran one of your posts through AI, and they disagree, I wish eBay made ALL my sales EIS. No returns 😎
1. Claim: Increased headaches with international sales
Verdict: The "increased headache" claim is not accurate. EIS actually reduces the complexity compared to traditional international shipping.
2. Claim: Increased risk of lost packages
Verdict: The "lost packages" claim is misleading. Sellers are protected under EIS, making it safer than both traditional international and domestic shipping (where sellers often bear the risk until delivery).
3. Claim: Dealing with bad buyers
Verdict: The "bad buyers" claim does not hold up when considering the seller protections built into EIS.
Overall Safety Comparison: EIS vs. Domestic Sales
EIS Protections:
Domestic Sales Risks:
Conclusion: EIS sales are often safer than domestic sales due to the added protections and reduced seller responsibilities. The forum post's negative claims about increased risks and headaches don’t align with the benefits and protections offered by eBay’s EIS program. Instead, EIS appears to reduce many of the risks sellers face in both international and domestic transactions.
dexter_sinister_ii
·1 year ago@greatstuff80
Thanks for this blunt, well-crafted, provocative post.
It serves as an exemplar of online engagement.
Seemingly out of thin air, you created a digital ruckus that kicked up some dust using what might have otherwise been perceived as one of the dullest topics imaginable.
AND your copy-and-paste style tailored replies seemed to crush each response, like a bug under your boot.
You slay
buyselljack2016
·1 year agorepetitive replies did nothing except to bolster the OP point. Crushed no responses. It just reinforced the fact that the OP does not accept the benefits of the eIS program. They don't have to use it. That is their right. Thing is, as has been posted, they are already subject to "international" customers through their current selling because of the FF addresses, so it just doesn't make much sense to "reject" eIS , dwelling on the fact that it was forced on them with auto enrollment, rather than embracing a program that is very seller friendly.
fbusoni
·1 year ago@dexter_sinister_ii
LMAO... "well-crafted provocative post."
It's a person yelling at their television.
nevilletetts
·1 year agoWhile I understand not wanting to be "auto-enrolled" without your consent, EIS is a great feature of ebay and the only thing I can think of that ebay has done to actually help sellers. Selling internationally used to be a huge pain in the backside. Now it is a breeze.
youn2240
·1 year agoAll I hear is Kid Rock's American Bad***. I support you brother! 1776 never forget.
dexter_sinister_ii
·1 year ago@greatstuff80I agree with you in principle on eBay and beyond. I wish organizations would try to persuade people about the benefits of a program and let them choose to sign up or not. In my opinion, your intentions and why you do or do not use this program are your own.
I think people are going nuts on this topic because it revolves around control. Automatic enrollment is one more sign of a piece of it slipping away to an towering overlord, even if it is very minor in the larger scheme.
Also, since sales are plummeting on eBay, people have time to direct their energy at this topic.
I am a newish seller and I don't understand this program (I seem to be stupidity personified on this platform).
EBay and eBay sellers make this program sound so simple and breezy.
Here is what is unclear to me in the videos, FAQs, and the various pages.
--So we address the package to an eBay international hub address and eBay creates a new international label? If so, how are they connected from the start within the platform? The promotional material makes these steps sound magical.
Also, does this mean we must only use an eBay label for its coding or can we create our own?
Is this an arts and crafts project or a digital exchange?
This is about the extent of the instructions:
"Ship to our US domestic hub
We prepare custom and tax forms, and we label your package for its final destination."
--How is the domestic hub shipping cost factored into the international shipping cost and paid?
--Why are the basic practical step-by-step logistics glossed over?
(EBay's hyperlinks for more information on international pricing take me to what is essentially the old international shipping page. Maybe everything is the same.)
--If something goes wrong eBay states that sellers might be contacted by buyers and eBay provides instructions on how to redirect and educate buyers. Even if this contact is simply to tell the buyer to click on a platform function, I already find this kind of communication to be a lot to deal with with buyers who simply want to, for example, request to cancel an order. They ask me how to execute it (I also have to explain why it matters that they request it and not me). How does this help sellers if they might have to manage communication anyway (AND the most delicate kind---problems with international shipping)?
For this to work within this system as promoted, I think buyer communication should be cut off about that transaction for the specified transaction period until the item is successfully delivered and eBay resolves any problems that might arise as promised. If I already communicate with buyers, why would I want to add an eBay international shipping problem not of my own making to the menu?
I would rather own the situation and manage it along with my buyer relationships instead of outsourcing them to an unknowable eBay robot or frustrating auto-messaging or referrals to online articles. I have a lot of communication with buyers and all kinds of things that might or might not have anything to do with a problem. I want them to end up with a good result. I want to develop repeat buyer relationships and I have had some success in this way.
While I have only about 20 sales, I still seem to have encountered many odd situations and I do not need more layers on top of them.
I sell internationally with eBay, which is very helpful. At least for me, it is as easy as shipping to Chicago. There are always some problems and eBay states this is the case with the existing program and discusses how it will deal with them.
My packages are already protected by the shipper and my own insurance and eBay offers some guarantees. What is the added value eBay brings in this program?
If the program were to pay all of the shipping costs from a domestic shipment seller hub to, say, a buyer in New Zealand and that is the draw and bonus of the program (doubtful), I might reconsider it. It sounds like eBay inserts itself into the international shipping process, makes international shipping appear to sellers to be more complicated than it is, potentially makes prices opaque (this is ambiguous to me), and disempowers sellers.
(Maybe answers to my points are obvious to veteran eBayers, but the promotional material skips the nitty-gritty logistics for people like me who probably should not be allowed on the Internet.)
I typically use FedEx for international shipping and when something goes wrong, like recently when a custom's form was accidentally stuck partially over a shipping address label. I might get contacted for specific types of issues, like this one, but the buyer is also contacted and certain countries seem to strictly work with the recipients. This can already hurt seller-buyer relationships. How would eBay inserting itself into this mix help? It seems like the buyer might have to both deal with the carriers, customs, me, and NOW eBay!
What am I missing that I am not already paying for and cannot easily do myself?
marnotom!
·1 year agoMaybe if most sellers kept up with the updates and announcements that eBay cranks out, eBay wouldn't have to resort to this tactic. The fact that the OP didn't know that eIS existed (and has been around for a couple of years) prior to being opted in is telling.
Well, @dexter_sinister_ii., the buyer pays the shipping costs from the domestic shipping hub to the item's destination, and my experience as a buyer in Canada has been that those costs are usually competitive with if not better than USPS counter rates. The rub is that since the buyer also has to pay the seller's charge for shipping the item to the hub, and the two charges combined can sometimes be a deal-breaker. Sellers offering free domestic shipping who use eIS often have shipping rates that look more appealing to international buyers.
Another consideration: How would you deal with a return for a buyer from New Zealand? It's very unlikely that you'd be able to generate a return shipping label for them. And even if you could, you'd be paying quite a chunk of change for it. eIS would handle all aspects of the return and let you keep the monies from the sale as you wouldn't be seeing the item back.
tarotfindsandmore
·1 year agoI don't recall seeing any posts stating that EIS was perfect (nothing in life is perfect). It's just easy. You ship to a hub and eBay takes over. No worries about negs for INRs or INADs. You're done as soon as your package gets to the hub.
I feel like I'm missing something here. How is this such a volatile issue? As soon as you create an account you're agreeing to a bunch of terms, many of which are annoying. What is all of this hubbub about with this particular voluntary option? It costs nothing, it doesn't affect your account, and it's not something you're forced to use.
Can someone please enlighten me regarding why this evokes such impassioned opinions?
inhawaii
·1 year agoParanoia?
dexter_sinister_ii
·1 year ago@tarotfindsandmore
I think people are going nuts on this topic because it revolves around control. Automatic enrollment is one more sign of a piece slipping away to an towering overlord, even if it is very minor in the larger scheme.
Also, since sales are plummeting on eBay, people have time to direct their energy at this topic.
tarotfindsandmore
·1 year agoWhat control?? No one is being forced to sell here. This isn't the government. If a person feels that way, it's probably time to reconsider this particular life choice. eBay is a business and participating in its marketplace is totally voluntary.
More importantly, they've given sellers the option to just opt out if they don't like it. They could make it mandatory for international transactions if they really wanted to control things.
I think you're probably on to something with the latter part of your post. Unhappy people look for reasons to grumble, even when those reasons are completely unreasonable.
lakefor94
·1 year ago"More importantly, they've given sellers the option to just opt out if they don't like it. They could make it mandatory for international transactions if they really wanted to control things."
If eBay somehow makes money with this EIS program, it would not surprise me if they made it mandatory if they figure they can handle the volume. Similar to shipping to a freight forwarder in the USA.
tarotfindsandmore
·1 year agoIt's certainly possible, but again, deciding to sell internationally is also a choice. Personally, I won't ship to China or Kazakstan, but I'll ship anywhere else. If another country becomes problematic, I'll take them off the list as well. It's just that simple.
Maybe it's because I've spent so much time in jobs with real rules that I don't see the control issues that others are upset about. All of life is a series of trade-offs. If you wanted to set up a lemonade stand on my lawn, you can bet your butt I'd have a list of rules for you and, unlike eBay, I probably wouldn't let you opt out if you wanted to continue doing your business on my lawn.
I remember when this platform had NO rules. It was pretty disgusting. One of the primary reasons I left full-time selling back in 2004 was the complete insanity that was occurring at the time. There were no seller protections or buyer protections, and shipping was nuts. What takes me a half an hour today, took half a day back in 1997.
Like everyone here I have my gripes with eBay. This just isn't one of them.
dexter_sinister_ii
·1 year agoaz93
·1 year agoI also want nothing g to do with international shipping. I dis-enrolled, too. I read these boards and it is an absolute fallacy that EIS is perfect with no problems whatsoever.
inhawaii
·1 year agoCan you elaborate on what part of what we're all saying is a fallacy?
lakefor94
·1 year agoThere are sellers that just plain like to refuse guaranteed cash. They are what they are......
12345jamesstamps
·1 year agoMaybe it's not about cash...but 'repeat buyers'....
I prefer my items to get to where they are going as quick as possible for my buyers want items as soon as possible...and not in a hub on vacation.
I guess not all sellers want 'repeat buyers' but want those guarantees of an item lost or such.
lakefor94
·1 year agoThat makes a ton of sense. Never would have thought of it that way...........
tee_bee_ay
·1 year agoI know this is late to the thread, but as a buyer, I HATE waiting on the hubs. My latest item, a taillight for a truck we want to sell, is sitting in Gelendake Heights Illinois for 6 days, with no sign of being processed or the next tracking number that would come with that step. That is 6 days that these $50 usd plastic taillights could have passed through Canada Customs, and likely already been either delivered or a day from delivery to me. EIS $uck$.
Unavailable member
·1 year agoThere is no such place as Gelendake Heights in Illinois. Perhaps you meant Glendale Heights.
kh-adrian
·1 year agoHi everyone,
Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.
Thank you for understanding.
inhawaii
·1 year agoNot that it will change your mind, but I have a repeat buyer in Australia who buys shirts from me shipped EIS.
lakefor94
·1 year agoMy largest EIS sale >$1K was from AU.
12345jamesstamps
·1 year agoMy normal mailing with the USPS was an auction for a .99 stamp that went for $210.00...thought it was worth 2 bucks. And I had no problems sending it without EIS.
AND it got to the buyer quick and fast without a hassle...did yours?
12345jamesstamps
·1 year ago"a repeat buyer"....key word or letter 'A'.
Half my buyers are repeat...are yours?
If less than 25% are repeat buyers than something is wrong in a business plan.
Just my thoughts.
inhawaii
·1 year agoJus trying to point out that it's not impossible to have a happy EIS customer.
I also never had a EIS customer complain about ANYTHING including shipping time.
Again, not trying to change your mind. You run your business as you see fit.
onlinecentral
·1 year agoDomestic buyers outside of the contiguous 48 states were recently given another shipping option.
eBay International Shipping will soon include Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/ICYMI-eBay-International-Shipping-Will-Soon-Include-Alaska/td-p/34507136/jump-to/first-unread-message
12345jamesstamps
·1 year agoI agree with you.
I don't use it. I opt-out.
I am not Amazon and wish to ship my items out through the USPS on my 'own terms'.
However, even though you don't ship International...you can get an International Shipping order by another country using 'freight forward' from a Florida or Delaware or Oregon address.
tarotfindsandmore
·1 year agoThen don't use it. Easy peasy. Hardly seems like something worthy of this much emotion. If you're dead set on limiting your sales then, by all means, do. Ignore the notice and keep on keeping on.
chapeau-noir
·1 year agoGeez - shipping internationally just on its own is easy - this program makes it foolproof - even I enrolled in it and I avoided the earlier program because it just complicated what was already easy to begin with.
greatstuff80
OP1 year agoDon't care, I'm just not interested. I don't sell enough to be bothered with it.
inhawaii
·1 year agoWhat is it you don't like?
The extra money you will make for doing absolutely nothing with absolutely no risk?
greatstuff80
OP1 year agoI am just NOT interested in selling internationally. I'm just a hobby seller who sells very little; off and on. I don't care about increasing sales, lost packages, bad buyers, etc. If it sells, great. If it doesn't, it goes to charity after some time.
There is no way to justify ebay auto enrolling me with no notice.
inhawaii
·1 year agoYeah we get it. You're not interested.
The question is WHY you're not interested?
If I auto-enrolled you in a program where I mailed you a $100 bill once a week, would you opt out?
Whatever the reason you're selling domestically THE SAME applies to to ebay's EIS.
You don't do anything different.
It's no extra work.
There is no extra risk.
It's actually MORE risk selling domestically than internationally.
It doesn't cost you anything.
Knowing all this and still not being interested is just plain STRANGE.
funfactorychannel
·1 year agoI used EIS and before that Global Shipping is cause I dont want to deal with international and all the package hasnt arrived scam.. This service eliminates that for me.
But each of their own. The program was made for people who dont want to deal with international sales.
inhawaii
·1 year agoYou mean like the op? LOL 😉
greatstuff80
OP1 year agoSo I'm strange being more concerned about what vacation I'm planning next year. 😜
marnotom!
·1 year agoFrom the eBay User Agreement, emphases are mine:
One of the ways we make eBay.com listings available to international buyers is through the eBay International Shipping Program ("EIS"). EIS enables buyers to obtain parcel processing, international shipping, and customs clearance services. It is facilitated by eBay through third-party service providers that eBay has contracted with to operationalize the program. By listing your item on eBay.com you agree to the EIS Terms and Conditions. If you choose not to participate in EIS, you can opt out of the program by updating your shipping preferences.
eIS has been around for a couple of years now, and it's similar predecessor, the Global Shipping Program, was around longer than that. I'm a bit surprised that this scheme seems new to you, but then, a lot of sellers with the GSP applied to their listings had no idea about the existence of the program, so I guess giving you notice about this auto-opt strategy is an attempt to combat that.
For what it's worth, I, too, am wondering what headache you think you're avoiding by opting out of eIS.
greatstuff80
OP1 year agoI'm at an age where I just don't want to and I don't need to. 😄
greatstuff80
OP1 year agoAuto this and that is one of the things that got ebay sued successfully in the past.
tobaccocardyahoo
·1 year agoIt is rare to find any Ebay program which has as high a seller satisfaction rate as EIS.
The biggest complaint some sellers have is that they cannot use it to ship some items which may be illegal to export, or import to the destination country.
As for cost, 99% of the cost complaints come from Canadian buyers, who object to the cost of shipping to the EOS hub.
greatstuff80
OP1 year agoI don't sell enough to be bothered. Auto enrolled with no notice is **bleep**.
fern*wood
·1 year agoI agree I don't like to be auto enrolled into anything, but at least for this program I received notification and could opt out if I didn't want it. I've had ebay sign me up for stuff without any notice and I've had to discover it on my own.
Having said that, have you read about this program? So far, it's one of the best I've ever been in. It made selling internationally possible for me again. I'd actually heard about it on this board and was anxious to be notified that I was enrolled.
greatstuff80
OP1 year agoJust not interested in selling internationally. It's not worth the headache for me. I'm just a hobby seller who sells very little; off and on. I don't care about increasing sales, lost packages, bad buyers, etc. If it sells, great. If it doesn't, it goes to charity after some time.
There is no way to justify ebay auto enrolling me with no notice.
mordecai8614
·1 year agoWhat headache? Also it's eBay's platform, they can auto-enroll you if they want. Just opt out & move on. Hardly seems worth dwelling on
greatstuff80
OP1 year agoSo many people here seem to want to dwell on it! Why are you all so worried about what I do or don't do? 🤣
buyselljack2016
·1 year agoMirror, meet poster.
chapeau-noir
·1 year agoWell, your repeated engagement certainly is keeping the pot boiling.
marnotom!
·1 year agoI think the concern is that you’re dismissing what eBay is offering you based on some erroneous assumptions due to your unwillingness to find out more about what’s being offered.
It’s said that age brings wisdom, but I guess in this situation it’s more a case of an old dog not being able to be taught new tricks.
fbusoni
·1 year agoPlease leave old dogs out of this! 🤣
adamcartwright
·1 year ago@marmars @chapeau-noir
I think OP is trolling.
They burn out after awhile if you just ignore.
fern*wood
·1 year agoDoesn’t sound like you know anything about it and I understand it’s your choice not to want to learn anything about it. I’m surprised you choose to sell at all—based on your answer I would think you would just donate and not bother.
greatstuff80
OP1 year agoWhy not try and get a couple of bucks for all the stuff we've got? Why do you all care so much about what I do or don't do? 🤣
itsjustasprain
·1 year agoI would say that it is because you appear to stop reading a reply as soon as you realize that it is someone who does not agree with you. Thus you do not read their explanation of what you do not appear to understand about how Ebay International Shipping works. Try to stick it out to the end of my post.
When you get an international purchaser your Ebay International Shipping package to them goes to Ebay in Illinois. (There may be other locations around the country as well but Glendale Heights seems to be the most common one.) When your domestic shipment is delivered there Ebay takes ownership of it - not just possession of it but responsibility for it the rest of the way. That means that an Item Not Received or Not As Described claim is handled by them and paid by them. It is out of your hands. No worries.
chapeau-noir
·1 year agoHush, now - more for us!
chapeau-noir
·1 year agoThat's fine - we'll pick up the sales.
eBay is a little too aggressive with this, yes, but it's also only shipping domestically - after that, it's eBay's problem.
fbusoni
·1 year ago@greatstuff80
Consider yourself lucky -- not everyone gets to participate.
eIS is about as risk free a program as you can get on eBay.
I've been in the program since its inception and am extremely pleased with it.
greatstuff80
OP1 year agoJust not interested. Doesn't justify being auto enrolled without asking.
fbusoni
·1 year agoUnderstood.
But if you are not interested in the eIS program, then you are not interested in eBay, since selling in the eIS program is no different (other than being safer) than selling to a buyer located in the contiguous 48 states.
And that comes through pretty clearly.
greatstuff80
OP1 year agoYou're right. I don't really care about ebay or sales. I'm just trying to get rid of stuff left me and my spouse by family and friends over many decades. I'm much more concerned about planning another big vacation next year. I think my prices reflect that. As far as I'm concerned, my sales have been fine since restarting just a month or so ago after not doing anything here for 3-4 years.
theteamsetguy
·1 year ago@greatstuff80 ,
I ship on average one order every other day internationally. Been doing it for years and have had only one lost package in all these years by Australian Post.
Heck, even the USPS loses a package every now and then. With eBay international shipping you actually don’t the package out of the country. You ship it to one eBay’s hubs and they ship it out of the country. Your only responsibility is to get the package to the hub and you are done.
However, I choose to ship all of my international packages directly to the buyer instead because it is cheaper for the buyer. Many of my larger orders are from international customers.
My advice is if you want to increase your sales and who doesn’t. Start selling internationally.
Bot 8675309
greatstuff80
OP1 year agoI am NOT interested in selling internationally. It's not worth the headache for me. I'm just a hobby seller who sells very little; off and on. I don't care about increasing sales, lost packages, bad buyers, etc. If it sells, great. If it doesn't, it goes to charity after some time.
There is no way to justify ebay auto enrolling me with no notice.
dryophelia
·1 year ago@greatstuff80
You don't have to ship internationally. But, it is not possible to block international buyers with a USA shipping address.
greatstuff80
OP1 year agoI never said it was.
Unavailable member
·1 year agoTry it, you will find it's very simple.
You ship domestically to eBay's hub, once delivered there your job is done. eBay handles everything from there, customs forms, handling returns and disputes. The seller gets to keep the money regardless of the out come of a return, dispute or INR. You really have zero to lose.
greatstuff80
OP1 year agoAnd again....I am NOT interested in selling internationally. It's not worth the headache for me. I'm just a hobby seller who sells very little; off and on. I don't care about increasing sales, lost packages, bad buyers, etc. If it sells, great. If it doesn't, it goes to charity after some time.
There is no way to justify ebay auto enrolling me with no notice.
lakefor94
·1 year agoIf you are referring to the (EIS) Ebay International Shipping program, all you do is ship to the hub in Illinois and eBay does the rest with 100% protections for the seller.
Once the item is accepted at the hub, the seller is done. If the buyer files any type of case or even a credit card dispute, eBay covers everything.
It is a no brainer. Best program offered by eBay.
greatstuff80
OP1 year agoOnce more....I am NOT interested in selling internationally. It's not worth the headache for me. I'm just a hobby seller who sells very little; off and on. I don't care about increasing sales, lost packages, bad buyers, etc. If it sells, great. If it doesn't, it goes to charity after some time.
There is no way to justify ebay auto enrolling me with no notice.
tarotfindsandmore
·1 year agoJust out of curiosity, why? International shipping through EIS is so much easier than domestic shipping. I wish more of my sales were international.
greatstuff80
OP1 year agoI am NOT interested in selling internationally. It's not worth it for me. I'm just a hobby seller who sells very little; off and on. I don't care about increasing sales, lost packages, bad buyers, etc. If it sells, great. If it doesn't, it goes to charity after some time.
There is no way to justify ebay auto enrolling me with no notice.
adamcartwright
·1 year ago@tarotfindsandmore
DITTO! EIS makes life easier.