Buyer messages me asking if I can ship international and "change shipping method to USPS." - Scam?
My item is a graded Pokémon card and listed Buy Now ($799) with free shipping, but I did not offer international shipping on it (I am located in the United States).
Someone located outside the US messages me with an offer, and asks "is there any chance you could change shipping method to USPS?"
I have received similar messages over the past couple of months on different items, from different buyers, and in different countries. I am open to international shipping, but I am worried that this might be a scam or something. Obviously I want to sell my items, whether it's international or domestic, but not if it means risking a scam and losing my item/money.
I appreciate your time,
Thomas
7 comments
broto_64
·2 years agoMy stock answer to shipping arrangement questions:
Dear Buyer,
Thank you for asking, all listed items ship as stated.
Thank you,
Seller
That said you're fairly safe shipping through EIS, and if this were my sale I would not consider alternate arrangements.
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoTend to agree with @slippinjimmyon this one. While scams can happen just as easily with domestic buyers, and do, it becomes more complex with international sales and your options on any recourse are more limited. You didn't mention the country the buyer was/is in but I took a look at the shipping cost for a buyer located in Canada and get the following. Of course you only control the shipping method to the authentication center. How the authentication center gets it to the EIS hub or EIS gets it to the buyer on the international leg is under their control. Despite the shipping cost I would simply tell the buyer that you only ship internationally through the EIS program and you have no control over what the EIS center uses for a carrier.
For the domestic leg to the authentication center make sure you purchase enough additional insurance to cover the cost of the item. I just finished up my 3rd lost package claim with USPS in the last 6 months.
slippinjimmy
·2 years agoI think ebay provides a prepaid FedEx label, doubt you can add your own insurance.
This particular listing is a bit more complicated because it's two step, authentication then EIS. Not 100% sure how that works.
rosachs
·2 years agoIf a seller agrees to change shipping to USPS, how much you wanna bet the next question will be "can you just put $X for the cost? It's a gift for a friend and I don't want them to know how much I really spent."
Which is, of course, illegal - both here in the US and in just about every other country. The buyer just wants to get away with not paying the import duties & taxes... the same import duties and taxes collected on goods coming into the US... which increases the price to the consumer because you can bet your sweet bippie that the retailer and/or importer are going to add it into their cost and therefor their price.
We put a statement into our templates at work, specifically for these cheating customers, and as recommended by eBay. Basically saying, politely, that we only ship internationally via EIS and we list the actual purchase price on any required forms, as required by law. So far, no complaints.
-Bob.
caldreamer
·2 years agoNo way to tell in advance if customer is scamming you (many different types of scams going around). You should be aware that anyone (domestic or international) can "reverse credit card payment" AFTER they receive your item (keep both your money and your item). If you get scammer EBAY will NOT protect you.
If you decide you want to ship to that "international customer" you should OPT IN to EBAY International Shipping. Go SITE PREFERENCES, SHIPPING PREFERENCE (and OPT IN for international shipping). EIS (Ebay International Shipping) service does offer protection if customer claims item is "lost or damaged". You are only responsible for shipping package to USA location. But EBAY does NOT protect you from getting scammed.
rosachs
·2 years agoIf you are shipping domestic, and include tracking that shows delivery, eBay will cover the seller on a chargeback claim. We have had two so far this month, both "doesn't recognize charge", and both chargeback notices included that wonderful phrase: "you're covered - you don't need to do anything". From past similar chargebacks, we'll get two more messages a few weeks after the first notification, telling us that the case has been closed. Doesn't matter if the buyer got their money back -- it didn't come from our account, so I'm OK with that.
I would assume, and I'm sure it's a pretty easy bet, that eBay now has that customer 'on their radar', if they haven't already NARU'd them. Never having needed to do a chargeback myself, I don't know if the bank tells the customer who returned the funds or if it just indicates they were returned. If they don't indicate that eBay coughed up the funds, the 'customer' may try it again... and eBay doesn't like it when customers try to pick their pockets (it's not good for the bottom line).
Internationally, go thru EIS and let eBay worry about everything after you deliver the purchase to their domestic processing center.
-Bob.
slippinjimmy
·2 years agoYour $799 card DOES offer international shipping through eBay International Shipping.
I suspect your buyer is none too happy about the charges EIS adds and would prefer to have you ship direct via USPS.
You might want to inform yourself about the EIS program, it can be expensive for buyers (not always) but does provide the absolute best seller protection.
https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/shipping-items/setting-shipping-options/ebay-international-shipping-program?id=5348
OR
It could be step one of many for a scam of some sort. The primary issue of using USPS is that because of the value Seller Protection for fraudulent INR claims (over US$750) you must have Signature on Delivery rather than just regular proof of delivery. USPS does not offer this service (Registered Mail is not acceptable).
I would simply reply that you only ship via EIS and leave it at that.
FYI - That $750 limit applies to Domestic shipments as well, this card offers signature confirmation to the authentication location (eBay supplied label) so you are good there but for anything being shipped direct keep in mind the requirements.
https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/member-behavior-policies/signature-confirmation-policy?id=5154