International shipping
Just had to opt out of the "New" international Shipping program.
Because I just sold something I had listed a few days ago, and I looked over the ad and noticed the list of countries I now ship to that I have never shipped to and won't. I'm tired of this getting pushed because EBay wants to make more money and have you assume the risk. And don't tell me this time it's different, I believed that along time ago, now I don't. So check your shipping rules if you don't want to ship internationally, because you're automatically enrolled till you opt out. Because Ebay has your best interests at heart and they just want to help you. So if you see a 1k item of yours sold to a Nigeran that needs it shipped asap, you don't have to cancel the transaction and mess up your above average seller status.
thetnpicker
·1 year agoI will never again ship internationally and advise you to do the same. You’re not expanding your customer base, you’re expanding your risk. A few years ago i sold an iPhone for $250 to someone in Czechoslovakia to a small town where usps tracking “stopped “ according to USPS themselves. The low life made a claim with PayPal weeks later that he never received my phone - and PayPal immediately reversed the 250 out of my bank account without warning or communication and refunded this scammer. I lost 250 dollars in cash to his false claim and neither PayPal nor eBay would help me. They said they don’t guarantee tracking outside the US and there was nothing they could do. The eBay account was of course deleted by the user by the time he claimed he didn’t get it. PayPal on the other hand will simply rip the money back out of your bank account whenever a “didn’t receive the item†claim is made without any communication to you first. They are not a sellers friend.
so screw international shipping. I hope you take this serious and don’t make the same mistake i did.
dbfolks166mt
·1 year agoI will never again ship internationally and advise you to do the same. You’re not expanding your customer base, you’re expanding your risk. A few years ago i sold an iPhone for $250 to someone in Czechoslovakia to a small town where usps tracking “stopped “ according to USPS themselves. The low life made a claim with PayPal weeks later that he never received my phone - and PayPal immediately reversed the 250 out of my bank account without warning or communication and refunded this scammer. I lost 250 dollars in cash to his false claim and neither PayPal nor eBay would help me. They said they don’t guarantee tracking outside the US and there was nothing they could do.
so screw international shipping. I hope you take this serious and don’t make the same mistake.
You obviously were not using the EIS program when you sold the phone. Sellers using the EIS program have almost unlimited seller protection under the program and eBay seems to be standing behind those protections. The following is from the EIS program file.
Benefits of eBay International Shipping
As well as making your items available to buyers in almost 200 countries, there are several other benefits to using eBay International Shipping:
extract-craft
·1 year agoeBay International Shipping is a untracked loser. We paid for a USPS Priority delivery to Mexico City. To a repeat buyer. EIS has us ship to a hub, but the remainder of the ship trip was some third party contractor and the package vanished. This is one of the many examples of EIS.
Currently we cannot get listed in countries where we were selling. After EIS was established we cannot list or sell in those countries. eBay claims we can opt out, but it is not working. EIS is a giant bug
dbfolks166mt
·1 year agoeBay International Shipping is a untracked loser. We paid for a USPS Priority delivery to Mexico City. To a repeat buyer. EIS has us ship to a hub, but the remainder of the ship trip was some third party contractor and the package vanished. This is one of the many examples of EIS.
At least in this situation EIS would have, or should have, refunded the buyer in full. Any package can be lost in transit. In the early spring when we had all the flooding I had 6 domestic shipments with USPS that never arrived. I fully refunded the buyers and filed a claim with USPS which were quickly settled and I had a check from USPS in under 3 weeks for each of the lost packages.
Currently we cannot get listed in countries where we were selling. After EIS was established we cannot list or sell in those countries. eBay claims we can opt out, but it is not working. EIS is a giant bug
You should not have a problem opting out of EIS, what errors are you getting? What countries were you selling to before you were put in EIS? I checked a couple of your listings and it does not appear you are using the EIS program at the moment but doing direct shipping.
brightlightbookseller
·1 year agoThis is totally incorrect information when you're using the eBay International Shipping program (which didn't exist in it's current form a few years ago, so obviously you weren't using it). It's actually much safer to sell internationally than locally now, with EIS.
ozarkcollectibles
·2 years agoThank you for your post. I just recently added the international shipping because Ebay sold it as easy, Ebay takes care of everything (NOT so). An international customer asked me to find out why I could not ship a supplement Telomeres to N Italy. I then read a lot of Ebay documents on international shipping and banned products. Ebay document stated that I need to know what is allowed and what is not. Stating that I could be held liable for items that are banned. Hire a lawyer was their answer.
So I just now opted out again for the second time and will not re-enact that option.
Now my only problem is that all my items have to be individually modified. The edit all items, does not give me an option to turn off all international shipping. Only my future listings will not be international.
marnotom!
·2 years agoJust out of curiosity, @hachumi, have you read or even skimmed through the eBay International Shipping terms and conditions for sellers?
https://pages.ebay.com/internationalshippingprogram/seller/terms/
monster-deals
·2 years agoDid you somehow manage to put United States on that list of countries you don't ship to?
Because that is the only country you ship to with the new EIS international shipping program.
buyselljack2016
·2 years agoeIS sale today to someplace that I would never ship to directly.
Shipped it. Shortly it will be at the hub, and eBay will handle all from there.
Life is good.
Glad I opted in.
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoReally glad to hear you opted out of the program it decreases the international seller competition pool by at least 1 and if others follow your lead all the better. I like the EIS program and the seller protections it provides and the fact that eBay is standing behind those I just wish the seller protections were as good for domestic sales.
If you are so afraid of selling internationally using the EIS program I am not sure why you are still even selling domestically given the seller protections for domestic sales are FAR less than what they are with EIS and international sales.
chapeau-noir
·2 years agoYeah, I'm not sure why anybody is bothering to argue with the OP about this after @chevymontecarlo88 's good answer. OP doesn't want to do it, fine. More for us who do use the program, fine.
Win/win as far as I can tell.
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoYeah, I'm not sure why anybody is bothering to argue with the OP about this after @chevymontecarlo88 's good answer. OP doesn't want to do it, fine. More for us who do use the program, fine.
Win/win as far as I can tell.
Totally agree on the win/win. OP also takes themselves out of the seller pool for those US buyers that may be purchasing items and sending them to family or friends overseas. That would also include those US buyers who may be working overseas. The less seller competition the better.
hachumi
OP2 years agoYeah, I'm not sure why anybody is bothering to argue with the OP about this after @chevymontecarlo88 's good answer. OP doesn't want to do it, fine. More for us who do use the program, fine.
Win/win as far as I can tell.
Totally agree on the win/win. OP also takes themselves out of the seller pool for those US buyers that may be purchasing items and sending them to family or friends overseas. That would also include those US buyers who may be working overseas. The less seller competition the better.
Oh such a good answer, Oh gosh, maybe I'll start selling big things again!
NOT!
I Like a lot of others have been taking myself out of the seller pool for awhile.
You guys can sit around and pat each other on the back and give yourselves
a Big RAH rah rah!
cause pretty soon you'll be the only ones here...
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoYeah, I'm not sure why anybody is bothering to argue with the OP about this after @chevymontecarlo88 's good answer. OP doesn't want to do it, fine. More for us who do use the program, fine.
Win/win as far as I can tell.
Totally agree on the win/win. OP also takes themselves out of the seller pool for those US buyers that may be purchasing items and sending them to family or friends overseas. That would also include those US buyers who may be working overseas. The less seller competition the better.
Oh such a good answer, Oh gosh, maybe I'll start selling big things again!
NOT!
I Like a lot of others have been taking myself out of the seller pool for awhile.
You guys can sit around and pat each other on the back and give yourselves
a Big RAH rah rah!
cause pretty soon you'll be the only ones here...
I will have no problem with that the fewer sellers the better. That being said I have no loyalty to eBay and diversified across multiple platforms and venues LONG ago. I still sell on eBay but it now only accounts for a little under 20% of my sales by volume. I have ALWAYS had a dollar threshold for anything I list on eBay due to the risk and there are items I would NEVER list here simply because of the rampant scamming and the ease with which it can be done.
With all the options available to sellers I am always amazed when I see post like yours. I wonder why those individuals that are so disgruntled with eBay don't just leave and close their account. They have alternatives.
lotzofuniquegoodies
·2 years ago@chapeau-noir
From a Canadian buyers perspective most buyers avoid any sellers that use the program at all costs. A filter to remove eIS sellers has been requested but will most likely never happen. With eIS it increases the shipping cost big time. Average delivery time can be 20 to 35 days with a very roundabout route. Many items listed are not supposed to be listed with eIS. They arrive at the US depot, never to be forwarded. If there is a problem customs charges are difficult to get refunded. It is really bad for anything either of low value or small because of the increased costs. We see discussion posts on the Canadian board about transactions running afoul so very difficult to recommend to anyone. The preference would be sellers to use USPS and offer the shipping options for international listed at the BOTTOM of list but a major process to find those. Just my 2 cents on the subject.
-Lotzofuniquegooodies
buyselljack2016
·2 years agoAgree, it's a tough program for buyers, but for sellers it's one of the few glimmers of hope in a wide world of issues.
Of my last 3 eIS sales....................... 2 of the countries................. I would NEVER have shipped directly to.
chapeau-noir
·2 years agoI know - I've just been lazy in pulling Canada off the list so I can ship directly. TBH, I don't have much which one can't get up in Canada, anyway, so I just haven't done so yet. Thanks for the reminder to get on that!
lotzofuniquegoodies
·2 years ago@chapeau-noir Interesting that you are willing to remove from your list. From my personal requests when I was looking for something specific and a US seller it was either a hard no or no response. From what I am hearing if a Canadian buyer is looking for something either for replacement parts or unique our best chance would be a US seller. Like most buyers, the preference would be to shop locally(domestically). With weird stuff, not always possible. From many buyers eIS has become a nightmare. It sounds like they are having a hard time processing everything in a timely manner or just don't see it as an issue. Crazy thing is I can ship to USA (for smaller type items) for usually half the price and 1/4 the time. Shipping within Canada is actually more expensive for us than to USA (No customs clearance fees) .
-Lotz
PS. Not a problem on the reminder...The more the merrier. And if you feel game, shop Canadian! We will never be upset with you!!! 😠We all promise.....eh!!!
chapeau-noir
·2 years ago@lotzofuniquegoodies I'd shipped internationally just on my own since about 2000, but when the pandemic came and I lost a couple of packages due to snarl-ups I put a pause on it. But I can get up and running with the rates to Canada (it's not very hard lol, I'm just lazy) and start editing my listings. I never have that much running so it's only a few hours of work. I live so close to Canada that I've actually ridden my bike up there, and I have a favourite running race near Blaine.
cardxcraft
·2 years agoJust to let you know, with EIS, as with any international shipping service, you can create shipping exclusions. If you don't want to sell to general regions, or specific countries, you only need to create shipping exclusions, either through shipping preferences or if opted in business policies, you can create your exclusions there. The last step is applying exclusions to specific listings or shipping policy.
Don't allow shipping destinations be determining factor in opting in to EIS.
mybigsale
·2 years ago@cardxcraft
Don't allow shipping destinations be determining factor in opting in to EIS.
If you are part of EIS, eBay plans on forcing sellers to ship to PR (and later Alaska and Hawaii) by overriding any seller exclusions. Either you are part of EIS and ship to PR or you need to leave the EIS program if you refuse to ship to PR.
From eBay:
The update will override Seller exclusions to US protectorates. Listings for Puerto Rico will now be included in the United States. Sellers will still be able to exclude by country for international locations. If you are unable to sell to Puerto Rico for any reason, you can go to Shipping Preferences in your Account Settings and opt-out of eBay International Shipping.
sweeneyangels
·1 year agoI feel so dumb asking this question, but if I'm enrolled in the EIS, do I need to uncheck my exclusions on my shipping preferences? It states that if the toggle is "on" than the EIS will ship to my excluded countries. I'm haven't shipped internationally in years, so I'm trying to learn all about this new program. It sounds like it works well for sellers.
Thanks
brightlightbookseller
·1 year agoEIS now manages your exclusion list automatically if you let it. If you want to change that, you can go here and toggle the setting to Off: https://www.ebay.com/ship/prf/excludeRegions
I'm not sure why it would matter. You don't need to worry about excluded countries if you use EIS unless you just have an objection to selling to certain locations. No country is going to be safer or less safe than others (except that you'll have less risk to any international location than a domestic one).
albertabrightalberta
·2 years agoBTW, when an actual ebay employee occasionally chimes in, they are clearly identified as ebay employees and their posts have a blue border around them. See the example hyperlink.
chapeau-noir
·2 years agoNever mind.
hachumi
OP2 years agoBest answer so far.
dreambooks
·2 years agoIs this EIS thing same thing as eBay Global Shipping? I have been using it, and no complaint yet.
mybigsale
·2 years agoPretty much the same as eBay Global Shipping, only better. With Global Shipping, you still had some responsibility after sending to the US Processing center. The EIS takes over all the responsibility (liability) after your undamaged packaged is received by the US Processing center.
tobaccocardyahoo
·2 years agoIf you are making money on Ebay and hate Ebay, there is no new program you will trust.
EIS does what it claims to do,, provides some extra money from sales you might not have made and eliminates learning about which minor country you can safely sell to and which you want to avoid like the plague.
It selects carriers to use, and avoids the unreliable, high theft post offices in those countries, handles returns at their expense, and inspects your shipments to be certain they comply with the listing, and if they do handles all claims including NAD claims. Would that all Ebay sales were as hassle free.
Ebay generates an expected delivery date which allows for the time it takes to ship. If your buyer does needs it sooner, they can request you cancel and it does not screw up your metrics.
IMO it is the best gift to sellers in the decades I have sold on Ebay.
The only risk is to sellers who describe so badly that EIS rejects the shipment, and they do not have a metric to get hit.
hachumi
OP2 years ago"If you are making money on Ebay and hate Ebay, there is no new program you will trust."
No, I just don't want to be opted into something I don't want to do. and Ebay hasn't done anything to gain my trust back in years, but this time is different, right?
EIS does what it claims to do,, provides some extra money from sales you might not have made and eliminates learning about which minor country you can safely sell to and which you want to avoid like the plague
It's a new program how do you know this?
Ebay's track record is terrible, promising things and never delivering, so how is this time different?
tobaccocardyahoo
·2 years agoIt is not new. It has been in operation for somewhere around a year.
Ebay usually delivers what it promises but many sellers lack the reading skills to understand the promise.
hachumi
OP2 years agoEbay usually delivers what it promises but many sellers lack the reading skills to understand the promise.
Yes I would have to say you are an expert on this particular topic, and The growing number of new customers to the site would say that indeed "Ebay usually delivers what it promises"
and in this case the usually that you put in there to make it more believable, would be rarely if ever.
mybigsale
·2 years ago@hachumi
I'm tired of this getting pushed because EBay wants to make more money and have you assume the risk.
What risk are you assuming if you ship using the eBay international shipping?
Your obligation is to successfully ship your undamaged item to the eBay international shipping center in the USA. After that, you are covered for lost mail, returns, damage...
hachumi
OP2 years agoYep, Seller protections have always helped me in the past, so they must be good this time to right.
Or is this time different?
sounds like the government.
mybigsale
·2 years ago@hachumi
Yep, Seller protections have always helped me in the past, so they must be good this time to right.
If you are asking about the standard seller protections, they are the same as they have always been. If the buyer claims item not as described the seller will always lose (unless you are using eBay international shipping). Other seller protections also have issues.
Or is this time different?
Only different for the eBay International Shipping. If you ship your item to the eBay International Shipping center in the USA you are done. eBay takes care of (pays) all claims. Return requests go to an eBay Center and they cover reimbursing buyers. Lost/damaged package claims are paid by eBay.
sounds like the government.
I don't get the analogy except they both have some policies I don't agree with (but do follow). In theory, the people have a say in government and the right to be heard. eBay does what they want regardless of what users think. While we can discuss eBay here, we have no right to be heard by eBay and eBay appears to decide what sellers need without actually listening to us. 🙄
hachumi
OP2 years agoYea heck what risks am I taking shipping domestically, Ebay seller protection always works.
Now go back and look at the posts where the answer was "don't sell anything you can't afford to lose"
Because that's the standard answer to all the people who come here and post about getting ripped off.
chevymontecarlo88
·2 years agoIf you are referring to the EIS program, sellers now have much more protection than ever before. All you are responsible is to ship out your item to the EIS hub. (of course within the time stated on your listing)
I may be wrong, but i think Ebay is assuming most of the "risk" on these sales. (at least at this time)
Edit.. I have included the link to Ebays EIS page that you may want to review.
Ebay EIS
hachumi
OP2 years agoOh yea!
great I will read that over and remember how much seller protections have protected me in the past.
and then I'll just place a quick call customer service, and with their command of the English language and vast knowledge of all things Ebay, they will help me.
Then I'll wake up.
monica-sells
·2 years agoI understand your "opt-out" displeasure....
but what does customer service have to do with your distrust of a service you don't endorse?
hachumi
OP2 years agoThat was sarcasm, because customer service works about as well as seller protections do.
Have you been helped by customer service? like most things now, works great till you actually need it.
monica-sells
·2 years agoSorry...I 'did' miss the sarcasm aspect.....(in relation to international shipping)
anyways...you really should take another look at your options...
it is one of the better programs (at this time) they have implemented as far as seller protections go to increase your bottom line without much effort on your part.
chevymontecarlo88
·2 years agoThings have changed and for a limited time the EIS program is worth reviewing again.
If you don't like the changes made you still can stay out of the program. Just wanted to hip you to what the changes implemented recently and how it can really benefit sellers. You do have the right to protest the program for whatever reason you like.
-Good luck
hachumi
OP2 years agoYea right, this time it's different, if it was so great, you wouldn't have been automatically enrolled.
Sorry, I'm not falling for it again.
vintage-camerastuff
·2 years agoI don't care where the package goes. EIS has covered me on every international package. I get it to the hub and forget about it.
hachumi
OP2 years agoGood for you, I'm glad it has worked so far
but like alot of things Ebay it works great till you actually need it.
Like customer service
or seller protection.
I've been in that situation before, and if I don't protect myself nobody else will.
duffy4444
·2 years ago@hachumi:
Sounds like it makes no difference to you what others are saying to your original post. Your mind appears to be made up that whatever eBay does for sellers' benefit about international selling is a non-starter for you.
If you don't trust eBay, then it's good that you opted out of the program. With the ability to opt out, you're not being forced at all. Additionally, if you are really that bitter about eBay as demonstrated by your above remarks, you have the total freedom to go elsewhere. Your shoes are not nailed to the floor - you can walk away if you wish.
I hope your outlook changes, as a lot of hesitant eBay sellers, including myself, have found eBay's EIS to be a major leap forward for selling internationally with much, much fewer risks.
Think about it...
Cheers, Duffy
hachumi
OP2 years agoNo it doesn't, my post was warning others to opt out, wasn't a question.
No I don't trust Ebay, they have given me lot's of reasons not to just like this one.
and a choice is not to opt out. the choice would be to opt in.
This way Ebay makes more money.
if you don't know you've been opted in and get a nasty surprise and sell something that you now get to take the chance and ship somewhere you never wanted to in the first place, and if you cancel because you can't afford to lose that money, then you may lose your seller status and have to pay more, and may get a negative for canceling.
So how is this helping people? and how is this a choice?
How does this foster trust?
Can't wait to see the posts "I don't ship international but I just got an order to ship to..."
winterpalace25
·1 year agoI was about to write every point that Duffy wrote. OP is so cynical and bitter about ebay, they should probably find somewhere to sell more to their liking.
I think the new international program is great. In fact it is so generous to sellers that I wonder if it can last.
ariesgirl88
·1 year agoWhere Do you get the shipping hub address? I have to ship to Poland now because I wasn't aware I had to opt out of their shipping international program.