International Buyer Issues

[losu7217]

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? 

[dbfolks166mt]

@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.

     You needed to read the entirety of my statement, which I could have worded a bit better. With a INR chargeback the eBay policy means nothing. You have to prove delivery to the buyer which is difficult to do if it went through a FF unless you can get the FF to provide the tracking information which most won't. 

[marnotom!]

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@dbfolks166mt wrote:

With a INR chargeback the eBay policy means nothing. You have to prove delivery to the buyer which is difficult to do if it went through a FF unless you can get the FF to provide the tracking information which most won't. 

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Wouldn't this mean then that this would also hold true for domestic sales where the item gets redirected to a US address other than that in the transaction details once delivered?  [EDIT:  I see you've acknowledged this.]

While I can see that a seller may not prevail in a chargeback in instances like this, I don't see why they wouldn't be subject to any sort of protection from eBay after the chargeback is concluded as they've fulfilled the requirement for shipping and delivering the item to the address in the transaction details.  Are you sure you're not thinking of instances where the buyer provides a shipping address that's not in the transaction details, @dbfolks166mt?

And as you've noted earlier, fighting a NAD chargeback for any eBay sale is usually a futile exercise.

[dbfolks166mt]

@dbfolks166mt wrote:

With a INR chargeback the eBay policy means nothing. You have to prove delivery to the buyer which is difficult to do if it went through a FF unless you can get the FF to provide the tracking information which most won't. 

Wouldn't this mean then that this would also hold true for domestic sales where the item gets redirected to a US address other than that in the transaction details once delivered?  [EDIT:  I see you've acknowledged this.]

     Domestic is different and it is easier to get information from the carrier on the exact delivery address so the seller has a chance to fight and prevail in this situation. Getting final delivery information from a FF or a foreign carrier is a bit more complex. 

While I can see that a seller may not prevail in a chargeback in instances like this, I don't see why they wouldn't be subject to any sort of protection from eBay after the chargeback is concluded as they've fulfilled the requirement for shipping and delivering the item to the address in the transaction details.  Are you sure you're not thinking of instances where the buyer provides a shipping address that's not in the transaction details, @dbfolks166mt?

     I believe eBay does offer some protection in cases where an eBay case was first opened and the seller prevailed and the buyer follows up with a chargeback with their CC company. However, the protection is very specific about the circumstances. 

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-policies/payment-dispute-seller-protections?id=5293 

And as you've noted earlier, fighting a NAD chargeback for any eBay sale is usually a futile exercise.

     Yep and this applies whether it is an eBay claim/case or a chargeback the seller is going to loose 99.9% of the time. 

[reallynicestamps]

Shipping to a freight forwarder is safer than shipping to a suburban porch or an apartment mail room.

The only safer address is a USPS postal box.

The Money Back Guarantee for delivery ends at the forwarder.

Most forwarders handle import fees for their clients. No "customs delay" scams.

While the Not As Described protection remains, as it should, the seller is only required to send the Return Shipping Label to the forwarder. It's up to the buyer to get the item back to the forwarder and pay them to use the label, before the deadline passes.

An unused Return Shipping Label will eventually be refunded.

[dbfolks166mt]

Shipping to a freight forwarder is safer than shipping to a suburban porch or an apartment mail room.

The only safer address is a USPS postal box.

The Money Back Guarantee for delivery ends at the forwarder.

Most forwarders handle import fees for their clients. No "customs delay" scams.

While the Not As Described protection remains, as it should, the seller is only required to send the Return Shipping Label to the forwarder. It's up to the buyer to get the item back to the forwarder and pay them to use the label, before the deadline passes.

An unused Return Shipping Label will eventually be refunded.

     In most cases what you state is accurate. Everything changes in the face of a chargeback. 

[pjcdn2005]

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@dbfolks166mt wrote:

@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.

     You needed to read the entirety of my statement, which I could have worded a bit better. With a INR chargeback the eBay policy means nothing. You have to prove delivery to the buyer which is difficult to do if it went through a FF unless you can get the FF to provide the tracking information which most won't. 

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As @yuzuha said, you only have to prove delivery to the address given to eBay at the time at payment. If you can show delivery confirmation eBay will cover the seller regardless of the bank's decision.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/getting-paid/handling-payment-disputes?id=4799&st=3&pos=1&query=Ha...

[dbfolks166mt]

As @yuzuha said, you only have to prove delivery to the address given to eBay at the time at payment. If you can show delivery confirmation eBay will cover the seller regardless of the bank's decision.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/getting-paid/handling-payment-disputes?id=4799&st=3&pos=1&query=Ha...

     Thank you, my error. I checked the chargeback seller protection policy and while the seller may loose the chargeback eBay may in fact be the one that refunds the buyer out of hide. 

[winton11]

I block any bids or buys from people whose ebay account is not based in the United States.

What i do is click on the username of the bidder/buyer and it will show you what country their ebay account is based in. If it is based in for example egypt i will add their username to a blocked buyers list, and they will not be able to buy or bid.

If they have already bid before i blocked i will cancel the bid, or cancel the purchase and refund any money paid.

I also have a statement in any add " If your eBay account is not registered in the USA please do not bother bidding/buying.

 This policy has not caused any problems for me