International buyer issue

[noelbeast55]

Hello all,

I found a post similar to my issue, but still unsure what to do. 

I sold about 10 years ago on eBay and just restarted. The game has changed a bit, I see. I did not do enough to restrict international buyers from buying my items here in the US, but that’s changed now for all future items I’ll sell. 

Issue:

Someone in Brazil messaged me about an item I was selling, asking if I would ship to Brazil (I only listed domestic shipping and didn’t check the international shipping box—thought that was enough at the time). I didn’t see his message in time, and the Brazilian won, but hasn’t yet paid. Their account is brand new, no ratings, feels like potential scam. 

For an an almost identical issue another user posted 2 years ago, it was suggested that they send an invoice to the buyer with the international rates for shipping, and if they don’t pay, problem solved. Makes sense to me, but how do I get the buyer’s email address to send him an invoice? Just message him for it? I’m reluctant to reply to his message until I know exactly how to proceed and keep myself safe. 

i also saw how people were saying I should change my PayPal settings to accept US currency only. I don’t see that as an option in PayPal (normal user), but I can add other currencies. Can I safely assume that if I don’t add currencies, PayPal won’t accept anything other than US currency? 

Thanks for any help offered!

[banana*shoe*boutique]

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@noelbeast55 wrote:

Thanks all for further comments. Buyselljack, I thought the USPS told me no tracking even for Brazil, but I’ll double check. 

Sam and banana, I agree with you, I don’t want to ship there, but I’ve seen on other comments that since I didn’t specifically exclude certain countries from shipping, I could still be held accountable to ship to them. I personally thought that by only marking domestic shipping that that was enough, but not according to others. 

I could potentially do nothing. He messaged me actually before the auction ended to ask if I would ship to Brazil, and then bid up (actually beyond my buy it now price) and won the auction without my answer. I still haven’t replied, he hasn’t paid. 

I suppose I could just continue to do nothing? I don’t necessarily like it, I really do want to be a good seller, but this whole thing is just fishy to me, and even losing $25 isn’t a big deal, but it’s more of a principle thing. I don’t like people potentially taking advantage of a system to cheat someone else. 

So maybe just...do nothing?

@noelbeast55

The quote I highlighted in Red is a huge red flag.  Why bid it higher than the BIN?  

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[reallynicestamps]

I sell worldwide (from Canada) and don't find more problems with overseas buyers than I do with domestic or with US buyers.

However.

You can cancel the transaction as "Problem with Address."

You can use "Send Information" to bill the customer for shipping.

• Use a tracked and rapid service.
• Do NOT use Surface. And if the customer says he can't afford it, offer to Cancel "At Buyer Request". 
• Do NOT change the service to any untracked or slower service.

I don't think the buyer is necessarily a scammer. That he asked about shipping is a Good Thing.  That he bid anyway is a rookie mistake.

Are you still selling DVDs? Would this DVD work in South America?  If it won't you might add a note on the invoice or use eBay Messages to contact him. (BTW- Google Translate will change your message into Portugese, and you can send both to make your questions absolutely clear.)

Can I safely assume that if I don’t add currencies, PayPal won’t accept anything other than US currency? 

I believe what you actually want is a Block on non-US Paypal accounts.

Every sale you make from dotCOM will show up in US dollars.

Again- as a non-US seller, my PP account is set to accept both USD and Canadian loonies, because I sell on both sites. But if a German customer buys from a dotCOM listing, I'm paid in USD. If he buys from a dotCA listing, I'm paid in loonies.

When you are paid from a non-US account  PP will charge you 4.4% +30 cents, rather than the usual 2..9% plus 30 cents.

DVDs are tricky because of the Regional settings, but if you decide to expand to an international customer base, look into the Seller Protection offered by the Global Shipping Program which is a freight forwarder sponsored by eBay and run by Pitney  Bowes.

[myangelandmyprincess]

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@missjen831 wrote:

Do nothing. The buyer can’t pay unless he’s got a US address. Brazil isn’t as unsafe to ship to as it was but I too wouldn’t ship there. Not unless it was a low value sale ($40 and under for me). 

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This is exactly what I was going to say.  If you don't send an invoice the buyer cannot pay because you don't have shipping listing to the buyers country. They system doesn't allow them to pay without a listed shipping cost to them.  File an unpaid item case and move on 

[noelbeast55]

Hello all,

So as a closure: after 5 days of waiting, I started a UIP over the weekend.  Once filed, about an hour later buyer sent me a message asking for an invoice.  Thanks mostly to Jen, although others might've suggested it also: I did a little digging and yes, USPS provides delivery confirmation (and tracking) in Brazil via Priority Mail International.  So I sent the buyer an invoice for $35 shipping Priority Mail International , explaining that was his only option for me to ensure that his package is delivered to the address he provided.  I also included his address exactly as he entered it into Ebay and asked him to verify it, and finished with asking for phone # or email address from him as needed on the customs form I had to fill out to send to him.  He never replied and I just closed the case.

Maye he was a legit buyer and the shipping price scared him away, maybe not, I'm just glad this is finally over.  Thanks again all!

[trigirl1234]

I have the exact same issue.  A buyer from Brazil won an item I'm selling, even though I don't offer intl shipping.  He then messaged me thru Ebay in Portuguese, which I of course don't undertand.  Tried to translate the message thru Google translate and it looks like he's asking if I will ship to Brazil. I responded that i can't ship there (in Portuguese, using Google Translate again....who knows what i actually said!)  

I'm not a super experienced seller, but my seller rating is pretty much perfect. I read on the Ebay help page that cancelling a transaction could affect my seller rating.  But if the buyer cancels, then it won't affect me.  i think this is a scammer too, but not sure how to get him to cancel.  Would anyone's advise on this? If I cancel, can I somehow let Ebay know the reason so it won't affect my rating?

[pjcdn2005]

@trigirl1234

Buyers can request a cancellation, they can’t actually cancel. But in this case you can cancel using the reason problem with address since you don’t ship to their country. 

Or, 48 hours after the sale you can open an unpaid item claim and then close it 4 days after that.  I would do the cancellation as it’s faster and the buyer may have legitimately thought that you would ship there.  

Right now your listings say ‘May ship to Brazil’ because you haven’t any blocks set up.  To do that, go to account — site preferences — buyer requirements and check off ‘block buyers who have a primary shipping address in a country that I don’t ship to’   Then apply to active and future lastings.  

Once that is done, only buyers with an address in the countries that you ‘ship to’ will be able to buy from you.