eBay

bernie60115 · ‎01-05-2020

I have some scientific instruments for sale and, having had a stern lecture some time ago from people from Homeland Security, do not want to sell them internationally. I have had a series of offers from a buyer based in Hong Kong with an address in Florida. I have declined the offers and explained that I will not sell to an overseas buyer, but the offers keep coming. I obviously want to sell these things and would be happy to reduce the price to that of the offers, but not sell to this guy. Any advice as to how to proceed would be appreciated. Thank you

dhbookds · ‎01-05-2020

I would call ebay to explain and ask advice...........you can decline the offers.....no problem with that, but what happens if he buys at full price? You would be obligated to ship, if he uses the reshipper address.

bluelinemetalsllc · ‎01-05-2020

Why not just block them?

bernie60115 · ‎01-05-2020

I can certainly block them, but what happens if either they use a different id or someone else in a similar setup pays full price ?

jaaron7 · ‎01-05-2020

You're shipping to an address in Florida, likely a freight forwarder. I'd just ship the. Buyer protection ends once the item is delivered to the Florida address.

bluelinemetalsllc · ‎01-05-2020

Normally I'd say just go ahead and sell to him, and let the freight forwarder deal with any issues as you are only responsible for the item until it gets to them. But if DHS has already been involved (which has me quite curious I have to admit lol) then doing so might come back to haunt you. Is it feasible to just remove the listing for awhile, until the guy moves on? Or simply keep checking the shipping address to make sure it isn't a freight forwarder? But then you'd be doing lots of cancelling which could lead to issues too. Sorry, just trying to think out loud here.....I'm honestly perplexed as to what to do in your case. Maybe block foreign currency transactions via paypal? Would that keep him from being able to buy?

penguins_dont_fly · ‎01-05-2020

First ... add his ID to your Block list

https://pages.ebay.com/services/buyandsell/biddermanagement.html

Second ... I'm guessing that you are talking about the Chem Lights.

Although you say "no international shipping" in the description, you are NOT actively excluding all international locations, so you should fix that.

I would also add to your description statement "By law, this Item can not be shipped outside of the U.S.. Absolutely no international shipping. Please do not even ask." Put it right at the TOP of your description.

You should also set your buyer requirements to automatically block any member with a shipping address that you don't ship to.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/shipping-items/setting-shipping-options?id=4089

This won't stop buyers that use a U.S. reshipping address, though (like your persistent Hong Kong buyer).

The only thing is to politely refuse. "I am sorry, but these can not be legally exported. I will not ship them to any international address or US freight forwarder."

On the other hand ... If they do slip through ... once the item is delivered to a U.S. address, you are not the exporter ... the freight forwarding company (or friend or relative) is. You can warn them that the item will not be allowed through customs, but it is not your responsibility what happens after the item is delivered to the U.S. address.

penguins_dont_fly is a Volunteer Community Mentor
Buying and Selling since 2013

corvettestainless · ‎01-05-2020

@bernie60115 I can certainly block them, but what happens if either they use a different id or someone else in a similar setup pays full price ?

What happens if they are in this country, from this country but have family or ? in another country and ship them out?

Sounds like you simply should not be selling them.

luckythewinner · ‎01-05-2020

@bernie60115 wrote:
I can certainly block them, but what happens if either they use a different id or someone else in a similar setup pays full price ?

They you are in a position that is no worse than if you did not block this user.

bernie60115 · ‎01-05-2020

Some years ago I bought a quantity of hazmat suits from government surplus. I sold them mostly to volunteer fire departments. Amazon sold the same suit with no export restrictions. I sold a suit to a foreign buyer who wore it when he made a bomb that he used to kill people. Quite apart from my sense of guilt I was visited by the FBI and DHS who specifically warned about ebay and freight forwarders being used to thwart export restrictions, there were none on the suits. I have been cautious ever since.