International fees charged on domestically shipped item

[authentic*vintage]

Was alerted to this on a social media platform. Checked my recently sold items and found I was charged an international fee on a domestically shipped item. The buyer has a residential address outside of the US. The items shipped to Portland, Oregon.

I contacted ebay and was given a refund and told that this is a valid refund request and a refund will be issued in every instance, no matter how many times I call. 

I am posting because others have asked about this fee and been told by other community members to just deal with it. That's actually not the right answer. Examine your fee details and request a refund. 

[simply-the-best-for-you]

devon@ebay 

This is a valid & published fee.   Devon is there some sort of change in the processing of this fee or did the person just get lucky with a CSR who had no idea what was going on?  

[dolcetreasures]

I have had hundreds of items shipped to forwarders in the USA from international accounts, always charged an international fee. Same goes with buyers living in the USA who originally opened their accounts outside of the USA. The first I’ve heard of refunds for these cases. 

[wastingtime101]

Why would you request a refund? It's right there in the fee policy under its own heading of "international fee" - read all about it here. Just because CS gave you a courtesy credit for complaining, that doesn't mean the fee wasn't valid.

Info CS gave you about getting a credit any time you call was not in line with the published fee structure. That CS rep needs "coaching" elizabeth@ebay.

[dolcetreasures]

Good question otherwise eBay would have to pay out… And it’s gonna be big….

[simply-the-best-for-you]

I am 99.9999% sure OP just got a rep who wasn't knowledgable or didn't understand the question due to language barriers, but we can all hope LOL.  

[authentic*vintage]

Repeating to you exactly what was told to me. And I did receive a refund on 3 transactions. 

[simply-the-best-for-you]

Nobody's doubting that's what you were told.  But definitely doubting that it's true.  It's a published fee, that's been published for a long time, why would they refund it except by error?  

If there was in fact, a policy change, I would expect the fee to be removed from the fee schedule.   Let's see what Devon has to say after he researches. 

[authentic*vintage]

Why would I accept paying an international fee on a domestic shipped item? You're asking the wrong person the wrong question.

[wastingtime101]

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@authentic*vintage wrote:

Why would I accept paying an international fee on a domestic shipped item? 

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When you hit publish on a listing you are agreeing to the policies of the site. That international fee is clearly published in the site's policy pages. So I can't answer why you hit publish and accepted the terms - only you can.

I don't doubt CS told you the fee was invalid, but CS often gives out bad info. One can speak with 3 different reps and get 3 completely different answers to the same question. You likely got a courtesy credit for complaining.

[maxine*j]

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@simply-the-best-for-you wrote:

I am 99.9999% sure OP just got a rep who wasn't knowledgable or didn't understand the question due to language barriers, but we can all hope LOL.  

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Same here.  But wouldn't it be a hoot if just for once, just for a nice change, one of eBay's badly-trained, overworked, and underpaid CSRs erred in favor of a seller?   We've seen so many cases of the opposite, of lousy advice that cost sellers or way or the other. 

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[simply-the-best-for-you]

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@authentic*vintage wrote:

Why would I accept paying an international fee on a domestic shipped item? You're asking the wrong person the wrong question.

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B/C that's what you agree to do when you sell on eBay.   You're not a newbie.  You know this.   That is a long time published fee, that applies to everyone, why wouldn't it apply to you? 

[authentic*vintage]

Then, in that case, my advice is to complain. I question the validity of charging the fee in the first place. Yes, I do agree to all terms and conditions but in my life experience these should be regularly questioned and examined. 

That's just the way I see it.

[dryophelia]

@authentic*vintage 

The gist of the responders is is to say your experience is far from “normal”. It happened this time, but it may not ever happen again.
Unless eBay has switched something in the last few days that we are not aware of, I would expect a different result should you back a second time. 

Time will tell. 

[authentic*vintage]

I don't accept some things at face value. Policies are made, updated and revised every day. Of course things will continue as they always have if no one points out the inequity in it. You do you, with respect, and I will continue to request a refund if I feel it is an unwarranted charge. You seem more upset by the fact that I'd rather choose to question it than just go along with it.