USA only seller- bidders are all from foreign countries?

[andtrin_15]

Hello everyone,

I'm new to selling on eBay, and have noticed that a lot of bidders/buyers on my items (probably at least 80%) appear to be located outside the US and using freight forwarders. I've seen a few posts about these potentially being scams, and am not sure what to do about it. I've cancelled a few orders already but it's hard to when the ONLY people bidding on every item you sell are all using this method!

Any advice would be appreciated.

[andtrin_15]

Forgot to mention: I have already restricted shipping to US addresses. Of course, the bidders are simply using freight forwarders to get around this- their accounts are listed as being in countries outside the United States.

[crazystuff4sale]

Cancelling a bunch of orders is going to hurt your account big time.

I have never had any issues whatsoever with freight forwarding customers.

[aqeeqsouq]

@andtrin_15 

Actually not all overseas shoppers who using freight forwarders sites are scammers, personally i'm using one of the freight forwarders sites.
freight forwarders sites have best international shipping rates than ebay sellers which is attracting the overseas shoppers, so don't worry about.

Also you don't need to loss potential international customers in your store.

[andtrin_15]

Ah, thank you. The community seems divided on how often it's a scam. I have a lot of lower-value items, so I'll probably just list those first and see how it goes.

[reallynicestamps · Accepted solution]

People post when they are unhappy. This goes for the Seller Board and for those Yelp reviews for forwarders whose customers (not the forwarder) are sketchey.

The forwarder is the second* most secure address you can have when selling by mail order.

• EBay only requires Proof of Delivery to the forwarder's address. After that responsibility for delivery is with the forwarder.
• Not often mentioned, but most forwarders are also handling customs brokerage for their clients, so the eBay seller does not have to deal with the "held at customs" scam.
• If the customer opens a Not As Described dispute, the eBay seller is only required to provide a Return Shipping Label to the forwarder's address. And if the overseas customer does not return the disputed item, he loses the NAD and cannot leave feedback.
• Now -- if the GSP is not involved, but the buyer uses a freight forwarder, does the seller provide Return Shipping from the forwarding address or from the buyer's address?
  Oooh this is a good clarification question @femmefan1946! A seller is only required to provide return shipping from the buyer's input address at time of checkout - that goes for any return where a seller provides shipping ('free' returns, etc).
   https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/All-Items-Are-Free/m-p/31966203#M1772511
  Message #20 from tyler

Tyler had moved on from eBay, but the policy has not been changed.

*The most secure address is a Post Office mailbox. More secure than a street address and much more secure than an apartment address.

[aqeeqsouq]

@andtrin_15 

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@andtrin_15 wrote:

Ah, thank you. The community seems divided on how often it's a scam. I have a lot of lower-value items, so I'll probably just list those first and see how it goes.

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Smart move..

Good Luck!

[reallynicestamps]

As a non-US based seller, most of my transactions are international. About 85% are to US customers. But those US customers have a much much higher percentage of failed transactions than either my domestic (Canadian) or overseas customers.

So my experience is different than the fears of many.

[dbfolks166mt]

     A lot of the risk with international sales depends on what you are selling and where the buyer is located. Always remember the first rule as a seller and that is never list anything you cannot afford to take the financial loss on. A lot of items move through FF's without any problem and I have both shipped items through FF's and canceled a number due to problem with the buyers address. 

     You are a new seller and a prime target for the scammers who tend to go after high value high target items like cell phones and other electronics. While there may be as many problems with domestic sellers at least they are within reach of US law enforcement although that is rather ineffective at the moment. Theft is becoming a commonly accepted crime in a lot of areas both online and as well as in person. 

      You may want to do a little internet research and gain some insight on what countries are at the top of the list for ecommerce scams and theft and base you cancelation decisions on the risk and value of the item you are selling. 

[andtrin_15]

Good advice. I tried listing a fairly new MacBook and got bombarded with offers very suspicious looking accounts. Accounts created that day, with zero feedback, and so on. The other overseas addresses seem to have plenty of positive feedback, so I'd imagine it's more likely they're legitimate.

[dbfolks166mt]

Good advice. I tried listing a fairly new MacBook and got bombarded with offers very suspicious looking accounts. Accounts created that day, with zero feedback, and so on. The other overseas addresses seem to have plenty of positive feedback, so I'd imagine it's more likely they're legitimate.

      Generally a good indication. Also watch the import laws of any country you ship to some do not allow the importation of electronic devices, eBay will not stop you from shipping but you don't want to have the item seized by customs the buyer will file a INR and win the case.

     Unfortunately you are in a pretty rural location or I would suggest you might try some local forums to sell the electronic items. 

[reallynicestamps]

The other overseas addresses seem to have plenty of positive feedback, so I'd imagine it's more likely they're legitimate.

Probably.

But, just as with domestic accounts, look at the age of those FB.

If the account has not been used for over a year, and if the items purchased then are very different from what the account holder was buying then (look at the seller's product line if you can't see the actual purchase) there is a possibility that an abandoned account has been hijacked.