eBay

thebricktank · ‎12-15-2021

I do this on the side. I am not a profession eBayer. I made the unfortunate mistake of not initially filtering out where I shipped to and quickly rectified that but left Canada open. Unfortunately, despite using USPS Priority Flat Rate Boxes, which are lightning quick typically in the U.S., once they get to Canada, the good Lord only knows what happens. So sorry, no more Canada.

I digress. Real issue is other international buyers get through the filters by using these what I consider to be fraudulent U.S. addresses at freight forwarding / mail forwarding services.

Had a guy from Northern Europe, and nothing against Northern Europe, but the guy not only seemed to be getting away with this practice but then starts complaining about my shipping fees. See above re USPS. I proceed to tell him shipping costs are what they are and moreover I don’t ship to his Country. He then admits freely (from the poor English it sounded like he was using Google translate, which is strange because I know that people speak and write perfect English in this particular Northern European Country because I’ve been there multiple times), but says he uses a “hotel” address to forward mail on eBay and has been doing same for “many years”.

I immediately canceled the order for using wrong shipping address. How this pr@ctice of using these third party services is permitted is truly beyond me. I mean, for OFAC purposes alone, we could be unwittingly violating U.S. Sanctions for all we know.

#Fail.

shoppersellertrader · ‎02-11-2022

I just have a buyer who is a Delaware/Russian lady. What type of items have you shipped to Delaware companies? Have you shipped any expensive electronics?

soh.maryl · ‎02-11-2022

But an international buyer who has his purchases shipped to a FF is not an international sale because the address is in the US, correct?

donsdetour · ‎02-11-2022

You get an international fee due to the funds.

cyranojones · ‎02-11-2022

Ah hah! That would explain the few "international" fee charges I have had for items sent to US addresses. It's always been small amounts so I never wasted my time contacting eBay to inform them that Los Angeles is NOT international or whatever. But that begs the question, how does eBay identify a US address as a freight forwarder? A buyer has to have a legitimate address in their profile and since eBay will not allow drop shipments to another address, that's where the item goes. I just found one in my sales that had a company name in the address but it didn't say "Freight Forwarders", so do they just automatically charge when there is a company name? I always figured it was just an eBay scam to pick up some extra fees by charging amounts too small for us to waste our time with.

donsdetour · ‎02-11-2022

@cyranojones wrote:
Ah hah! That would explain the few "international" fee charges I have had for items sent to US addresses. It's always been small amounts so I never wasted my time contacting eBay to inform them that Los Angeles is NOT international or whatever. But that begs the question, how does eBay identify a US address as a freight forwarder? A buyer has to have a legitimate address in their profile and since eBay will not allow drop shipments to another address, that's where the item goes. I just found one in my sales that had a company name in the address but it didn't say "Freight Forwarders", so do they just automatically charge when there is a company name? I always figured it was just an eBay scam to pick up some extra fees by charging amounts too small for us to waste our time with.

Do a search on the addy to find out if freight forward. Doing ebay for a while and you recognize em when the pop up.

maxine*j · ‎02-11-2022

Why would eBay ban the use of freight forwarders? Freight forwarding is a perfectly legitimate, respectable, useful, and much-needed service which has been around, as a separate and recognized business, since at least the early 19th Century.

I have used freight forwarders myself, and I sell to people who use freight forwarders. But because you have had a bad experience, eBay should sit up and take notice and change how the world works, by golly! 🙄

=

monster-deals · ‎02-11-2022

Why would they?

You are free to have any item you buy shipped to anywhere your seller allows it to be shipped. What do you care?

glasser · ‎02-11-2022

I have no problem with **bleep**.

My problem is that eBay provides no transparency when buyers are use them so most sellers don't know they have sold internationally and will be charged 1.6% until after the transaction.

Also, the rules about MBG and delivery confirmation can be a bit confusing.

I think someone posted that eBay's GSP is basically a FF and that's true but most people use **bleep** to combine purchases and reduce shipping. I sell directly to some folks internationally and usually do multiple pieces and can get shipping down to close to US rates/per piece that way. So **bleep** can save buyers a great deal.

It would be great if eBay could start a registered FF program so sellers had visibility. Some **bleep** just a person's name and a street address and that can be confusing to sellers who are like wait why I am sending the item here. There could be a reminder about the other ebay rules when shipping to a FF.

Like so many things eBay. There are many, many variables and most sellers are left to learn the hard way

blackflagit · ‎09-20-2022

Once an item appears to be delivered in a legitimate way there is no problem at all FF companies represent a huge percentage of buyers and also sellers on ebay, the question is here Ebay should ban those sellers that they Say they delivery and of course they don't after this You Start to Open a case and get refunded days after this is more often a waste of time, in fact i'm a FF user and i never had more problems become from domestically shipping or in some cases defective (mined) GPU's that are being sold as new or adult use for a few hours per week as a legitimate business man i'm not agree with You this time.

mam98031 · ‎09-20-2022

Shipping to a freight forwarder is typically not an issue. They repackage items and ship them off per their agreement with the international buyer to their international address as often as their agreement states.

But for us sellers, we are only responsible for the shipment to the address in which we ship to. Once that item is reshipped, the buyer has voided their Money Back Guarantee protection. Just review the Money Back Guarantee policy. That may make you feel a little better about this shipment.

Please let me know if you have any further questions.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy...

Not covered
• Buyer remorse or any reason other than not receiving an item or receiving an item that isn’t as described in the listing (see the seller’s return policy for return options)
• Items damaged during local pickup
• Local pickup items that were not collected by, or on behalf of, the buyer
• Items not delivered, damaged during collection, or damaged during shipment when the buyer arranges pick-up or shipping of the item (for instance, the buyer arranges freight)
• Duplicate claims through other resolution methods
• Items shipped to another address after original delivery
• Vehicles (see eBay Vehicle Protection), Real Estate, Websites & Business for Sale, Classified Ads, services, Digital Content, Intangible Goods, and some Business Equipment categories (see eBay Business Equipment Purchase Protection)
• Items sold through Sotheby's

mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999

inhawaii · ‎09-20-2022

What does it matter if you are sending a item to Anytown, USA -OR- to a freight forwarder in Anytown, USA, who will then ship the package to Timbuku?

Sea Of Love - The Honeydrippers

mam98031 · ‎09-21-2022

When you sell stuff on Ebay, whether or not your are what you determine to be a "professional Ebayer" or not doesn't matter. All sellers are held to the same rules whether you sell 1 item a year or 10,000 items a year.

Your opinion that using a Freight Forwarder as a shipping address is "fraudulent" also is not something that Ebay agrees with. This is something international buyers can do and it usually isn't an issue.

Cancelling the sale due to an ship to address issues is an improper use of the Cancellation process and can get you in trouble with Ebay because you are not suppose to do that.

Complaints about shipping fees happen all the time. It is a common complaint from all kinds of buyers. Heck I'd complain about it too if I didn't know how much it actually costs now with USPS and we have yet another increase happening in about two weeks.

"He then admits freely (from the poor English it sounded like he was using Google translate, which is strange because I know that people speak and write perfect English in this particular Northern European Country because I’ve been there multiple times)," That seems to be a huge assumption, even with your personal knowledge of the place. Maybe they just moved there and come from somewhere that wasn't as fluent in English. And let us not forget those that have been born and breed here often don't do very well with our language.

When I use to sell fragrances I shipped to several hotels over the years. Never was an issue. Sometimes people are there long enough to get mail or are there frequently enough that hotels have no problem holding their mail for them. It isn't and uncommon as you think it is. It is just something that is new to you.

mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999

mam98031 · ‎09-21-2022

@thebricktank wrote:
I can see from the mountain of other threads that this is a hot topic. I can understand why more vigorous Sellers are ok with this practice. For me, a slightly overweight middle aged guy selling collectibles here and there, it tweaks my Spidey sense.

IDK if I'd call it a hot topic, but it certainly has been discussed many times. Usually when someone doesn't understand the rules. The buyer is not doing anything wrong. As long as the international buyer is having you ship to a US address, they are within the rules of Ebay. And sellers are protected under the Money Back Guarantee. We are ONLY responsible for the item to the delivery address in the US, NOT beyond that point.

mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999