Does cancelling due to buyer's address when buyer is not in the US affect seller rating?

[ltldpr]

I saw this post: https://community.ebay.com/t5/Shipping/Seller-Fees/m-p/34526194/highlight/true#M481626

I too had a buyer from outside the US purchase something but had it shipped to a friend's US address.

I incurred the international buyer fee (or whatever it's called).

If a seller cancels the transaction due to buyer's address, will the seller get a ding on their account?

I ask because eBay doesn't let you accept or decline the sale (and the extra fee) up front. The fee is added to the sale like all the others. So there should be a way to cancel the transaction without having the selling account negatively affected in order to avoid yet another fee.

And yes, I know many people simple adore EIS and with it, there are no international buyer fees.

Some of us, however, have read the multitude of posts about issues and headaches caused by EIS transactions and do not want the added headache. Examples: sitting at the hub for weeks or longer, having part of a shipment never arrive, having entire shipments simply disappear at the hub, having shipments ineffectively repacked by the hub and arrive destroyed. Just a few of the things I've read.

I don't have a problem with people outside of the US. I have a problem with being punished for making a sale to a buyer outside of the US if I don't opt in for EIS. It's not the buyer's fault - it's eBay's for not allowing us to opt out of selling to people outside the US in order to avoid yet another fee. 

So, does cancelling such a transaction using the "problem with buyer's address" prevent a negative impact on a seller's account?

EDIT: Can a seller invoice the international buyer for the additional fee if we can't cancel the transaction?

Many of us incorrectly assume that if we have it in our settings not to SHIP out of the US, then no one will BUY outside of the US. 

[kensgiftshop]

Since there isn't anything wrong with the US address, you would have to cancel as out of stock and take a defect.

The buyer could report you for using the wrong reason to cancel the order.

[wastingtime101]

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@ltldpr wrote:

So, does cancelling such a transaction using the "problem with buyer's address" prevent a negative impact on a seller's account?

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No. You may get away with it once or twice, but eBay does monitor these cancellations and will issue out of stock cancellation defects if they find the seller is abusing that cancellation reason. According to eBay, the international fee and/or a buyer using a US freight forwarder is not a valid reason to cancel an order. One of the reps that's confirmed this a few times is elizabeth@ebay so you may be able to search the forum for some of her previous responses on the topic.

[robbie31415]

It may have a more negative impact if they complain.

You can't cancel a sale because the fees are too high for issues with address.

Blatant abuse.

It's not eBays fault either. It's part of the agreement to sell here.

[ltldpr]

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@robbie31415 wrote:

It may have a more negative impact if they complain.

You can't cancel a sale because the fees are too high for issues with address.

Blatant abuse.

It's not eBays fault either. It's part of the agreement to sell here.

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Many sellers, myself included, thought that if we put it in our settings not to ship outside the US, then buyers outside the US would not be able to buy from us. Of course, that's not correct, but I know that I'm not the only one who thinks that way. I guess we each get to learn it the hard way! 

[wastingtime101]

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@ltldpr wrote:

EDIT: Can a seller invoice the international buyer for the additional fee if we can't cancel the transaction?

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No.

Factor in the fee upfront in your item cost.

Download a transactions report, see how much in total you paid for the international fee the previous year, divide that by the number of sales that year, and you'll find out the pennies (or fraction of pennies) you need to increase item prices to cover the fee the next year.

[wastingtime101]

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@ltldpr wrote:

I don't have a problem with people outside of the US. I have a problem with being punished for making a sale to a buyer outside of the US if I don't opt in for EIS. It's not the buyer's fault - it's eBay's for not allowing us to opt out of selling to people outside the US in order to avoid yet another fee. 

Many of us incorrectly assume that if we have it in our settings not to SHIP out of the US, then no one will BUY outside of the US. 

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Enrolling in eIS will not eliminate the international fee if the buyer uses a US address instead of choosing eIS.

eBay does not allow sellers to opt out of selling to people outside the US. They allow sellers to opt out of shipping directly to international addresses.

You are correct many sellers do not understand the difference and make assumptions because they did not read the eBay fees page.

[kensgiftshop]

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@ltldpr wrote:

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@robbie31415 wrote:

It may have a more negative impact if they complain.

You can't cancel a sale because the fees are too high for issues with address.

Blatant abuse.

It's not eBays fault either. It's part of the agreement to sell here.

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Many sellers, myself included, thought that if we put it in our settings not to ship outside the US, then buyers outside the US would not be able to buy from us. Of course, that's not correct, but I know that I'm not the only one who thinks that way. I guess we each get to learn it the hard way! 

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They provided a US address, so you're not shipping out of the US.

A buyer from another country could be living in the US for awhile and if they use a card from their country, you'll still be charged the International fee.

[robbie31415]

You are correct.

Many people misinterpret shipping and selling.

Just like many people misinterpret the message of no international fee for being enrolled in EIS. (It's only for actual EIS orders)

Not forcing sellers to ship internationally is understandable and it has nothing to do with the international fee. There are a lot of complications and risks that come with it.

However, shipping domestically has none of those issues. Just the small international fee that's part of eBays fee structure.

Since the majority of sales for me aren't to **bleep** I don't bother to care about the fee to increase prices. If it was 1 out of 100 that fee is pretty miniscule.

Do you know how many sellers who select 'No returns' think they don't have to accept returns on INAD.

[albertabrightalberta]

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@ltldpr wrote:Many sellers, myself included, thought that if we put it in our settings not to ship outside the US, then buyers outside the US would not be able to buy from us. Of course, that's not correct, but I know that I'm not the only one who thinks that way. I guess we each get to learn it the hard way! 

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But if the buyer provides a domestic (US) shipping address, you are NOT shipping outside the US. 

They aren't violating any rules and IMO, a sale is a sale! Be happy you got it because many sellers come here complaining about not getting enough sales.

[kenneth686321]

You must have really hot and in demand items for sale and have buyers lined up to buy your items to complain about the international fee. 

The international fee is 1.65% of a buyer's total payment. So $1.65 extra for $100 sale, $0.80 for a $50 sale. Since many sellers are here complaining about LACK of sales, be thankful you have a sale even if you have to pay a few extra cents in international fees. 

Since most of your items are between $25- $50 range, and even if you could invoice a buyer, do you really want to make a buyer pay ab extra 40 - 80 cents?