Using SAL shipping method for a videogame console

[nipponmart]

Hello. I am a new seller in eBay from Japan. I am selling a PS4 console, but there is a buyer who wants me to ship it by SAL method, although I think EMS is best and secure. Also he wants me to mark it under 50 dollars. I am posting this because I am so worried about scammers, and if I ship by SAL if I could get a received confirmation by the receiver signature. I know that with EMS the person who receives has to sign, which is a guarantee for me as a seller. But does anyone know with SAL? Also, about making it under 50 dollars... Will this affect me negatively and potentially be scammed?

Thank you so much. 

[pjcdn2005]

According to the following link SAL doesn't have any sort of tracking which means that if the buyer says that they didn't receive the item,  you will have to refund so I would not recommend using it for your $750 console. Also, for items + shipping over $750 you need to use a mail service that requires a signature so you want to make sure that the service you use does have a signature option for the country you are sending it to.    https://support.hlj.com/hc/en-us/articles/204247244-How-can-I-track-my-SAL-shipment-

I'm not a fan of assuming that buyers are dishonest but in this case, I wouldn't be comfortable dealing with this buyer at all.  I would tell them that you have to use EMS (if it does allow for a signature) and that you would have to value the item at the selling cost. Items like these do tend to attract scammers so I think that it would better to limit which countries you are willing to ship it to. There are dishonest people everywhere but some countries do seem to have more of them. Better yet, do not sell either of your two high priced items on eBay until you have more selling experience.  There are risks to selling online and there is the chance that you could lose your items altogether.

[nipponmart]

Thank you so much for your fast response. Yes, that's what I thought about SAL shipping method. I don't have a lot of experience selling but I am trying to be really careful and being reading a lot, but still have a lot to learn. By the way, which countries do you think have a lot of scammers? Maybe it is a good advice to follow so I am wondering which countries should I not ship to.

Thank you so much. 

[pjcdn2005]

For expensive items you could start by figuring out which countries that you can ship to that do have a shipping service with a signature. But I wouldn't be comfortable shipping your  console or watch to very many countries...perhaps the US, Canada, Australia, Japan.  Even then you could run into someone  who is dishonest.

It is a good idea to be familiar with the eBay Money Back guarantee before you do sell and I aIso think that it is a good idea to read the posts on this forum and on the selling board to get an idea of what can go wrong.  Do keep in mind that sellers come to these forums to complain about  bad transactions, not the good ones. Some sellers are more negative about buyers and eBay than other sellers..I tend to think that by far the majority of buyers are honest and are not trying scam anyone but even though I do believe that, I would be wary if I was the one  selling those 2 items on eBay.

[thallidguy]

If you don't feel comfortable using SAL instead of EMS, then don't do it. If you said in your listing that EMS is your shipping method, it's your right to use EMS regardless of what he wants.

What country is your buyer in? If he lives in the United States the exemption for customs duty is much higher than $50. It used to be $600, and I've been told it's $800 now. So as long as it is worth less than that, he won't have to pay duty. Exemptions for European countries are much lower.

I don't like to generalize about countries that dangerous to ship to. I have been at this for two decades and I have about 3,000 shipments to foreign countries (every continent except Antarctica) under my belt. But some countries do seem to be more of a problem than others, either because they have a bad postal service or because a lot of scammers seem to operate from there. Some of the old Soviet block countries, like Russia, the Ukraine, Romania have a bad reputation. Italy's postal system used to have a terrible reputation. I had a buyer from Mexico who complained about customs officials stealing his packages. I never have any anxiety about buyers from Western or Central Europe, Canada, Australia, Singapore... or Japan, for that matter.