I recently listed an auction for a scarce, big, old antique computer. eBay International shipping was my only international shipping option. During the first day, I received questions from bidders in Canada, France, and Poland, who needed to know the shipping cost. I am willing to ship to all of those countries, but I noticed when I went to the listing, eBay would give shipping rates only to locations within the United States. I called eBay, and a representative told me that my item was not eligible for eBay International Shipping. I asked her why, and she could only guess (incorrectly) because I was selling computer hardware. I use eBay International Shipping for antique computer parts every week, so there must be some other reason.
The bidders in France and Poland each preferred USPS Priority Mail to eBay International Shipping. The box is small enough for that service, and the bidders are willing to pay USPS' asking price for this item. Unfortunately, I could not add USPS Priority Mail as an international shipping service to my auction because it had already received bids. I had to add a line to my description which says that eBay has prevented me from shipping this item internationally.
Does anyone know why a 40-year-old computer up for auction is disqualified from using eBay International Shipping? Perhaps I should just spend another 20 minutes with eBay customer service and see what the next person guesses?
