April 24 2022 Warning To Watch Your Offers Carefully!

[intimewithmusic]

   I just received an offer from Sao Paulo Brazil  on a fairly heavy item (7 Kgs). The shipping quoted in the offer was $30. Xpresspost is our only servce to Brazil. We do not ship anything overseas over 2 Kgs. The actual freight on this item is $371.

   This offer appeared to be a regular legitimate eBay offer.  Many of my items are heavy.  I always check not just the offered price on the item  but the shipping price included in offers. 

  I have no idea how this one was supportred by eBay's Best Offer service.  I thought I should post this immediately just in case there is some sort of breach or internal flaw.

  Happy selling!

This is worse than I thought. Upon inspection of our business policy for the shipping service offered to Brazil our policy has been changed to include the Russian Federation. At the offset of the war we made sure it was exluded but it is now checked off as a destination we ship to. See photo. 

ITWM

[recped]

eBay has blocked all transactions involving Russia so no matter what your settings say Russian buyers are blocked.

By the way shipping is NEVER part of an offer so I'm confused.......

[marnotom!]

Does this potential buyer want the item shipped to Brazil or to a forwarding agent in the United States?

[kawartha-ephemera]

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@intimewithmusic wrote:

This is worse than I thought. Upon inspection of our business policy for the shipping service offered to Brazil our policy has been changed to include the Russian Federation. At the offset of the war we made sure it was exluded but it is now checked off as a destination we ship to. See photo. 

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@intimewithmusic  I've had the same thing happen.

When Ukraine was invaded in late February I added all three European countries ... Belarus, Russia and Ukraine to my shipping exclusion list. Some weeks later I noticed Russia had in fact NOT been excluded. After some investigation I found out why. The Russian Federation is listed twice, it is present in both the Europe and Asia countries list. Because I had excluded Russia in Europe, but not in Asia the exclusion was ignored. To my amazement I learned that Russia must be selected (excluded) in both Europe and Asia for the exclusion to take effect.  Of course geographically the country does span the two continents, still it seems odd to have to select multiple locations to exclude a single country.

[pjcdn2005]

I know that in some situations I've seen the cost of shipping to me instead of the buyer, but they were  seeing the correct cost. I wonder if that is what you saw on the offer.  If this was for the Pearl stool, shipping  to another Kelowna location would be close to $30.  

As far as Russia being checked off, that's a glitch that has affected a lot of listings in the US too.  It seemed to happen was eBay blocked Russia but it doesn't carry over to the shipping locations that the buyers see.

[intimewithmusic]

Hi pjcdn and @kawartha-ephemera 

Thanks for your insight.

With respect to the offer I considered that too.  Still, it shouldn't be happening as the shipping amount does not say where the item would go. It should say the amount, service and destination or it's impossible to assess without work.  I had to persue information about the seller to find out his/her location and feedback score. Only then did I know the order was destined for Brazil. In my opinion we shouldn't have to go through that when considerering a new offer.

I don't use my phone much for eBay. Had I been grocery shopping or something and it came to my phone I may have just thought, "That's a good offer" and clicked accept. 

As far as Russia reaapearing in Shipping locations it is similar to the listing drafts that are bouncing back but a lot more serious. It's interesting that at the same time I excluded Russia I also excluded Belarus and the Ukraine but only the Russian federation bounced back. I recommend everyone who uses shipping policies check yours even if you don't ship overseas as the problem accurred as well in some Canada and USA excludive policies. International was added and Russia was checked off. 

[intimewithmusic]

Hi. Thanks for your inquiry. I don't know as I declined the offer when I saw the buyer's location. There was no msg included with the offer so shipping to Brazil must be assumed.

[intimewithmusic]

Hi. I'm not sure where your confusion is. All the offers I see include an offer amount  for the item and an amount for shipping. When I see shipping in the amount of $30 to ship a 7kg item to Brazil something is wrong. You may find clarification in my reply to pjcdn...

"With respect to the offer I considered that too.  Still, it shouldn't be happening as the shipping amount does not say where the item would go. It should say the amount, service and destination or it's impossible to assess without work.  I had to persue information about the seller to find out his/her location and feedback score. Only then did I know the order was destined for Brazil. In my opinion we shouldn't have to go through that when considerering a new offer."

You point out there's a discrepancy between eBay's regular policy on seller Shipping Exclusions and a recent announcement with respect to the war. Please correct me if I'm wrong but isn't it better to fix your settings before things go wrong? It seems like your suggesting sellers not be proactive and just ignore their settings.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@kawartha-ephemera wrote:

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@intimewithmusic wrote:

This is worse than I thought. Upon inspection of our business policy for the shipping service offered to Brazil our policy has been changed to include the Russian Federation. At the offset of the war we made sure it was exluded but it is now checked off as a destination we ship to. See photo. 

---

@intimewithmusic  I've had the same thing happen.

When Ukraine was invaded in late February I added all three European countries ... Belarus, Russia and Ukraine to my shipping exclusion list. Some weeks later I noticed Russia had in fact NOT been excluded. After some investigation I found out why. The Russian Federation is listed twice, it is present in both the Europe and Asia countries list. Because I had excluded Russia in Europe, but not in Asia the exclusion was ignored. To my amazement I learned that Russia must be selected (excluded) in both Europe and Asia for the exclusion to take effect.  Of course geographically the country does span the two continents, still it seems odd to have to select multiple locations to exclude a single country.

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@intimewithmusic 

One of the main perils of sending random offers tha is if you choose to do so. You are unable to see who is getting them or where they are. You are also unable to know if they are interested in 1 unit or up to all. The shipping calculator is regularly wrong for multi-unit purchases and very bad, being politely as possible, with best offer situations  and is unable to factor in any handling charge on the addtional units even though eBay fees are applied equally to all units and any incorrect shipping. 

@kawartha-ephemera 

When I first started listing (over 15 yrs ago), I inadvertently added Russian Federation to A listing. As soon as I noticed it was on some of my listings I checked settings and confirmed that it was blocked. It was. I have found no way to remove Russian Federation and neither has eBay CS with several attempts. EVERY time I create a new listing or even relist an ended one it automatically returns. Updating settings may sometimes work to correct current listings but NOT 100 % guaranteed no matter what CS says. In checking my current listings Russian Federation is still attached to 46 listings.

-Lotz

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

Addendum to last post.

In checking randomly those 46 listings, for Russian Federation, when you click on those listings it is actually blocked. Basically a case of settings tripping over settings and giving conflicting information. Your results may vary.

-Lotz

[pjcdn2005]

As mentioned in post 2, Russia has been blocked by eBay on all listings.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

@pjcdn2005 

The nuisance is in settings it is turned off. Relist or sell similiar adds automagically to the listing. eBay does not know how to fix issues like this or refuses to. Not sure which.

-Lotz

[intimewithmusic]

   I don't post often. I've been in business since 1979. I usually post to let active regular sellers know something I notice  of concern. With all due respect to the  "Boardies" I prefer not to undergo challenges and interogations. Boardies seem to have  an obligation to solve, challenge or question every single eBay forum post which frankly, being challenged every single time  is extremely annoying.

This is why this is my last post in this forum. 

I only post to the eBay sellers who may be searching the forum for something I am experiencing. 

To those folks...

To non Boardies...

1. Please check the shipping offered in your offers.  eBay is undergoing a makeover of the Best Offer system. Every time a makeover of a system has happened in the last 2 years which is a lot this stuff happens. Something may be amiss. Be on the lookout.

2. My 2nd suggestion is to keep a close eye on your eBay settings instead of waiting for an issue and expecting eBay to fix it. Lot's of sellers are reporting "bounce backs". IE: Saved settings that were mysteriously reset after the fact. You may have an  eBay connected bank account via managed payments. If governments are concerned about their own security now at risk eBayers should certainly be concerned too.  Here is a Global News report from 4 days ago. 

"Canada is reviewing its cyber defences to make sure it’s secured against potential cyberattacks from an increasingly aggressive Russia. Experts say you should do the same at home.

While cyberattacks are already pummelling Ukraine, they could affect the average Canadian in a number of ways, too. They could hit your pocketbook, permanently wipe important files or sentimental photos from your electronics. In severe instances, they could disrupt critical infrastructure we rely on.

“You are a potential cybersecurity risk. The threat does apply to you.” said Andrew Loschmann, co-founder and COO of cybersecurity company Field Effect.

“This is something that a lot of people will dismiss and figure, ‘it’s not a problem for me,’ but the reality is, it is a problem for everyone.”

 I wish all sellers safe selling. 

Best wishes

ITWM