Shipping out of country

[theoldcoinguy]

Hi.
I am not sure how to handle this, so I am hoping someone can help. I currently ship to the US and in Canada. Occasionally, I will open up an auction and include other countries. The reason I don't is that it is just too costly to ship with a tracking number, which I have found, international buyers don't want to pay. ( and I don't blame them)
But here is the thing. I have had it happen now, that even though I state that it is for Canada and US, I have had people from Russia, Malaysia, Singapore, etc, etc bid and win my auctions!! Then they just ask for a shipping cost. When I try to explain about the tracking numbers, they say "Oh it is ok, I buy from US all the time"

What can I do? I mostly sell coins and paper money, so to ship without tracking is only about $3.00, but with would be $30 or more. If I press the issue, I am afraid of getting a negative. I feel like I am just stuck.

I just had a Malaysian buyer do this to me. He asked for the cheapest shipping, he buys from US all the time, etc etc. 2 days after it was mailed ( mailed day of payment) he sent me an "Item not received email" and asked for the tracking number.

I am afraid of what the outcome of this transaction is going to be 😞

So, how can I handle this if buyers can disregard my shipping location policy?
Thanks
Jennifer

[bighillbargains1]

I ship all international orders by Small Packets - International Air. This service includes insurance for up to $100 but no tracking #.

I always let my Buyers know, that it will take 3-4 weeks to arrive.

If in fact it is getting lost, Canada Post Insurance will cover it.

[theoldcoinguy]

Thanks for the advice.
I can do with with lower value items, But what about something that is valued over $100 ?
also small packets doesn't stop the buyer from filing non receipt with paypal or ebay.
I guess I just don't want to ship overseas, unless it is MY decision to do so.
it just always makes me nervous.

[jakeeangel]

If you don't want to open up your listings to anywhere but where you want to ship then you need to properly set your Buyer Requirements to block people.

Go to your My eBay and then Site Preferences, look for Buyer Requirements and click EDIT. From there BLOCK buyers in countries you don't ship to and it will block everyone in countries you don't ship to if you've specified Us & Canada only. It will also block buyers in countries that you specifically block in the ship to section of your listing and site preferences.

It's a very useful feature and an important one to use if you don't want to ship to certain locations and save yourself the grief you have to deal with afterwards.

[coxengines]

Looking at what you sell, I am not so sure what your problem is. CP provides $100 insurance. If something goes for a bit over you should be able easily absorb it as your cost should be lower than the selling price.

98% of what we sell goes out of country and about 50% is to overseas. It is the overseas buyer that consistently pays more, buys more and contributes the biggest chunk to the bottom line.

By not selling outside of North America you are effectively missing out on this opportunity. However, as Jakeangel has pointed out, you can set your buyer requirements to block the world. That should put you on par with the average Yankee seller (no offense intended, Susan 🙂 ) - restricting their customer base and complaining how bad the economy is lol.

Bernie

[theoldcoinguy]

Ok, thanks. I will try that.

[theoldcoinguy]

Bernie. I have had so many people in the last year or so claim to not get their items. I have refunded so many auctions it is crazy! to file a claim with canada post I need the buyer's phone number, as Canada Post calls them to confirm that they did not get their parcel. I have found that not everyone wants to give their phone number to a stranger. LOL.

I do open up some auctions to international buyers, I am just selective in which ones. I worry about sending higher valued items overseas because of the tracking issues. I currently have 5 items for sale that *SHOULD* go over $100. 2 or three Should go over $200.
We will see.
Thanks for all your help and advice.
Jennifer

[pjcdn2005]

Jennifer, You should be able to get their phone number from ebay. But anytime that I have filed a claim, I give CP the buyer's email and they have been fine with that.

[dipmicro]

Bernie. I have had so many people in the last year or so claim to not get their items. I have refunded so many auctions it is crazy! to file a claim with canada post I need the buyer's phone number, as Canada Post calls them to confirm that they did not get their parcel. I have found that not everyone wants to give their phone number to a stranger. LOL.

They give you their home address and they are not willing to give you a phone for "privacy issue" ? Just click request contact, it's a function burried somewhere in eBay menus and eBay will happily give it to you. You can also block all international and put in the description that you will exempt buyers who agree to provide phone number.

Items you are selling can be sent as registered letter. Registration number is practically a tracking number.

They often say "it's ok, I do this all the time" and them claim. Stick to your policy, "no" means "NO" and not "PLEASE ASK".

[coxengines]

Jennifer,

If you are getting that many claims you need to look at your business model.

We ship aprx. 250packages/month (all non-trackable) to outside-of-north America destinations and run about 1-2 claims/month from those.

We have been claiming "lost" for years and have never, ever, handed out a customer's tel. # even if we had it. We have never had a claim denied. It is absolutely not a requirement for a claim.

Only 2x were we asked for purchase invoices. In one case they deducted about $15 from the claim and we simply tacked it on to the next claim.

Furthermore, we have always been paid even on "Light Packet"

Were it not for the customer inconvenience, I would almost say that we love INR's as we get to sell the merchandise 2x, once to our best customer, Canada Post 🙂

Bernie

[surplusdealdude]

When I need to provide a telephone number, I put my own down.

I'd rather deal with a carrier than have my buyer do it - they tend to panic too easily.

[femmefan1946]

Furthermore, we have always been paid even on "Light Packet"

I'm impressed! You must have some charming telephone manner with the customer service clerks.:-x

I agree that we can't get too hung up about what Paypal wants. We can cover ourselves with postal (or third party*) insurance against those loss claims.

When I started giving the shipping invoice number in feedback, the number of enquiries about "lost" parcels diminished noticeably. I think the potential scammers assumed the number meant the parcel was DC and decided not to try.

And the other half is not getting too hung up on what the customer wants. If he cannot afford the cost of the item shipped with Delivery Confirmation,he'll just have to live without it.

Some sales are not worth having.

And if he doesn't buy, because your shipping is too high for his liking, sure you don't have the sale, but you do have the item and none of the hassle and heartache of INR claims, Paypal refunds, potential negative feedback, trashed DSRs, etc.



* We have a contract with Hugh Wood International,of Toronto, who are also the insurers for the American Philatelic Society. The contract not only covers mailed items (and we run a philatelic auction with some fairly valuable material), but shows, shoptheft, travel to shows, and leaving the stock locked in the car in the parking lot. And fire.

[cottonwoodindustries]

Jennifer,

If you are getting that many claims you need to look at your business model.

We ship aprx. 250packages/month (all non-trackable) to outside-of-north America destinations and run about 1-2 claims/month from those.

We have been claiming "lost" for years and have never, ever, handed out a customer's tel. # even if we had it. We have never had a claim denied. It is absolutely not a requirement for a claim.

Only 2x were we asked for purchase invoices. In one case they deducted about $15 from the claim and we simply tacked it on to the next claim.

Furthermore, we have always been paid even on "Light Packet"

Were it not for the customer inconvenience, I would almost say that we love INR's as we get to sell the merchandise 2x, once to our best customer, Canada Post 🙂

Bernie

You claim your light packages as well, with no problems?

[momoftwingles2]

Looking at what you sell, I am not so sure what your problem is. CP provides $100 insurance. If something goes for a bit over you should be able easily absorb it as your cost should be lower than the selling price.

98% of what we sell goes out of country and about 50% is to overseas. It is the overseas buyer that consistently pays more, buys more and contributes the biggest chunk to the bottom line.

By not selling outside of North America you are effectively missing out on this opportunity. However, as Jakeangel has pointed out, you can set your buyer requirements to block the world. That should put you on par with the average Yankee seller (no offense intended, Susan 🙂 ) - restricting their customer base and complaining how bad the economy is lol.

Bernie

Hi Bernie,

I needed a good laugh this morning! Thanks for providing it!

You bet! Bernie is right! When you restrict countries, then you put MAJOR restrictions on your income! And, those silly Yankees complain about it all the time! They complain about mailing to Canada so they even block us! It's not wise to block an ENTIRE COUNTRY or CONTINENT because of one buyer from that area! That's just like biting off your nose to spite your face!

In your listings and in all communication you need to educate your buyers!

I've been shipping worldwide for just shy of 10 years now and believe me....the people that I've met through eBay have shared my eBay ID with others in their country and my customer base has grown exponentially over the years!

Small packet, Other Letter, Standard! You name it, if I can save the buyer $$$$, I will. Do I worry about them coming back and biting me with a negative or neutral for shipping time....not one bit because they know I'm a seller who goes the distance for them as customers AND I'm honest!

Give worldwide a try and watch your business grow!

Now, Bernie....MORE HUMOR IS NEEDED! I'm dealing with TWO IDIOTS in the States right now...one in Chesapeake, Virginia and the other in Panama City, Florida...TWO OF MY THREE BROTHERS regarding my Dad's Estate. One of these silly idiots has just realized that all along the other idiot has been playing him for a fool. *LOL* While that is worth a lot to me....I still need a bit more humor to get through this day! Send some to soggy Saskatchewan where the mosquitoes will bite you faster than an eBay customer will!

Have a good one!
Susan

[dipmicro]

It's not wise to block an ENTIRE COUNTRY or CONTINENT ...

Sometimes it is. E.g. Costa Rica has no street numbers, just descriptions like "sanjose barrio mexico 750 metros este de abonos agro
diagonal a mundo magico y frente a panaderia pioneros" (= mexico barrio sanjose 750 meters east of agricultural fertilizers
diagonally against magical world pioneer bakery), or "50 m south of the St. Joseph Catholic Church Orange
house with black gates" - and this in the city with 350k population. We lost 2 out of 3 shipments to that country.

[westernstargifts]

Sometimes it is. E.g. Costa Rica has no street numbers, just descriptions like "sanjose barrio mexico 750 metros este de abonos agro
diagonal a mundo magico y frente a panaderia pioneros" (= mexico barrio sanjose 750 meters east of agricultural fertilizers
diagonally against magical world pioneer bakery), or "50 m south of the St. Joseph Catholic Church Orange
house with black gates" - and this in the city with 350k population. We lost 2 out of 3 shipments to that country.

I have a customer in the U.S. who has "Leave in Horse Trailer" as part of the address.....:-D

[femmefan1946]

And yet Tokyo apparently gives out street numbers based on the date of construction rather than the geographic location of the building.

I have not seen statistics on the number of Japanese delivery men who have nervous breakdowns annually.

[dipmicro]

I have a customer in the U.S. who has "Leave in Horse Trailer" as part of the address.....:-D

Bet this customer does not live in town of 350,000 😛

[coxengines]

Cottonwood,

We print our Light Packets with Paypal shipping.

During a claim a rep will ask "how was it shipped" and our (truthful) reply is " The shipping label states Air Mail Small Packet".

We always get paid 🙂

Bernie