A little advice please...

[welcometodorysplace]

I posted this on another board...I was hoping get a response from my fellow eBay sellers.

Hi everyone,

I have a dilemma about this sale...

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/321001514424?var=510083608270&ssPageName=STRK:MESOX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1587.l2...

It's a new eBay member from Russia with no feedback. My gut instinct is saying refund and cancel transaction. I always want to support new members BUT this item is going to Russia and I cant afford the difference for shipping with tracking. The buyer did pay for airmail with no tracking, usually most of my buyers are from the United States so I usually throw in the extra for tracking on expensive items.

I feel like a rock stuck in a hard place.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

I looked into third party insurance (InsurePost) and from what I can see they do not cover shipments to Russia.

Would it be against eBay policy to refuse to sell to this buyer? Would it be in poor character to refund the purchase and refuse to ship to Russia?

Thanks a bunch,

[asyahijab]

I did mailed 3 times to Rusia, 2 of them I had to issue refund after 5 weeks, but both pay me back. One 2 days after I refunded, the other one 2 month after (when I had already forgot about it).

I really like their honesty. 

[asyahijab]

Ups sorry, my reply did not answer your question. I've just share my experiences with Rusian buyer.

[welcometodorysplace]

I have to agree with you asiahhijab that Russian buyers are like most buyers honest and upfront BUT this is a new buyer with 0 feedback a new member registered only a few days. I have had many positive experiences with international customers though they did have some sort of feedback for me to review. This is a $60 purchase that I don't wish to take any chances with. Purchasing third party insurance is out of the question because it is not covered to Russia. Canada Post, UPS and FedEx all charge a ridiculous amount for insured tracked packages. Canada Post no longer covers liability on Small Packets leaving me 'vulnerable' as a seller.

Thanks a lot Canada Post!

[patken123]

I understand why you are apprehensive about selling to a new buyer but what I don't get is you say the reason is he has zero feedback,I brought up the importance of buyer's feedback a couple of times here but most if not all sellers seemed to believe that buyers feedback is "meaningless/worthless" and is not a true measure of a buyer honesty or integrity since it can only be positive or nothing.

This is a perfect example why some sellers such as yourself can only rely on these FBs to gauge how a buyer will be expected to react in a transaction. 

[pjcdn2005]

u-pic insurance does insure packages to Russia. I haven't used them but I know some sellers do.

Would it be against eBay policy to refuse to sell to this buyer? Would it be in poor character to refund the purchase and refuse to ship to Russia?

I would say that it would be against ebay policy as you offer shipping to Russia. If you cancel the sale and the buyer has already paid, they can leave feedback. I've shipped to Russia and a few times and had to refund just once. The buyer paid me back a couple of weeks later when they received the item. That is the only buyer that has repaid after being refunded.

But...I still am a bit wary of sending items there that are above a certain $ value although I can't give you a good reason why I am wary.

[pjcdn2005]

This is a perfect example why some sellers such as yourself can only rely on these FBs to gauge how a buyer will be expected to react in a transaction. 

When this discussions comes up I don't think that most sellers are suggesting that buyers do not get feedback at all so this really isn't the same thing. Feedback doesn't tell a seller how a buyer is going to react because honest feedback can not be left.  Some sellers do feel some comfort when a buyer has some feedback versus not having any but the actual feedback itself is rarely useful.

[welcometodorysplace]

pjcdn2005,

Great - thank you for mentioning Upic...I did a search on the forum and found all the info I was looking for regarding TPI. Upic does require a signed affidavit from the buyer in order to process the claim I have also read that depending on the circumstances they may waive the affidavit. I have never had any problems in the past with buyers from Russia. In fact I had a buyer in December from Russia who had a feedback score of 4 make a $75 purchase which I shipped by CP Small Packet Air, it took over 6 weeks to arrive. Don't get me wrong I was definitely nervous about that buyer as well. The buyer kept in constant contact with me and eventually the parcel did arrive. I'm hesitant because of the 0 feedback/new member status I guess this buyer is no different than the buyer with a feedback of 4.

"But...I still am a bit wary of sending items there that are above a certain $ value although I can't give you a good reason why I am wary."

I definitely feel the same way I have decided I will ship (insured through Upic) to the new member with 0 feedback and keep my fingers crossed that nothing goes wrong.

Thanks so much for your time.

[inuk_the_polar_bear]

The only time I have ever used insurance, in ten years, is when it comes free with Expedited.

$75, to me, is the same as $1. I have a very high tolerance for risk. That has served me very well.

[welcometodorysplace]

inuk_the_polar_bear,

 

Thanks so much... 🙂 ... I'm feeling a bit leery I was burned by a buyer in the US recently.

 

Found a company who will insure to Russia - I have decided to purchase TPI through uPic for and extra $1.95 for peace of mind for this particular sale only. I'll cross my fingers and hope nothing goes wrong.

 

BTW I have never had a problem in the past with Russian buyers.

 

[inuk_the_polar_bear]

Ya see, I have 35 years in liquor store work and management. eBay is a walk in the park on a summer day as far as stress goes. I have found that should I need to refund, settle a dispute, whatever, I immediately make it back in a sale.

I 'think" you are making potential losses personal. Do not do that. Make it business and mentally write it off as a cost of doing business. I have found, that once I deal with something, I immediately forget about it.

[pjcdn2005]

$75, to me, is the same as $1. I have a very high tolerance for risk. That has served me very well.

Everyone is different. I don't get bothered about most ebay things as my previous business could be very stressful. But I still don't view $1 the same as $75. So...if I send you a $1...will you send me $75 so that I can learn to consider them the same? ]:)

[block36]

As far as I was told and experienced, the shipping to Russia can not be trackable and therefore such an option was not even displayed to your buyer.

I often ship to Russia, and I had only one bad experience, but I do not think that the buyer lied to me: I sent light packet with two booklets packed between cartons and properly wrapped, but the package was cut with the blade on the bend and items removed, then the piece of paper incerted and the package was taped again and then delivered.

So, this was presumably the action by dishonest person in postal service.

To buy from abroad is considered prestigious for Russian people  now, and I would say that they are very honest people.

I suggest you write to the buyer about possible delays especially at this time of year, and this should make them patient.

Russia's postal service is TERRIBLE (very slow!) and this should be remembered and dealt with in regards to potential declaration of non-received items.

Quite old material on this subject, but things did not get better since then (03/2010):

http://profy.com/2010/03/23/ebay-ban-russian-users-because-of-postal-service/

[mr.elmwood]

Well, PJ, a $1 widget and a $75 widget each cost me the same amount to buy and ship. There is no difference.

[welcometodorysplace]

Thank you everyone for your input, it is greatly appreciated.

[pjcdn2005]

Well, PJ, a $1 widget and a $75 widget each cost me the same amount to buy and ship. There is no difference.

If you pay a $1 for an item and can sell it for $75 then I am very envious!

If I were in that situation, I wouldn't worry too much about having a $75 package going missing either. I suspect though, that like myself, many sellers do not have that much of a cushion.

So...I guess you are not going to send me $75...darn! 🙂

[mr.elmwood]

Dollar cost averaging, man. I get ten widgets for $10, to me they are worth a buck a piece regarless of what I sell them for.

[rose-dee]

Hi Cindy,

I've just made a sale of 3 items to a Russian buyer - this is a first for me to Russia, so I'll be watching the outcome closely.  I must say my main concern was theft and fraud within the Russian postal service itself, or the item getting completely waylayed.  I'm planning to ship by Light Packet Air, so it will be interesting to see the delivery time.  My guess - probably a few weeks! 

Others may know - is this a new phenomenon, i.e. Russians coming on line in numbers on eBay recently?

I haven't yet been paid for the items, but will still go through with the transaction if I am.  However, hearing reports of the corruption in Russian bureaucracy and government makes me hesitant about continuing to sell/ship there.  If this one goes sour I may just remove Russia from my "ship to" list.  It's not worth the headaches or the exhorbitant shipping costs for an occasional transaction.  I ended up having to discount/subsidize the otherwise ridiculously expensive shipping for this customer, so it's a bit of a loss for me.

On the comments regarding buyer FB, I agree with you that a "0" raises concerns, not because FB comments are meaningful in themselves, but that very few FB points means an inexperienced buyer with potentially unreasonable (or erroneous) expectations.  I too like to support new buyers, but with those I usually employ some "CYA" measures, such as paying for upgraded shipping (with tracking, insurance & signature confirmation) if possible.  However, in the case of Russia, who knows how useful those measures are?  Your decision to buy private insurance is probably the best you can do in the circumstances. 

Hope all goes well for you! :-x

Patricia