Another International problem seller

[worrly]

I sold a cleanser to someone in Austria. The address was in German but I translated it to Austria. The calculator also did not show up with postage, it seems to be happening with only the International sales so I had to send an invoice. 

When she paid her Paypal address shows Australia! The addresses are completely different not just the country so it's not a typo but I quoted her Austria for shipping. Australia is about $4 more. 

I've emailed her via Ebay messages and her email but I'm not sure what to do now as I haven't heard back, its been two days already. I can't find anywhere to cancel the sale or change anything.

[Anonymous]

Actually we SHOULDN'T rely on the calculator at all.  I prefer to set the specific rate myself to protect the error like eBay!

[worrly]

It calculates for Canada and US as far as I can tell but lately all my International has had to ask for a quote even though I have checked everything to see if it is correct. aarrhg.

[pjcdn2005]

This doesn't help you with your current problem but I still find it odd that so many of your listings are not showing international shipping price and still think there might be a logical answer to the problem...of course I could be wrong.  🙂

It's up to you but if you wouldn't mind giving out some info for some of your listings...

For the Nikon Coolpix 4300, Smashbox primer and Bewitched VHS what info do you have on the listing for the shipping service, weight and dimensions?

[worrly]

I have some things that will ship International and some not because of the cost due to the weight. I don't think I listed the VHS International and had a complaint about the Smashbox cost for International so I only listed those for the US. I think the shipping profiles might have something to do with it but I want to delete them at some point to start again.

Can you check the Xtender listing as I checked to make sure it will go International.

[pjcdn2005]

All of those show that you ship worldwide so international bidders will be able to buy it even though there is no shipping price.

Another item that shows as having worldwide shipping but doesn't have a price is the TonyMoly BB Cream.

 Do you want us to look at the shipping service, weight etc for the cleanser sold to Australia or do you think that is a shipping policy problem as well?

If you mean the Xtensor listing..yes, it shows international shipping prices.

[worrly]

Okay, thanks. I will check my listings again but it's not unheard of for listings to change after finalizing like it switching back and forth to imperial and metric. I know I checked the Tonymoly several times due to problems with an International seller. 

NB. I looked at the TM listing, I have flat rate for Canada selected and Light Packet for USA and International selected and list of countries excluded. So I see nothing wrong.

[pjcdn2005]

There is something wrong somewhere as the TM listing does not have a shipping price for the United States or other international countries. You are using light packet USA for the U.S. and light packet international for other countries? Is your last dimension 2cm or less?

To see what I am seeing go into one of your listings and under the shipping and handling tab change the shipping to the United States and enter a zip...92210 will work. Then click on get rates.

Click on see other listings and refresh page twice...for some reason refreshing it once works only some of the time.

You will probably see that the TM and collage frame listings do not have shipping prices for the U.S.

Then do the same thing for one of the international countries.  That will show that there are about 8 listings without an international price even though most of your listings state that you ship worldwide.

[worrly]

I figured it out. It doesnt meet minimum requirements for size. I must have gotten confused when it switched to imperial for some reason. I got it to switch back so I hope it sticks. I gotta nap and figure out the rest later. 

Thanks so much for your help. 

[rose-dee]

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@worrly wrote:

I sold a cleanser to someone in Austria. The address was in German but I translated it to Austria. The calculator also did not show up with postage, it seems to be happening with only the International sales so I had to send an invoice. 

When she paid her Paypal address shows Australia! The addresses are completely different not just the country so it's not a typo but I quoted her Austria for shipping. Australia is about $4 more. 

I've emailed her via Ebay messages and her email but I'm not sure what to do now as I haven't heard back, its been two days already. I can't find anywhere to cancel the sale or change anything.

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A couple of comments/suggestions:

(a) Did the original address say Osterreich?  That is Austria.  They do speak German in Austria.  Is the second address entirely in English, or in German -- in other words did the "Australian" address really look like a normal address you'd expect to see in English?  If the 2nd address was in German originally, the problem may be that the buyer was trying to translate a German address into English when she entered it on Paypal and got the country (more than slightly!) wrong.  Hopefully she will respond. 

(b)  I see you're in Vancouver.  When I lived in Victoria, BC and sold on eBay, I always allowed at least 3 days for a message to get a reply from Europe. 

Why?  If, for example, I sent a message to a buyer in the early evening Pacific Time, it would already be the middle of the night in western Europe (at least 8 or 9 hr difference).  Many people aren't able to check their personal emails until after work, so another 12 to 18 hours might pass before the buyer actually saw my message.  That makes 20 hrs, at best.  If they immediately responded (evening their time), it was early a.m. for me, and I'd already be at work.  I'd only be able to check my email when I got home from work in the evening, so another 12 to 18 hours would pass, so now anywhere from 32 to 45 hours' delay.  If the buyer waited just one day to send a reply, you're up to 56 hrs at best, perhaps close to 72 hours at worst. 

Depending on your own daily schedule and that of your buyer, 3 to 4 days is reasonable for a "round trip" communication.  I'd give it another couple of days before you take any further steps.  At that point, if you've heard nothing from the buyer, you might want to contact Paypal to try to confirm her address. 

[worrly]

The first address was in German, completely different than from the Paypal one where it was in English and listed New South Wales in Australia. I shall be more patient due to the time difference but it seems North Americans check their emails more frequently. 

I might try to do a refund if I can't cancel. 

[rose-dee]

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@worrly wrote:

I shall be more patient due to the time difference but it seems North Americans check their emails more frequently. 

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Yes, that's been my experience as well.  I don't think Europeans are quite so glued to their computers or other devices as North Americans are. 

The only way to "reverse" the transaction now is to refund and then send a cancellation request.  Still, I'd wait another day or two to see if you get any reply about the address. 

Make sure you always communicate with the buyer through eBay Messages, as you may need to justify later why you refunded and cancelled. 

Have you tried contacting Paypal about the discrepancies in the addresses?  If her Australian address is a confirmed address, they might be able to tell you how recently it was confirmed.

This is a bit of an unusual dilemma -- I hope it works out for you.

[worrly]

I think internet is more expensive in Europe maybe that's why it's not the same culture.

I'm going to wait a bit longer as the buyer needs to tell me where to send it not Paypal. I've been careful to send messages through Ebay and just in case through her email. Now I wait....

[worrly]

Ok so no reply to any of my messages. I emailed twice and messaged via ebay. I just did a "report this buyer" report. I didn't know any other way to go about this which didn't totally pertain to my problem.