First sales - First complication

[bytownjeff]

I just sold my first two items to the same buyer.  Unfortunately, even though my listing clearly indicated that I would only ship to Canada and the U.S, the buyer is in the Netherlands.

Since these are items I can send in together in one standard envelope, the increased cost of postage is negligible.  The buyer has a 100% feedback record.  So, I am inclined to ship to just go ahead and ship to him.

Questions

1. Is there any rule that says I can't ship internationally if I didn't offer it in my listing? (So many rules 🙂 )

2. Is there any benefit to printing a shipping label when using regular Lettermail?

thanks,

Jeff

[pierrelebel]

1) No rule.  There is nothing preventing you from shipping overseas.  There is nothing preventing overseas buyers from buying your item unless their country is specifically selected as a country you do not ship to (see below).

2) You cannot use PayPal postage for lettermail or letterpost.  Stick a stamp on the letter like everyone else! 🙂

For future listings, if you do not want to ship overseas, you should take the time to exclude the countries you do not want to ship to. Follow these instructions;

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/buyer-requirements.html 

[bytownjeff]

Thanks, Pierre.

For future listings, if you do not want to ship overseas, you should take the time to exclude the countries you do not want to ship to. Follow these instructions;

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/buyer-requirements.html

I was under the impression I had done this.  My listing clearly stated Ships to Canada, United States. I thought that meant "only" to Canada and the US.  Was I wrong?

cheers,

Jeff

[pierrelebel]

Read the lionk I provided earlier

[inuk_the_polar_bear]

The buyers will see, for their country, that they are to contact the seller for shipping costs. You have to Physically block countries you will not ship to.

[bytownjeff]

The buyers will see, for their country, that they are to contact the seller for shipping costs. You have to Physically block countries you will not ship to.

Thanks, inuk,

@Pierre. I did read the link you supplied.  But, it escaped me that there was a difference between supplying shipping rates to specific locales and excluding all others. I've edited my other listings to reflect this. Thanks

As it turns out, I decided to eat the shipping costs of about $5. I put cardboard in a standard envelope to protect the banknotes inside. The increase in thickness made it a non-standard size.  I do want to establish goodwill on Ebay and am a firm believer in paying for my mistakes.

cheers,

Jeff

[melissasminis]

   Looks like you figured it out. When I checked your listings, it only shows shipping info to Canada.

   You should be able to ship the banknotes as a letter (up to 5mm thick), even with cardboard on each side to protect the banknotes, unless you are using really thick cardboard, then it would go as oversize letter (up to 20mm thick), assuming it's in a regular envelope, not bubble envelope. Canada Post rates for letters (up to 5mm thick in regular envelope): Canada $0.63, USA $1.10, International $1.85 plus taxes. For oversize letter (up to 20mm thick in regular envelope): Canada $1.34, USA $2.20, International $4.36 plus taxes.

  You may already know these rates, just wanted to make sure. Not sure how to lost the $5 on shipping though, unless you shipped it by light packet in a bubble envelope. Light packet is not available for within Canada, it would still be an oversize letter for Canada. Rates for Canada Post light packet to USA and International (up to 20mm thick in bubble envelope): USA $2.53, International $5.20 plus taxes. If the envelope weigh's over 100-200 grams, then the prices go into a different rate catagory, so will be more expensive.

[femmefan1946]

If you can find/buy "coroplast" you will have the ideal stiffener for banknotes. This is the product used for outdoor signs (like election signs). It is like cardboard but made in plastic.

The advantages are that it is lighter in weight and stiffer than corrugated card.

Personally I prefer using a poly envelope to a bubble envelope. The bubble envelope is bulky (see Letter/Light Packet above) but can still be folded. It is not as waterproof as you may hope either.

You can buy poly envelopes very cheaply on eBay. I prefer North American suppliers over Asian, mostly because the product arrives faster.

Do you do the Second Sunday Show at the RA Centre? Active buyers if you can get a table.