eBay

tryubik-useonlyasdirected · ‎10-15-2020

Has anyone run into this? I've sold here for 15 years and not run into this previously.

I have a high value item ($8,000), a person with a FB record of 1 wishes to purchase the item and have it shipped to Sweden. They are saying they are a high end gallery (this gallery does exist and deal in this type of art), typically we find galleries purchase items frequently but its not outrageous that one would have to start somewhere. Their lower offer price fits a resale opportunity yet is not unfair, and the previous single purchase whilst only $250 is generally a similar type of modern art.

The primary catch is they want it shipped using their FedEx account. This might be flexible, I'm currently unsure. I do not know how that is supposed to work. Is this possible under eBay rules? Or are there any known scams of this sort?

Their offer is fair and otherwise I'm inclined to accept. Wanting to reach out to the community to weigh the scenario

femmefan1946 · ‎10-15-2020

The FedEx account is the red flag here.

The problem is that an employee can give the FE number for his own purchase ,delivery is completed, the employee intercepts the parcel, the FE invoice to the company does not fit the company records and on request by the bookkeeping department FE charges back the FE fee to the seller.

International Tracking is not cheap and is suddenly charged to your account.

Why not phone the Gallery? Long distance of course, and mind the time difference, but educated Swedes do usually know English as well as a couple of other languages.

Or email them. Their contact info should be on their website.

We have used FedEx for high value international shipments in the past and have only once had a problem in over 30 years. Which was eventually resolved and is now a funny story.

motomike_canada · ‎10-15-2020

I've done it before for a few items (up to 3000$ value) and only had one issue with a UK firm's accounting trying to refuse the UPS charge, which again ended up in a bunch of back-and-forth but UPS accepted the email from buyer's eBay account as authorization since it was from their official account..

I would also be inclined to call the gallery to clarify, (and also get it in writing/email) or if it's a major concern, tell them you're only shipping on your account for $xxx , but you could include their account info for import duties/VAT.

pjcdn2005 · ‎10-15-2020

It is recommended not to use the buyers courier account as you do not know if it it legitmate, plus they could redirect the delivery so that the item is not delivered to the payment address which could leave you on the hook for an inr.

I would also be cautious about using Fedex on your end as well. Most couriers collect any duty, VAT and fees due on delivery but Fedex usually bills those amounts to the receiver. Apparently there is clause in the contract that if the receiver doesn't pay those fees, the sender will.

tryubik-useonlyasdirected · ‎10-16-2020

Thank you all for the input, there appears to be a consensus around using one's own shipping account. Its were we feel most comfortable as well. Hopefully it will not hinder the sale.

teenytrinkets · ‎10-16-2020

OMG, anyone that sells items of this value on ebay has to have balls of steel, or rocks in their head - or both. I don't even sell anything over $100 because ebay is set up so buyer preferred (and therefore, buyer scammer central).

How do you protect yourself with such a high value, overseas sale?

motomike_canada · ‎10-21-2020

@teenytrinkets wrote:
OMG, anyone that sells items of this value on ebay has to have balls of steel, or rocks in their head - or both. I don't even sell anything over $100 because ebay is set up so buyer preferred (and therefore, buyer scammer central).

How do you protect yourself with such a high value, overseas sale?

I find scams happen more on smaller value items, or in-demand electronics.

Find items that don't attract scammers if this is a concern..

I've been active since 1998, can count the number of times I've been scammed without taking my socks off.