eBay

bpl521_sell · ‎06-02-2019

Hello:

Have some low value items that I want to sell. I would just ship by regular air mail without tracking. Is there any countries in Europe that you would definitely not ship to. Yes, I know tracking is my protection, but for what they are worth, buyers won't pay the extra for tracking.

recped · ‎06-02-2019

I ship everywhere and never use tracking (except USA via USPS).

In a usual year I'll get a couple of buyers who get a bit antsy when there is a delay but I just ask for a few more days patience and almost always they package shows up a day or two later.

Historically my losses to INR claims is between 1 in 500 and 1 in 1000, shipping without tracking allows for a substantial handling charge so even if I was to lose at a much higher rate I still come out way ahead.

Average values of my shipments (including shipping) is about $40 with some in the $100 - $200 range.

"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915
- answering Trolls is voluntary, my policy is not to participate.

reallynicestamps · ‎06-03-2019

I Block Russia, but otherwise don't worry about it.

I have UK, Germany, France with specific shipping charges but added Europe because I get a fair number of Dutch and Scandanavian sales for some reason.

What recped calls a "substantial handling charge" (which is still lower than the cost of international tracking) I think of as Cookie Jar Insurance.

The charge acts as a premium against possible occasional Disputes. Without arguing with the customer the seller can refund from the Cookie Jar of premiums and still come out ahead.

There is a very good chance, with Disputes, that the customer is right and the item is late/not received or damaged/not as described.

The Cookie Jar also allows enough money to provide Return Postage if you want the item back for resale (or because you are suspicious).

bpl521_sell · ‎06-04-2019

Thanks for the replies. I am surprised that Italy isn't on the list, wasn't it not long ago that one took a risk shipping to Italy?

recped · ‎06-05-2019

@bpl521_sell wrote:
Thanks for the replies. I am surprised that Italy isn't on the list, wasn't it not long ago that one took a risk shipping to Italy?

The big issues in Italy were between 2007 and 2009 and primarily affected "express" services such as USPS Priority or CP Xpresspost that were being processed through the Milano customs facility.

The problems were resolved years ago but like many things eBay the stories live on for years. Personally I experienced slowdowns in that period but in all the years I've been shipping to Italy (almost 40 years) I never had an actual loss.

It helped then and still does today if the shipments are declared below the minimum taxable value and the declaration form is properly completed. Some sellers have never learned that an eBay listing Title (the default description if you print shipping labels through eBay/PayPal) is frequently NOT a good thing for a customs form.

"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915
- answering Trolls is voluntary, my policy is not to participate.