Out of country buyers unable to purchase from me even though I sell worldwide

[pioneergirl210]

I would appreciate it if someone could help me resolve this problem. I'm getting messages from buyers saying they aren't able to purchase from me because I won't ship to them. I ship worldwide. I have spent hours on the phone to ebay and it isn't resolved yet. I've been trying for at least two weeks. Thanks in advance for your help.

[femmefan1946 · Accepted solution]

I don't like to give more than one shipping service because in my opinion the customer will choose the slow cheap one and expect the swift expensive one.

So I use lettermail which is cheap and fast , although untracked, wherever possible, and the lowest cost package service if not.

With the caveat that Small Package is not tracked and that Surface is always a Bad Idea.

But that's me.

Have you tried using social media to Chat with eBay employees? The phone reps don't work for eBay, they are undertrained subcontractors and not very reliable.


https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/How-do-I-contact-Customer-Support/m-p/32016431#M1783851


https://www.facebook.com/eBayForBusiness/ — Message button in upper right on landing page.
https://twitter.com/askebay?lang=en



[maximus7001]

Just had a look at your stuff. This item:

Pioneer Woman Vintage Floral 3 Piece Dinnerware Set NWT Teal Country Cottage

says usa and canada only so you do not have international enabled, that is what is going on. Are you using the simple listing tool? If so that is your problem. The simple listing tool is too simple and has very little options to choose. You can switch back to the regular listing tool. Also are you using a computer or a tablet or phone to do your listings? Only computer will let you sell outside of canada and usa. A computer is a must for any serious listings.

[pioneergirl210]

There are heavier items like the above mentioned item that I wouldn't ship to any other place but Canada and the USA. Two of the items I had problems with were the Faberge crystal egg and the Work King Jacket. The customer for the egg was located in North Carolina and the customer for the jacket was in Australia. I stopped using the simple listing tool and I use my computer to do all my listings.

[reallynicestamps]

I switched my location to Belgium and tried three listings.

The $250 lace tablecloth gave me two choices for  shipping  as did the Liberty scarf.

The Irish Chain quilt said you would ship but the customer should contact you for cost.

So it doesn't seem to be every item.

I switched to Newly Listed, still as Belgium, and again got two choices for shipping the red Miche clutch, and a single price for the dollhouse washer (almost identical to the one my mum used for 20 years before all the kids got married and she got an automatic 😀).

The problem may not be you but the buyers.

Do you have an automatic Block on deadbeats with Strikes for non-payment?

Are the customers in one of the eight countries you Block?

The phone reps are notoriously undertrained. They actually work for a sub-contractor somewhere in Utah.

The social media accounts are covered by actual eBay employees who are better at concepts like "Canada is not part of the USA" .


https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/How-do-I-contact-Customer-Support/m-p/32016431#M1783851


https://www.facebook.com/eBayForBusiness/ — Message button in upper right on landing page.
https://twitter.com/askebay?lang=en



Bonus: you get a transcript of the Chat which you can review in case what you think you heard is not what you were told.

[pioneergirl210]

@reallynicestampsThanks so much for your prompt reply. I really appreciate it. The lace tablecloth and the Irish Chain quilt both have 4 shipping option. The Liberty hankies have 2. The Miche purse covers have 6 listing options and the dollhouse wringer washer has 3 (enjoyed your anecdote about the washer!).

No, I haven't blocked anyone and in actual fact the only countries I've blocked are Russia and Belarus, although I did notice like you said, that some listings have 8 countries blocked.

I have a customer from Australia who inquired yesterday morning about purchasing the Work King jacket. He badly wants it but ebay says I don't ship to Australia. He got two other people from different states in Australia to try to no avail!

I also had a customer in North Carolina who tried valiantly for over a week to purchase a Faberge crystal egg. I called ebay multiple times on that one. I finally took it off ebay and will relist it if I can get this problem sorted.  It is very frustrating and annoying. I wonder how many sales I've lost because of this?

[pjcdn2005]

@pioneergirl210 When someone tells you that they are being told that you don't ship to xx, the first thing to do is to go to that active listing, click on the payments and shipping tab and change your location to the buyer's location. That will tell you if there is a problem with the shipping set up. Although there sometimes are shipping glitches with the calculator, the majority of problems are caused by the wrong information being entered.

For example, the Work King jacket does ship to Australia but there is no mail service or cost showing which is probably why the buyer is getting that message. I noticed that listing has a shipping service stated for some countries (Canada Post international parcel air) but it is a service that doesn't go to Australia or to many other countries. That service is usually available only to countries that CP Xpresspost doesn’t go to. If that is the only international option you have, you might need to add one such as Tracked Packet Int’l that goes to Australia. It might also be a weight or dimension problem. If the item is too big or small for the service, the calculator doesn’t always warn you.

I noticed too that there is no shipping service chosen for the US on that listing. That could also be a problem with the service or the dimensions. Which service do you have listed for the US and what are the weight and dimensions?

[reallynicestamps]

The simple listing tool is too simple and has very little options to choose.

Agreed.

Go to any of your older Sold items that was listed before the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad new form.

Using Sell Similar, make it into a Template.

Now you have the older form. I hope you were using the Advanced/Business form which is the easiest one to use.