Question about shipping on auction bids

[multimaige]

So I put up a auction with quite a few items in it (a few pretty big and a couple of those heavy) and got one bid. The person who made the bid is in Australia, and the shipping options I have are made in mind for shipping to Canada and the US. If they win the bid I won't have nearly enough money to send it down there (especially with fees) and will have to eat quite a bit of the cost. 

I don't usually sell large packages and my shipping costs are typically good enough for even if I'm shipping to places outside of North America, so I wasn't thinking about making sure I'd have enough for overseas selling. 

Should I cancel the listing and add on extra prices, or if someone from outside of NA wins the bid should I tell them about this? 

Thanks! 

[femmefan1946]

Unless you have posted a cost for shipping to Australia, your bidder is bidding blind. You would be setting the shipping cost after the auction.

You can also cancel his bid at any time before the end of the auction without explanation.

And if you miss that opportunity, you can cancel as "Problem with Address" without blowback from eBay although the cancelled bidder can leave feedback.

I would try to contact the Aussie bidder with an estimated shipping cost (Air Mail Tracked and remind him he will also be paying Australian VAT).

https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/information/app/far/business/findARate?execution=e1s1

Remember the time difference.

If you don't get a prompt answer, cancel the bid. PYA. Protect Your Business.

You can set up your Sell Your Item form to Block bids from unwanted locations.

You can also set your SYI form to show several different shipping costs to varied locations (eg Europe is cheaper than Australasia and Roumania might require a higher level of seller protection.

[marnotom!]

If the bidder has their shipping location set to Australia, they should see on the listing page a message to the effect that you may not ship to Australia and that they should contact you for information on shipping rates. Ideally, that should be done prior to bidding, but it doesn’t always work out that way.

Does the bidder have a fair amount of feedback under their belt? They may be an experienced buyer who has items shipped to a Canadian or American address and forwarded from there to Oz.