Never sell on ebay!

[Vealmonkey]

I do not use the post office for shipping anything outside the us. I have been burned by sending an engine overseas and it ended up looking like it got thrown off of the back of the truck. I would rather spend the extra and ship ups outside the us and some bigger items inside the us as well. The post office is getting to be a big disappointment. Don't get me started on what my tax money pays for. It surely don't benefit me.

[sportvette]

robin -

see if you can convince that buyer to hold on and wait for the packages. it sometimes takes a real long time for international shipments. my 2 cents is that they are still in the mail also. sometimes shipments get caught up in customs or whereever and take forever. give it a little more time. when were your packages shipped out?

[bugler30]

My first ebay sell the buyer decided he didn't like the shipping costs after he'd bought the item...

[coolpool]

i sell on ebay all the time heres the tricks ive learned the hard way also! NEVER SHIP OUTSIDE THE USA!! postal service SUCKS!!! ship ups only never have i had a problem with UPS trac # is free shipping is cheaper for 97% of stuff i used to ship postal only and got screwed just like you many times with the ohh we cant trac that sorry! and ohh sorry your 200x motor has a 3 in hole busted in the bottom of the case!! oh sorry we lost those dana 60 calipers that weigh 50 lbs.. those arrived at the guys house 2 month late!!! but did show up????

Wow Swifty that's sure a kick to the nads for Canadians! It's unfortunate that we are'nt swimming in trikes and parts up here so we have to source a lot of items from the US. I've had items take 1 month to come from the US; I blame customs, not the US or Canada Post. BTW what's your ebay user name?

[atc350xer]

Sell stuff that fits in flat rate box's...I don't care if it weighs 1 oz or 50 pounds, if it fits in a flat rate box...thats what I ship it in. then people can't complain about the shipping price, it's already set, so if they don't like it they don't have to bid.

I try to use the flat rate boxes too... I've screwed myself out of $$... I won't buy from the people that try to make even more by way over charging on shipping, so I underestimate sometimes. And I NEVER ship outside the US.

[300rman]

When shipping ANYTHING, ALWAYS get tracking info for proof of shipment. And if the item is worth anything, ALWAYS insure the item for loss or damage. its cheap, and if the item is lost, they will give you the money that the item sold for, so you dont lose your money.

[swifty]

coolpool its islandcityantiques=== yeah it sucks i always have guys from canada ask about shipping stuff and i hate to turn u guys down for some reason my post office and the only close ups pick up make it a big pain in the with paper work and ive had 2 of the 3 things sent to canada not make it so i personaly just avoid it, my mom sells 50+ items a week on feebay and ships world wide she has pretty good luck she has way more paticence than me. lol she gets like $300 for one garage sale barbie doll or ugly dish's she paid a dollar for and sends it to japan its crazy what people buy for big$$$$$$

[swifty]

also coolpool i see your display pic is of the us90 im sure you have seen, bid or asked on many of my auctions as i was real big into us90's for a few years selling parts, buying, bidding against a lot of the other us90 nuts like you .lol i may have sold you parts or bought from you at one time i think there was always like the same 6 of us guys bidding on all the us90 parts when you could see bidders display names on ebay

[2Tim215]

Robin, Always use a Tracking Number and if using the Post Office print your labels through PayPal and the delivery confirmation is free. Also consider UPS as stated above. They have guidelines but will honor any claim if your item was packed correctly. I have an account with UPS and the Post Office. UPS is a lot cheaper with insurance, first 100.00 is free and each 100.00 after that is a fraction of what the Post Office charges. Tracking number is free to and can be watched as the package reaches each point along the journey. eBay is not what it used to be when I started in 1998. They bought two payment companies that I know of, I believe the first one was called BidPay, then they bought PayPal so now sellers get hit with approx 15% when you combine eBay fees and PayPal's. I don't like to use eBay anymore but truthfully they do have a large audience compared to anything else. I hope that the other Posts are correct and that the package is still in transit. I quit selling internationally years ago for the same reason, it was taking buyers a long time receiving packages although I was always a prompt shipper. I on occasion will ship to Canada only, usually by request and always after checking the buyers feedback. Hope this helps and turns out to be just a delay!

[sixpackrt]

Always use delivery conformation and anything you can't afford to lose! Insure it if they don't get it and its not insured you lose.and have them sign for anything over $100. To many scammers out there saying they didn't get the package if they sign for it and say they didn't get it it's mail fraud. On Egay seller is responsible for insurance not the buyer.

[jensenracing77]

i use Ebay as a last resort. between there fees and pay pal fees and the time involved in posting and following the item with answering questions i just don't like using them. like mentioned above, with USPS always get delivery conformation.

[pantera1975]

I always use free shipping method and start the price higher or flat rate. ALWAYS USE TRACKING WITH usps. And I don't sell out of the us and If some one asks I'll check only if they give me all the info I need to check you would be surprised how many people ask and never respond back after I check for them. UPS seem more expensive for smaller packages too

[nd4speed]

I havent figured how to block international bidders either, and I've sent stuff all over the world with success. Right now I put ridiculous shipping fees in the international areas to keep these people away or they will have to buck up.

But there are some obvious holes you can fall in and get scammed.

Not being able to track outside the US can screw you. Regular Us Post shipping to other parts of the world is painfully slow and can take a month or more. I shipped small envelope to UK and it took 3 weeks I think.

If your auction is setup wrong, International bidders can pay price + USA shipping without you sending an invoice! WTF! I had it happen.
I told that guy from Australia I wasnt shipping anything until he paid me more money for shipping.
Then I had no tracking with US Post. So he could have Paypal scammed me saying he never got the item.

I wonder if it works like this in reverse? Or is it just the Greatest Country in the world cant track packages in a world economy?
The little guy is stuck in a system designed to keep him poor. Dont doubt that.

One scam (i hope doesnt work anymore) is to start a Paypal dispute once you receive an item. Paypal sends you your money back once you create a tracking number to ship the item back. Instead of shipping the item back, in the box and send that back and keep your money and the item. Case closed. Good luck seller!!!!!!

No ebay bidder should be allowed to pay without an invoice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TRAILPRO

An actually invoice is a legal bill for an item or service. Look very closely at what you think are bills you pay and they will say STATEMENT (of your account). You are only legally obligated to pay an invoice (demand for payment of services rendered). So I will now make a statement: "All who read this now have an account with me and the account balance is -$100.00 USD."

You think anyone will send me $100?

[blue27]

insurance and tracking numbers, always, I have been screwed also, and yes I have had a motor lost by USPS.

[rdlsz24]

Really sorry to hear that Robin. Hopefully they will still show up

Rob