eBayfilter: Dealing with unwanted foreign sellers

May 8, 2008 9:51 AM

I'm new to selling on eBay. I listed a microphone, and only gave an option for U.S. Shipping. I didn't actually list "U.S. buyers only" in the text of the auction. Someone from Brazil asked if he could buy, but without waiting for an answer, he bought it with Buy It Now, and asked for an invoice. I don't want to ship to Brazil, period. So, (a) do I have any recourse, and (b) what can I do so this doesn't happen in the future?
posted by rjacobs to computers & internet (12 comments total)

You can have ebay arbitrate for you if you would like. Go to their help center. Before that, you should be able to refund the money to her or him though and talk about the confusion. "Most" people will understand and let that be it. You could also see how much it is to ship there and charge him it. Customs can become an hassle when shipping internationally though.

When posting another item, ebay does have a seller's box where you can specify that you won't ship internationally. I think it's a check box. Also, you can state in your text as what you write is a quasi-contract really.

Be careful to guard your feedback though. Even if writes something negative, you can easily reply along the lines of "Never stated would ship internationally, buyer bought prior to receiving answer. Will gladly ship domestic" and future ebayers should understand.

Good luck.
posted by skepticallypleased at 10:03 AM on May 8

By "I don't want to ship to Brazil, period" do you mean you simply refuse to? Which is, of course your prerogative. Personally I would check the shipping on sending it to the buyer and write him explaining the actual cost. and I wouldn't add to the actual cost. Insurance would be optional, if he wants to pay. I ship and receive packages from all over and it's not really a big deal. However if you aren't going to do it, I suggest communicating that to him in a very kind way and hope ypu don't get negative feedback. which would sort of be warranted. But no, you can absolutely refuse to sell it to him. Just be pre[ared for a ugly red negative on yr feedback. Re the future, a simple 'shipping only to US destinations' should cover you.
posted by dawson at 10:03 AM on May 8

Go to My eBay. Under "seller preferences" you can block bidders from being able to bid on items (if they're registered in countries that you don't ship to). Go to Help at the top of the Ebay page and type in "managing bidders" and it will direct you to the place to make the changes.
posted by Bighappyfunhouse at 10:03 AM on May 8

Buddha, I've fat fingers today.
posted by dawson at 10:04 AM on May 8

Maybe he asked, then noticed you hadn't listed "US buyers only," and then went ahead?

you can easily reply along the lines of "Never stated would ship internationally, buyer bought prior to receiving answer. Will gladly ship domestic" and future ebayers should understand.

I would still think you were a jerk if you didn't ship it to him when you didn't specify US buyers only. Speaking as somebody who no longer uses eBay after getting tired of all the sellers who don't ship internationally, or who charge $30 to send a shirt to Canada. (Yeah, I know eBay's supposed to prevent that, but they don't care.)

Just ship it out and change future auctions. What's the big deal with sending a microphone to Brazil? This should be your problem for not using the 'US only' option, not his.
posted by kmennie at 10:11 AM on May 8 [1 favorite]

Report him for being an unwelcome bidder.

You can also set your selling preferences to USA-only.

Ebay forums are there if you have other questions. :)
posted by cass at 10:20 AM on May 8

cass, the guy does not "not meet the seller’s terms as outlined in the item listing."
posted by kmennie at 10:33 AM on May 8

I didn't actually list "U.S. buyers only" in the text of the auction.

Did you check the box that said something like "U.S. bidders only?"

If you don't care about getting a negative, refund any money explain that you were looking to only sell to U.S. bidders and fall over yourself with politeness in the email.

If you are worried about getting a negative feedback, find out how much it would cost to ship the item to Brazil and send it out after getting real paid.
posted by drezdn at 10:43 AM on May 8

To clarify a little, there was no box that said "U.S. bidders only," but there was a box where I could list the countries I shipped to. The only country I put was the U.S. The reason I don't want to ship internationally is that I don't want a $250 microphone to get held up for weeks in Brazilian customs, and have a p***ed-off buyer, and basically I don't want to risk having a transaction be in limbo for anything more than a week. Based on what people have said though, I'll send my invoice this time (offering to cancel the bid if price is too high and giving a customs warning) and change my prefs to block int'l bidders for next time. Is it really that unclear that I don't want to ship out of the U.S. if I only put "U.S." in my ships-to?
posted by rjacobs at 11:03 AM on May 8

this is very easy.

first refund the money through paypal. then go to my ebay, click dispute console, and hit report unpaid item . under that there is a spot to indicate you have mutally agreed not to complete the transaction, and another spot that lists as a reason " seller whats item shipped to a country i do not ship to" ( or something like that)

Happens all the time, not a big deal.

with that being said, if he is paying with paypal and has a confirmed address you are protected to a certain dollar amount, and the new Flat Rate boxes from the USPS make shipping a breeze as long as it fits in one of those boxes, but that's your call.
posted by Mr_Chips at 11:45 AM on May 8

Oh, skip the refund the money part, if the guy didn't pay yet, just go directly to the dispute console and chose the" report an unpaid item" and you will see the choices I was talking about
posted by Mr_Chips at 11:46 AM on May 8

Also you when exporting to Brazil duties and taxes could add another 100% (!) to the goods price, e.g. 60% import duty + 18% sales tax + around USD 10.00 for customs administrative charges.
Theres a good chance the buyer is not aware of that and is comparing your price with Brazilian shops that already include the import tax in their price.
posted by Lanark at 3:17 PM on May 8