Cube Mark One Run

[The Dogmother]

What would you do?

 

I have an item fro sale at the moment and my small print at the bottom of the listing states that 'I won't post abroad', yet I notice that the current highest bidder is from Russia There are 4 days to run and I'm tempted to just leave it and deal with it if they end up winning the item. A friend thinks I should message them and point out the small print... what would you do?

 

This ruddy item seems jinxed; it was previously won by a woman who lived just the other side of town and never contacted me to collect it despite several messages from me. I ended up opening a case and getting my fees back.

[Charlottechicken]

Think I would leave it and see who wins Can you still block buyers from abroad?

 

Every time I sold something abroad I had trouble, in my opinion it's just not worth it.

[The Dogmother]

That's why my terms say that I don't post abroad.. that and have couriers collect.

[Olly]

I'd message them now and say you won't post it abroad. For future reference, when you set up the sale you can block buyers from abroad, I always do that.

 

If you ever try selling electrical goods, you will get the 'scam' messages asking you to post it abroad, and by the way they'd like to buy it now and they'll pay you twice what you're expecting ... don't even bother replying.

[ohcarolina]

You can block buyers from abroad.

 

Why not cancel the bid from the offending bidder and explain why to them?

 

Then update the listing to exclude buyers from abroad.

 

Good luck

Caroline

[Cinnamon]

Yes,you can indeed block overseas bidders,but apart from one time I have never had a problem with an overseas bidder & have often found that they bid high as the item may not be available over there.

 

Personally I would message them & if they do not respond I would cancel their bid.

If you are totally sure that you will not post,then theres no point messing around - cancel & block.

 

One other thing to consider though is that even though they are in Russia,they may want it posted to a relative here....I have had that happen several times.

[The Dogmother]

OK, thanks, I hadn't realised that I could block foreign bidders but will do so in future. This is made perfectly clear in my terms though

 

I will message them and explain, ask for a response by a certain time, then cancel their bid if they don't reply.

 

Good job I checked them out.

 

Thanks for your help.

[WitchHazel]

I wouldn't cancel the bid - maybe they have friends/relatives in the UK, or are travelling to the UK themselves

 

However, it's reasonable to contact them and just say you've noticed that they are from Russia, do they realise that you don't post abroad?

 

I always try and think how I would like to be treated if I were on the receiving end, and act accordingly.

[The Dogmother]

That's exactly what I've done Hazel, and I have asked them to respond by Saturday morning to let me know if they will want it posted to the UK or Russia. Otherwise I think I will cancel the bid.

 

Now that I know it is possible I will exclude foreign bidders in future and might even highlight that part of my terms too.

[chickencam]

We block foreign bidders but still get loads of requests for postage details abroad, i just politely refer them to my terms.

[The Dogmother]

I had thought that my terms were pretty explicit, but I guess that people just don't read them or want to try it anyway....

 

Boring small print: 

Terms of sale: All items are sold as-seen so please take a good look at all posted photos and read the description thoroughly; I endeavour to make sure that all photos are representative of the condition of each item and clearly show any faults they may have. I haven't yet had any unsatisfied customers, but you never know. 

 

I will accept payment by PayPal or cash on collection; where PayPal is concerned, payment is due within 48 hours after auction ends. Collection and payment by cash must also be confirmed within 48 hours.

 

Where the buyer asks to collect the item I will go out of my way  to make this collection easy for them; if collection isn't arranged within 10 days of the sale being completed then I will contact them before refunding any payment and relisting the item (sorry folks, but I have had a couple of no-shows). Delivery will be by economy post with proof of posting. Sorry but I will not post abroad, nor can I arrange couriers/accept courier collection.

 

*shrugs*

[HennyPenny59]

With Ebay, if there is anything important I want to tell a prospective bidder, I always put it in the main description of the item I am auctioning, in a larger font, in bold, and at the top.

[Lydia]

Just a thought - perhaps your terms are lost in translation? I have a Polish friend and he didn't understand the term 'abroad' when he first came here. Especially as you have not specifically blocked overseas bidders there could be some confusion.

 

I would give the bidders the benefit of the doubt as you have done and take action if they don't respond. Perhaps consider also consider a rewording in your terms to ' sorry I won't post items overseas/outside of the UK' or something like that to try and avoid future potential confusion.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Just thought I'd mention that I've posted a couple of hundred items (FIL's vintage model aircraft) abroad, including quite a few to Russia and never had a single problem with the buyers or the postal system. The only problem I did have was with one I sent to Wales which got crushed .

[rachel19]

I was going to ask why people dont want to post abroad? I just wondered if there was any specific reason as we've done it quite a lot through ebay and its no more trouble than sending in the UK so presume there's another reason?

[Snowy]

I once sold some photography equipment and it was very popular with buyers from eastern europe. I think you've done the right thing DM. I added that if the item was for delivery outside the UK, to contact me before bidding to confirm postage costs. It is a bit of a pain trying to work out costs but it was definitely worth it.

[The Dogmother]

The thing is that the Royal Mail site doesn't work out postage costs for anything bigger than 'small package' size for posting to a lot of foreign destinations; as I'm unable to get to the post office during the week it's easier not to post abroad.

[Cinnamon]

I just wildly guess the costs ..... never been out of pocket yet & I have sent LOADS abroad.

So,if I am charging £5 for uk shipping,I will probably put £20 for overseas.

 

I must say that I have probably done overseas shipping hundreds of times & have never had a problem - Russia many times too.

The one time I did have a problem was when an Italian chap was coming here to collect something & it got stolen before he arrived

 

I am a very experienced eBayer though with nearly 3000 pos feedback. If you feel uncomfortable shipping overseas then don't do it

[The Dogmother]

Well, an unusual conclusion to this one, and I thought you might like to hear how it ended up....

 

I contacted the Russian bidder and pointed out that my terms say that I don't mail outside the UK, they were desperate to have the item and happy to pay the extra to post to Russia and to wait until I could get to the post office too, they had good reviews so I messaged back that I was happy to post to them provided they pay immediately if they won the item.

 

The bidding ended today with it going for more than I expected, immediate payment and no sign of the Russian person Luckily someone at work was going to the post office, so they took the parcel in for me and it is on its way. I have just had a message from the Russian bidder, devastated that they couldn't bid for some reason (sounds like software issues) and offering to pay more than the winning bidder I've just commiserated and told them that it's already in the post. I couldn't have foreseen that happening!

 

Phew

[Sheilaz]

Glad it's all done DM, what an interesting sequence of events and a good outcome, phew!