ebay...... what's your recent experience....... ?

[Steve Swan]

what's you all's recent experience with ebay overseas sales ? (i am really disgusted with ebay.)

so, day before yesterday, an item i listed sold to a guy in england.

i sent the guy an ebaymail asking him to wait on payment til i could take the actual package to post office and get actual postage cost. no less, no more.

i tired sending the guy an invoice, ebay no longer allows seller to send overseas buyer an invoice, some mumbo jumbo about 'international" something or another.

the next thing i know, the item comes up as paid in my "sold" items. the guy confirmed he received an invoice from ebay. ebay has no idea the weight nor the dimensions of this package. how the F--K can ebay do that ?!?!?

furthermore, when i click "view paypal transaction," there is no record of the payment. so, i have no idea what total the guy paid for the item. i have no idea what ebay billed him for postage. i'm no virgin to ebay nor am i a pilgrim with overseas sales. this is all new. W.T.F.?

and, i also had some usa sales. everyone has paid. there is no record of any pending transaction in paypal, even tho in my ebay, it says, "Payment was initiated on Apr 07, 2016 and is being processed through PayPal." in the past, pending transactions would post to paypal and receipt of funds would take anywhere from immediate to several days.

in the case of the english buyer, if ebay charges more postage than the item actually requires, F'm. if the amount i have to pay for postage is less than the amount ebay billed the buyer for, then i guess i will have to take time out of my life to discuss this issue with ebay. wtf is the corporate world coming to ?!?!? americans screwing americans, anywhere, anytime, all the time.

[TechNoir]

Re: ebay...... what's your recent experience....... ?

Steve, I have huge empathy with your experience although I don’t want to turn this into a thread that just bitches about ebay.

Until recently my experience with ebay as both a buyer and seller has been fine with no issues at all.

However I have had some trouble recently related to an international sale and it ultimately led to the sale being cancelled. The main root cause of my problem was that the buyer was an idiot so I cant lay all the blame on ebay.

However I also had a big problem with the ebay international shipping options. They are not clear and you have to dig deep to find things like the "shipping rates table" but even that is not great.

I think that ebay is great for 99% of things which doesn’t involve international shipping. However they do need to sort out their available options for international although they may have an ulterior motive in what they do. I ended up calling their help line and the person I spoke to first asked me why I wasn’t using the ebay "Global Shipping Program" so I suspect that they want to try to sell their own shipping service so they have made it difficult to use something else.

I hope that the above is balanced. I dont want to just bitch about ebay. It is a one size fits all service and as we all know that doesn’t always work but their international shipping options suck.

John

[exeric]

PayPal is evil. I think it borders on usery, and ebay is complicit in requiring it. But, it's their ball so what can you do?

[Steve Swan]

i don't care to turn this in to a major bitch session either, i just want to know other's experience. and bitch a little.

of course, before ebay, one would send letters, make phone calls, drive a thousand miles for parts or a bike and come up empty handed..........

but how can ebay bill someone for postage rates on a package when they don't know the weight or dimensions....?!?!?!? at this rate, i will not sell overseas again. if the amount ebay/paypal charges is less than the actual cost, then i have to take time out of my life to quibble with ebay, that's what doubly grates me.

and i agree with you, Eric. paypal is usery. to bad it's so F'n convenient and now everybody uses it in our hurry up, gotta have it now culture.

[Jim]

I buy and sell on Ebay. I do not buy from "overseas" and I also stopped using the Global Shipping Method. I had used the Global Shipping with no problems before and I even sent some Harley-Davidson Books to Australia with no problems, and the guy there was happy and so was I. Then, I had a problem sending a Radio Control airplane (Hobby) Engine to England using the GS method and that is when I stopped ALL shipping overseas. All that said, I like Ebay as they are helping me get rid of JUNK around the house better than a Yard/Garage sale would ever do. So... Pros and Cons for sure... but I like Ebay and Paypal for all the conveniences. Sure, there is a Paypal fee and Ebay fee... but think of how much a "store front" would cost. OR... how much the interest rates are for using a VISA/Discover/Mastercard credit card machine is.

[indian301]

I have sold the same late model Yamaha on ebay 2 times. In both instances the buyer has refused to pay. So I get to wait until they contact the buyer and then they credit my listing fees and I get to list it again. So now I am reluctant to list it a third time. Ebay says a bid is a legally binding contract, BS.

Dave

[Steve Swan]

so it's been over a year since i sold anything on ebay. here is ebay and paypal's latest bull$hit. they hold your money for up to 21 days after sale. i guess there are some a$$holes who sell stuff on ebay, get the money and don't ship the item. these a$$holes fuk it up for honest people like me. i was raised that a square look in the eye and a firm handshake was the requirement to seal a man's word. i was born 50 years too late, could have bought a JD new instead of piecing one together from parts. oh well.

Payments you receive from buyers will be held in your pending balance below. This money will be moved to your available balance and released to you in 21 days (as long as there are no problems with your orders). Learn more about your Funds availability details.

Tip: To get your money released in 7-14 days, ship your order quickly and mark it as processed by clicking Details below.

Funds Availability
Key Facts
Temporarily delaying funds is a common industry practice implemented to help ensure a safe and secure environment for buyers and sellers.
The money still belongs to you. It’s just temporarily unavailable for withdrawal.
Review the email you receive for details about the delayed availability of funds and information about preventing delay of available funds in the future.
Funds may be unavailable when we believe there may be a high level of risk associated with your account.
If there aren’t any problems with the order you fulfilled, you’ll be able to withdraw the money within 21 days of receipt.
Processing your sales quickly and then providing the processing details will help release funds faster.
What is Funds Availability?
Funds Availability is when we delay the availability of funds for a specified amount of time – usually 21 days or less. This is a common industry practice that we implement to help ensure a safe environment for both buyers and sellers. This helps make sure there is money in your account to resolve any problems with your orders, if they arise. The money still belongs to you. It’s just unavailable for withdrawal temporarily until we are sure your buyer received the item they ordered in the condition promised.
In this article, we will explain the different reasons why funds are temporarily unavailable, how you can access funds sooner, and how you can work to prevent delays in funds availability in the future. Let’s start with the reasons funds might be delayed.
Why could your funds be temporarily unavailable?
Your funds may be unavailable when we associate a high level of risk with your account. There are three main reasons causing us to believe this:
You’re a new seller with PayPal.
It takes time for new sellers to build up enough history to demonstrate a pattern of positive buyer-seller exchanges. The good news is that you can usually move out of delayed funds availability by confirming your identity and building up a history of sales and happy customers.
Your customers indicate issues about your selling performance.
Performance is based on your percentage of refunds, disputes, and chargebacks compared to your sales on your PayPal account. Having performance issues increases the likelihood of your funds being temporarily unavailable. Working to prevent and resolve these problems quickly will help you avoid the delay of available funds.
There’s a higher than average risk associated with your sales activity.
If there is some other indication that a high level of risk is present, your money could be temporarily unavailable. You may be selling what we consider high-risk items. High-risk items include tickets, gift cards, consumer electronics, computers, and travel packages. Another example of higher risk sales activity is a recent spike in sales or historical change in average selling price or type of item being sold. “High risk” could also mean your account has suspicious account behavior or is more likely to have disputes, claims, buyer chargebacks, or other reversals.
Apart from these three main reasons, it is also possible for your payment to be put in your pending balance temporarily while we resolve an issue with your account or if we’ve identified a problem with a buyer’s payment that requires a review. We usually finish this review within 24 hours. During the review period, we’ll ask you not to ship the item.
In addition, if you’re involved in a PayPal dispute or claim, or if the buyer has filed a chargeback or reversal with their bank, your payment may be temporarily unavailable until the issue is resolved.
When will you have access to your money?
If there aren’t any problems with the order you fulfilled, such as your customer filing a dispute, you’ll be able to withdraw the money within 21 days of receipt. You may access your funds sooner if you fulfill the order as quickly as possible and provide information about the transaction. Let’s cover that next.
How to access your money faster
You can work to expedite the release of temporarily unavailable funds by simply processing your sales quickly and then providing the fulfillment details. Here are three ways you can get your money faster:
If the order requires shipping, send it to the buyer’s shipping address and be sure to mark the item as shipped. When we know that the buyer has received it and is happy with the item, we’ll release the payment within seven days. OR
Ship directly using USPS, UPS, or FedEx, or pay for shipping and print labels on PayPal. You can upload shipping information to PayPal and we will automatically verify the delivery. Once we know that the item was delivered, we’ll release the payment within three days. OR
If your product or service does not need to be shipped, mark the order as processed. We’ll calculate the expected delivery date and release the payment within seven days of that date.
How can you prevent the delay of available funds?
There are three main things you can do to help prevent delay of available funds in the future:
Review the email we send and the alert in your account overview.
If a buyer pays you and the payment isn’t immediately available, we’ll notify you via an email titled “An important message about your PayPal balance” or via an alert in your Account Overview page. This email or alert will be the best source of information about why your payment isn’t available and what you may be able to do to prevent the delay of available funds in the future.
Improve your performance by following the steps listed below.
Set yourself up for success by posting actual photos and detailed, accurate descriptions of items, so buyers know exactly what they’re getting. This will help cut down on buyer disappointments and disputes.
Be clear about shipping and handling time, costs, and methods; process orders promptly to avoid delays.
Be sure to pack items carefully with appropriate, quality packing material, so customers receive the items in good condition.
Track packages you’ve shipped to cut down on the amount of time money is temporarily unavailable. Use a shipping method that provides tracking information, such as USPS, UPS, or FedEx and upload this information, so buyers know when to expect a package and so PayPal can confirm delivery.
Clearly define your return policy up front to avoid problems later.
Communicate and work with your customers.
When customers contact you, do your best to be responsive and helpful. Working with customers early on can prevent a minor issue from ballooning into a much larger problem, and following the guidelines listed previously will help to reduce the number of buyer disputes, claims, and chargebacks. If you are involved in a buyer dispute, start working to resolve it right away. Frequent, honest, and open communication with the buyer via the Resolution Center will help clear up any misunderstanding.
Also, setting up a customer service message in the Resolution Center may help to prevent disputes. For example, if shipments will be delayed because of a hurricane in your region, letting the buyer know may answer their question and make a dispute unnecessary.

[23JDCA 808]

Overseas sales do broaden the market. eBay and PayPal own their marketplace so they can make the rules. I am not smarter than they are so I just do the best I can.
In the example given in the first post, I make a ballpark guess at size and wight of box. Then I put in Calculation and list as many options as make sense; usually Priority Mail large, Parcel Select ground and Priority Mail in that order.