Commentary from the staff of Auctiva.com
A Shipping Close Call
13
The third week of December was a nail biter.
I listed a box set of Beatles albums that was in prime condition, with only minor blemishes from aging and a little dust from being stored for years. It was another score from the storage unit auction we had attended.
When I initially researched the albums’ value, I was happy to learn that similar sets—that weren’t in the same pristine condition—had sold for more than $100. A few had gone for more than $200.
I figured ours would sell for about $130. And sure enough, after starting our auction at $39.99, the album set was up to $100 before we knew it. Then it hit $200. Then $300. We (me and Product Analyst Rebecca Miller) were ecstatic.
Rebecca had reviewed my listing before I posted it to make sure it would attract as many buyers as possible, and she had helped me price the set. Having her help made me feel confident I had done everything right.
Then I got a bid from an overseas buyer.
Being subtle proves problematic
I had decided against selling internationally to reduce the likelihood that the albums would be lost in transit, potentially resulting in negative feedback—which would be a giant setback for a new seller with only a few feedbacks. So, on the One-Page Lister, I selected only the U.S. among my ship-to locations.
However, I did not explicitly state in my listing that I would not ship internationally, and though the listing showed this in the shipping details, I had received two inquiries from buyers in Europe asking if I would mail the records to them and how much it would cost—plus that bid from a buyer in Israel.
With only minutes left in the auction, this buyer was the top bidder. I started to worry.
Rebecca—being the straight shooter she is—asked, “Didn’t you specify that you didn’t ship internationally?”
I explained that I had not explicitly stated this in my listing. “Big mistake,” she told me, adding that buyers often won’t check the shipping details to see where you’ll ship to. They’ll just email you to ask, or place a bid.
Lesson learned
Anxious, I sat at my desk counting down the minutes. I tried to get as much information from Rebecca about what I could do. Should I end the auction early? Could I tell the foreign buyer, if he or she won, that I didn’t ship internationally and then contact my highest bidder in the States and offer him or her the albums?
I also started to prepare myself for negative feedback, just in case. I told myself that I may have to ship the box set internationally and that the records may get lost in route. I was sweating, big time.
No one else seemed to want the albums anymore. No bids were coming in.
Luckily, with less than two minutes left, another bid came in from a buyer in the States. I was saved! I just needed time to run out, quickly. When it did, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. I did not have to ship to Israel—and from now on, I will state within my listing that I only ship domestically, and I may block international bidders on eBay, just to make extra sure I won’t have this problem again.
I want to avoid heart attacks at all costs. And I want to build up a reputation as a good seller, so the farther I keep negative feedback from me, the better.
About the author
Olga Munoz is assistant editor of Auctiva EDU, Auctiva's education tab. Olga writes news and feature articles about e-commerce, selling trends, eBay policy, online marketing and other topics of interest for online sellers. She also manages the Auctiva Blog and Auctiva's social media efforts.
Hello,
You cannot end an auction within the last 12 hours. You would have had to complete the sale had your bidder from Israel won.
Why would you not want to ship internationally. I am in Israel – I buy hundreds of items a year on Ebay and other sites – in all that time I have had maybe 2 very small item go missing. I sell on ebay and ship internationally – anything over a certain value I send registered/insured. There is no more risk than sending locally. BTW – more of my items get lost by the USPS than any other countries postal service – I have had items that I have tracked them as arriving at the local post office in USA and then go missing. You might choose to block certain counties – like Italy that have a particularly high amount of theft but to block all international buyers is foolhardy in my opinion. You will often get better prices if you ship internationally – and that adds up to more profit.
So you think cutting off the rest of the world is good selling? I have sold MANY records to Europe from Australia for over 300% of what I would get from a local or U.S buyer. Haven’t you heard of insurance and Registered mail? I quite often see goods in the U.S that I would be happy to pay extra for insurance and shipping costs, but alas the seller will not ship overseas. I guess we both lose. I notice more amd more that Amazon are shipping internationally and my eBay purchases a dropping rapidly. I have actually spent over AU $2500 this week at Amazon U.S and U.K.
Well, Olga, you are just another one of those panicky non-international sellers. With good insurance and registered (track and trace) mailing practices you wouldn’t have to worry about your shipping internationally. Just don’t be lazy and put the actual costs in the description. As a European buyer I did at one time put certain items in the non-worldwide seller bracket. You wouldn’t believe the ‘hate-mail’ I got from Americans who wanted to bid but couldn’t. I got called every word in the book and was told that Ebay wasn’t a place I should be on. But if an American offers something only to the domestic market I guess that’s alright (!). After all, the world only consists of America, right? Never mind collectors and buyers in other parts of the world. Some years ago I changed my tactics. I DO ship worldwide and put the exact costs in the description, stating clearly where I ship from. Problem solved. American buyers pay quite a lot for insurance and track and trace, but hey, that’s their choice. The only thing I do get at least once a month is a lot of verbal abuse from Americans who think my shipping is too high as they think I ship from within America (in their thinking they are the only country in the world on Ebay, right?) But then again, those people just can’t read and in fact shouldn’t be on Ebay! In my opinion people who do not ship internationally shouldn’t be there either. Go on a ‘local’ site like Bonanzle or Craigslist or what have you, but leave the selling on Ebay to those who do proper research, calculate shipping in advance and let the buyers decide if they want to pay for the secure shipping or not.
Hi Olga, i came across your article via the auctiva newsletter.My two cents as a fellow vinyl record seller are: Do not limit your buyers’ group, offer good packaging & registered- trackable shipping instead.That way you’ll be sure if the item reached your buyer in the promised condition and you will have the chance to sell at the best price you can get at the moment. My experience as a potential buyer on items that would not be shipped to Greece (where i am located) is that when i put them in my watch list and see at what price they end up being sold, says that i would have overbid the winner at most of the times.I may still have not won the item but at least i would have increase it’s price & that would be good for the seller. Internet is a great tool to expand your business globally, why not take advantage of it?
all the best for 2012, george
What a sob story! Selling outside the States is safe and easy IF you do your homework right! If you’re afraid your items might get lost or damaged only offer insured shipping. That way you’re covered and the buyer is covered. And only the buyers that want to pay the extra shipping cost will bid. But that’s only if you calculate the shipping beforehand and put it in the description. I know several sellers who do not put their shipping fees for international sellers in the description. They lose out on a lot of bids because of this! So if you want to sell, don’t be a sissy, or a sob sister (!) and do your homework!
Ouch, your story makes me cringe! What’s the matter with shipping internationally? YOU are afraid the items get damaged. Apparently not the European buyer! If you only offer insured shipments only the buyers who are willing to pay for it will make the purchase. I’ve been selling worldwide for years and only had two damaged items in all that time. Insurance covered it. Buyer happy. Positive feedback. Items can get damaged when shipping from Iowa to Maine, so why would it be any different to Timbuktu or Germany?
To Olga and Rebecca: Americans seem to be very ‘insular’ and ‘protective’ in many different ways. I find those who do not ship outside of USA, not even to Canada, do not seem to understand about ‘TRACKABLE SHIPPING’ and that there is a world beyond the insularness of their ‘home.’ Shipments can get lost domestically, too. Yes, tracable shipping may cost more, but, that is the price of sanity. There is a world out there, and ways not to be a worry-wort about negativeness.
I am a power seller on Ebay and have no problem shipping world – wide, do not limit your market…
Hi Rebecca & Olga.
The World is Your ‘Lobster’ as the saying goes… Probably meant to type ‘Oyster’ but it is Monday…!
I ship Vinyl Worldwide to include USA, all of Europe & Austral-Asia… Only ever had Two Packages go astray…. One in the UK, (I post from the UK) and guess where the other One went missing?… Yes Italy… Notoriety (Missing, Lost) for Italy’s Postal Service goes before.
There are more honest people on eBay than not… Keep your buyer updated of when you post your item and normally they will know when to expect it… It saves stress and worry and stops the buyer emailing you needlessly.
As certain Countries are suffering financially there are a lot that aren’t… So don’t limit your market place.
Linda
why would you want to limit yourself?
A heart attack? Really?? You spent $50 on an entire storage where you found tons of sellable stuff. These albums were like found money. Please, don’t get a heart attack when the going is good!
I do not sell internationally, and havent for years. I may be losing bids, but I also do not have to deal with differences in language, and impatient people who don’t understand that sending items halfway across the world takes time, and also is very expensive.
Used to sell outside the USA, and then PayPal stopped guaranteeing payments from outside the country. This opens up another fraud window (as if there isn’t enough scammers on eBay already). Not to mention the wait in line at the Post Office, since you have to ship International packages in person with Customs forms, I use printed labels and either have my packages picked up or drop them off quickly. Don’t have 1/2 hour or more in my daily schedule to spend standing around (and this will get longer when more post offices close).
Another main reason I stopped doing business out of the USA are the Canadian buyers I have dealt with. Nearly every time, there has been assorted problems (especially the issues with their postal system). And even though we both speak English, the amount of people who don’t read the “fine print” on an auction from north of the border is staggering. Yes, I may make a little less money, but have way less headaches, and perfect feedback.