International Shipping causes more problems....

[utahdog2003]

Grrr...my Ebay woes...

I sold a whopping three items last month, which is OK I guess, because I only listed three items! For the first time in a long time, because I knew at least two of the items (Kooka levers and Tech Lite levers) would be of interest here on the board, I offered international shipping. The third item got listed as shipping internationally, only because that option was already checked in the listing parameters, as defined by me when I listed the two sets of levers. Darn it if the international shipping thing didn't cause a problem....

The timeline...

11/17, auction closes
11/19, no word from buyer so I send the first invoice...no big deal. Buyer does not respond to my invoice.
11/23, buyer pays for item...again, no big deal, I'm not on fire to get a whopping 15 bucks. He paid within a week, OK I suppose, if not a wee slow. HOWEVER, November 23 was the wednesday before the US holiday weekend for Thanksgiving. No post on Thanksgiving.
11/28, Monday morning, I ship the item. It is the third weekday after the payment was made, and in spite of the holiday, within the three business days shipping window identified in the auction. I send buyer a note letting him know it shipped. And Thanks! Buyer does not respond to my note.
12/3, buyer sends me an inquiry about the item, concerned that he has not seen the package. It has only been 5 days! And oops...I am on holiday.
12/5, Buyer opens dispute with fleabay, complaining that he has no money, no part, and despite my contacting him with info about the transaction, twice to this point, he complains that I don't communicate. It has only been 7 calendar days since I told him it shipped. Someone, it seems, has an itchy trigger finger...
12/9, I get back from my weekend trip, see his premature concern, and again send him a note explaining that it is on the way, shipped on 11/28, and as its going from the states to Denmark, to give it some time. I also explain to him, through the ebay dispute console, all of the above listed items. Buyer does not respond to my direct note, OR to my response to the dispute.
12/11, Today, still no response from buyer to anything I've ever said regarding the status of the transaction. :shock: :cry: What gives?

I've tried, by my count, 4 times to give him the status of his purchase, and he's never responded with my updates. Granted, I would have liked to have been able to respond to his 12/3 question about the status of the item, but as I was on holiday, that wasn't a possibility. Plus, I already sent him a note that the item shipped just 5 days earlier.

Is this normal for guys in Denmark? I mean, do you guys on the continent expect shipping from the states to happen with 5 days? I've never had stuff move that fast across the pond. Heck, it took the Gov'ner's package with my stickers and t-shirt two weeks time in transit! I didn't poop on my hands and rub it on my face and cry about it. John's package to me traveled 2000+ miles in less than a couple of weeks time, and I thought that was pretty darn good!

There's definately a cultural disconnect, I think. And as much as I'd love to ship all my auctions all over the globe as needed, International Shipping still causes too many issues to make it worth it.

Now, about 8 months or so ago, I sold a Grafton Jersey on fleabay, and did not offer international shipping. Jersey was very clean, and the winner of the auction made out like a bandit...jersey sold for less than $5. In the "eBay Madness" thread, it is pointed out that I would have made much more money if I had offered international shipping. I know this. I know that Grafton crap is gold to guys in Germany and the like. I get it. But with experiences like these, I have to say, I would have burned that Grafton Jersey to the ground rather than deal with these international auctions :cry:

I'm exasperated by this whole thing. Hey you, buddy, in Denmark. Give it a rest, OK? Call off the dogs...I'm not a crook...The hub is on its way! :roll:

 

[SF Klein]

Just out of curiosity, when you replied to the seller, did you use Google Translate to put your comments into Danish or did you reply in English. I believe that Denmark has something like 99% literacy and almost everyone speaks English but I wonder if it would have sparked something from the buyer.

Very sorry that this happened to you but with that timeline, I'd think that eBay would be on your side. Let's just hope the buyer doesn't complain that the item never arrives.

 

[dbmtb]

At the risk of being lynched by danish members of the forum, I would like to say that the Danes are a nation with an abnormally high ratio of complainers with unreasonable expectations.

The worst thing you can do to this kind of Dane is make them feel that you got one over on them. And arguing with them just makes them worse. I think it's because they are so used to everything being so weighted towards the buyer.

My experience selling to Danes elsewhere than retrobike has also been mixed. One of the reasons I prefer to sell on Retrobike is because I'd rather deal with non-danes, even if it means I have to sell a bit cheaper.

I heartily recommend "the Xenophobes Guide to Denmark" as tonic reading.

 

[bagpipes]

5 days to ship overseas? Was he expecting you board a flight with the $15.00 part and deliver it? 5 days is average for shipping within "The Great White North" never mind to another country or even over the pond.

I will say that postal service on the eastern part of the planet is far superior to Canada or the US. Maybe he's beed spoiled.

Curious to know if he leaves a feedback comment.

 

[GoldenEraMTB]

Let it all out man, that's good, let out some more.

rants are good for the soul

I can relate, though I had to admit, I've been fortunate as all of my international transactions on ebay have gone well. Only on RB did I have one person complain about customs.

In your case, utah, the buyer is completely unreasonable, and might be just setting up a case to try to get a free part or discount, despite the low price paid.

Ebay should not have allowed him to open a case so soon after the auction ended/payment made. I would suggest adjusting your handling time to something more than five days. 3-5 days sometimes becomes a bit of a burden, especially around the holidays for the non-ebay professional.

I always get a certificate of mailing on all international shipments that are shipped with the short customs forms. The long forms give you a carbon copy to keep. I then scan these as proof of mailing, since delivery confirmation is not available internationally with the usps.

I use to care about negative feedback, and I still do, but I've realized some people will use the threat of it as a means to extort and renegotiate after the sale. These people usually are reluctant to send back the part for a full refund, but want some money taken off the price they paid, claiming some insignificant/overlooked flaw. It's a used mtb part...wtf.

This is why I always sell things cheaper on RB than I do on ebay, to encourage its sale on here. Plus ebay double dips with their ebay/paypal; greedy bastids. But I digress, at that rant is off topic for this thread.

As a rule, I tend to not group people together; every race/ethnicity/nationality/etc has its douchbags. Believe me, I've found quite a few of them here in the good ole U. S. of A.

/rant

 

[dbmtb]

I will say that postal service on the eastern part of the planet is far superior to Canada or the US. Maybe he's been spoiled.

That's possibly true - but it don't make it right.

 

[B3]

In my experience, 3 weeks would be a realistic time scale.

 

[Inigo Montoya]

sorry to hear that, utahdog2003. buyer obviously seems to be from another planet :roll:
i personally never had any issues with shipping to or receiving from the US.

 

[ededwards]

Feel for the original poster, these things are very frustrating - hope it works out ok.

I always get a certificate of mailing on all international shipments that are shipped with the short customs forms. The long forms give you a carbon copy to keep. I then scan these as proof of mailing, since delivery confirmation is not available internationally with the usps.

Unfortunately proof of postage isn't enough with eBay when there is a dispute as they are looking for proof of delivery as I found out recently to my cost. Message for me - when selling via eBay only use a service that requires the buyer to sign for the item.

 

[DM]

* From a seller's perspective:
I had a clear-out 1 year ago and sold over 50 retro items on Ebay, including 2 frames (to Sweden and Italy). Other items were sent all over the world.

Without exceptoin, EVEYONE was totally cool.
Good communication with everyone; good packaging by me; zero lost or damaged parcels; zero issues with buyers.
1 or 2 people never left any feedback, but whatever.....

* From a buyer's perspective:
Buying items within Germany on Ebay.DE ALMOST ALWAYS causes me problems.
[edit] Meaning "Domestic" sales - Germany to Germany[/edit]
Maybe, as you say, a "cultural disconnect", but people here seem to have NO IDEA of how to do business properly.

Little or no communication from sellers after payment;
Items not sent for WEEKS;
Pressure to pay additional postage fees after the auction ends (despite free German/ European postage listed);
Items sent in an open box without ANY packing tape to close the box;
Items UTTERLY trashed and nothing like the description (hidden stuff, like EVERY bolt cross-threaded, which isn't obvious from pictures, but is totally obvious when you open the package).

* In general, the few German SELLERS I have dealt with ALL seemed to think Ebay is a convenient way to get rid of trash, without any comebacks, nor any responsibility to comply with basic norms of honest description, polite communication and prompt dispatch.

Weird.