Is Ebay The Worst Run Company of all time?

[irv]

Originally Posted by PolarBear

I've had the same crap happen to me. I learned the trick though, even if ebay won't protect you, you can protect yourself through paypal.

Set your paypal account to only accept payment from verified US accounts.

Now, when I have an international bidder win one of my auctions, I do nothing. I file a non paying bidder claim after two days, then four days later you can close the case and get your fees refunded.

They have no way to pay you from an international paypal account, and if there's no record of payment, ebay will close the case in your favor. They can't leave negative feedback since they are a non paying bidder and they get a non paying bidder strike as well.

Maybe next time they'll learn to read the "US only" part of the description. The only thing you're out, is your time.

Oh, and the "buyer" will typically send you multiple emails begging you to change your paypal settings. I just ignore them and do not communicate with them at all under any circumstances.

I wish there were clearer instructions from the sellers when they list their cards.

I mean, what does "May not ship to Canada" mean? Either put "Does not ship to Canada" or "Ships to Canada or Internationally"

I have asked a few sellers, and the sellers say they are not allowed to edit their listings?? Seems odd but more than a few have told me that.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

that seems like BS to me, since I click buttons in my listings that state specifically that the only foreign country I ship to is Canada.

[irv]

Originally Posted by Aquarian Sports Cards

that seems like BS to me, since I click buttons in my listings that state specifically that the only foreign country I ship to is Canada.

I have seen all different kinds of listings/headings and one thing you guys in the U.S. don't notice, is when searching E-Bay, without logging in, I will see shipping, for example, $3.00 dollars, but when I log in, it usually changes from that to as high as $10.00 to $15.00 at times. (Canadian affect, I guess?)

I have seen from "Free Shipping", "$3.00 dollars", all the way up to $51.00 dollars!!

Some ads state "May not ship to Canada" and as you scroll down, it may say U.S. shipping only or it may say "Ships Internationally" or "World Wide". I don't understand why their original heading doesn't clearly state it, but like I mentioned, more than a few sellers mentioned they couldn't edit their ads? One guy, who had very small pics, said he was unable to edit his ad also?

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

They may not be lying technically, but they are incorrect. "May not ship to Canada" is something they are typing, that's not a choice ebay offers, it's either yes or no. Of course my shipping rates to Canada are higher I recently had to raise them to $7 a card, as I was losing money at $6. So yes if you look before signing in it may say $2.50 and then bump to $7 after you sign in but that is understandable. Also the people who use the ebay international shipping service don't control the rates so you get those astronomical jumps. Last I heard ebay was charging almost $20 to send a card to Canada.

The big takeaway should be that if a seller wants his listing to correctly reflect his policies it is 100% doable. If they cannot do it they're either lying or a tad incompetent. Sometimes you have to swallow your pride and call ebay for help like I did when I couldn't discover my selling limits. Seriously, look at my listings and tell me if there's anything ambiguous about them, if there is I bet I can change it in minutes. I'm aquarian1 on ebay.

[PolarBear]

Originally Posted by irv

I wish there were clearer instructions from the sellers when they list their cards.

I mean, what does "May not ship to Canada" mean? Either put "Does not ship to Canada" or "Ships to Canada or Internationally"

I have asked a few sellers, and the sellers say they are not allowed to edit their listings?? Seems odd but more than a few have told me that.

I can't speak for other sellers but my auctions are clear. Any international person who bids didn't bother to read my auction terms. Sorry, but that's not my problem.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

can an international bidder even place a bid if you chose the correct options when building your listing?

[PolarBear]

Originally Posted by Aquarian Sports Cards

can an international bidder even place a bid if you chose the correct options when building your listing?

Unfortunately, yes.

[Jeffrompa]

Yes they can bid and eBay knows there is a loop hole to allow them . However , if you do contact them when you notice it they will allow you to cancel without penalty if you had that Country blocked .

[slidekellyslide]

I use the global shipping program only for international and still get bidders from countries that are not part of the program. I have no idea how or why ebay allows them to bid on auctions like mine.

[PolarBear]

And, here's another trick international bidders use to get past ebay, particularly Latin American bidders. They register their international ebay account with a US shipping address. That address is a "friend" who forwards their packages to their foreign address.

You might think that wouldn't be a problem, but since the US address is not verified to their foreign paypal account, the seller is on the hook if anything goes wrong or if the buyer claims they didn't receive it.

Even if you have proof of delivery to the US address, ebay will rule in the buyers favor because it's not a verified address tied to their paypal account.

Again, the only real solution you have to avoid these unwanted bidders is to set your paypal account to only accept payment from US verified accounts.