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 Replies: 20 / Views: 3,480 |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
5417 Posts |
So, I just started selling on ebay 2 days back. I listed an item yesterday and it sold within a few hours with buyer accepting my counteroffer. Good bit of profit on my side too.  I was reading over the ebay and Paypal Seller Protection guarantees and I have two questions that are troubling me. 1) The buyer could issue a chargeback as soon as I ship, buyer had over 100 buying feedback will all positive transactions but there's nothing stopping the buyer from doing this? 2) I am shipping by regular Letter-Post to the US. Now, the chances of the package getting lost are decent but by no means scary. My concern is, that because there is no tracking and tracking is so darn expensive with Canada Post, they could just as well receive the coin, keep it and open an item not received case. I will have a receipt as proof of shipping but Paypal says that "You either receive your item or get your money back". Thoughts? Edited by zxcccxz
05/11/2014 12:27 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1130 Posts |
On future items, I would charge more for shipping and get tracking. I don't know how much insurance is, but you could also consider it.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7641 Posts |
Your biggest concern should be shipping without delivery confirmation/tracking of some type. If you do not follow ebay and Paypal rules then you are opening the door wide open for an unscrupulous Buyer to crucify you with an item not received dispute/complaint. When that dispute is filed the first thing eBay/Paypal will ask for is the "Tracking Number". Since you cannot provide one, then you will subsequently lose the dispute and the money will be taken from you and refunded to the Buyer. It all boils down to a risk vs reward issue. Are you willing to risk a total loss ---- your item plus the money ---- to save a few dollars? |
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Valued Member
United States
269 Posts |
Spend a little of your "good profit" and post via paypal with tracking
Your going to be worried until you get some feedback if you dont, well worth the extra
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Pillar of the Community
 Canada
5417 Posts |
Well, the thing is, Canada Post isn't nearly as good as USPS, in that the cheapest option with tracking/insurance available is $18 + extra for insurance/tracking, so I'd be losing $20 on my side (I charged the buyer $5 to ship who who was my actual cost.) And I'd end up selling the item for less than spot. I have already messaged the buyer saying, the item ships without insurance/tracking and that it will be at risk if he doesn't opt to buy insurance or tracking. He has yet to respond. But if you look around ebay, most Canadian sellers even those with 3000+ sales charge only $1-$3 for shipping which would only buy them regular letter-post, so don't they identify with these risks? |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1949 Posts |
There are risks even if everything is done 100% by the letter of the ebay rules- You may find "self insurance" for items under a certain value works best if you plan on selling much on ebay, otherwise, your entire profit margin can be eaten away by the post office |
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Valued Member
United States
269 Posts |
$18+ ouch
As someone else said, its really going to depend on the value of the items you sell as to how you ship them I guess.
I would at least offer an option in your listing for the buyers to decide.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
5417 Posts |
Well, the item sold was $55, charging $25 shipping for a $55 item would be a major no-no for any buyer. Looking over his profile, he's usually left positive feedback except for one seller who has an overall 62% positive feedback anyway.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7641 Posts |
You cannot "charge" the Buyer separately for insurance, you have to build it into the price of the item or into the S&H charges. It is 100% your responsibility to see that the Buyer receives the exact item they purchased. You can cover 99% of your responsibility with tracking/delivery confirmation. You need to read, review and understand ebay's selling policies and best practices. You will find that you are never 100% free from chargebacks, disputes, etc. There is always risk. |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
5417 Posts |
I have changed all of my other listings to include shipping options with tracking/insurance. I still have the issue of the item that is already sold though. Should I just ask the buyer to cancel the transaction and re-list?
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
Quote:
I still have the issue of the item that is already sold though. Should I just ask the buyer to cancel the transaction and re-list? I think you can trust this one. The overwhelming majority of ebay buyers are honest people; it's just the few bad apples who get all the attention. And the cross-border Post is quite reliable. You, as a Canadian, are at a huge disadvantage when selling to the US because of the cost of tracking. Buyers won't want to pay the extra cost, yet it's your responsibility to make sure the coin arrives and to cover your butt with tracking. It's unfortunate, but real. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4212 Posts |
I sold IBGolden a $1 gold piece using good 'ol regular post.
US to Can. More chance of it being opened or otherwise messed with
when ins. or registered. I've seen it happen.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
5417 Posts |
Appreciate all the responses. I'd like to hear from a few Canadian sellers about their experience when selling from CAN to the US.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2124 Posts |
"I have already messaged the buyer saying, the item ships without insurance/tracking and that it will be at risk if he doesn't opt to buy insurance or tracking.". ebay and Paypal don't care what you message him. If (and only if) the buyer says that he didn't receive the item and there isn't tracking, you have to refund, period. I've never had any problem in my sales, USA included. I don't sell a lot, let's say 25 sales. Sometimes I send with tracking, sometimes not. If you just plan to sell some items it's a good idea to charge the tracking but if you plan to sell in a regular basis even if it's not too much like 1 item per week I recommend you to charge like +10% of real shipping cost so it covers you if some day an item it's lost. I would consider charging tracking starting from $100 the price of the items. I see you have on sale a coin for $20 and shipping $3 that is the real cost without tracking (although you should consider the cost of the envelope, tape and ebay and Paypal fees so $3 doesn't cover at all). You could ask $5 for the shipping that is an acceptable charge considering it's an international sale but you ship without tracking anyway. So, you have $2 in your favor. You sell 10 like this and you will have $20 in your favor that it's the cost of the coin (so you are covering 10% of your sales when the sales with problems are not more than 1-2%). Edited by arianzo
05/11/2014 10:49 pm
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Valued Member
Australia
491 Posts |
Australia's Track & Sign is down to a cost of $2.90 thank goodness! A ebay seller can not afford to under charge on mailing. Pencil some mailing cost into the price of the coin and you too can have a cheap looking mailing charge. We have free mailing. All our mailing costs go onto the item cost! Works for us! |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1751 Posts |
I've been selling to US alot lately. I ship by small packet air at my post office. I have the clerk sign the carbon of the declaration as proof of shipping. Then I go and buy insurance from shipsurance online. The clerks signature should prove the item shipped. I've never had a problem with a US claim. In 150 sales, I've only had 2 not arrive, both in Canada. I wouldn't tell my buyer there's no tracking or insurance. I wouldn't want to plant any ideas. I also put numismatic disks as a describe. I don't want to tempt anyone in postal system, by listing silver coin. However, all my purchases from the US have always arrived.
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Replies: 20 / Views: 3,480 |
Posted 05/11/2014 1:37 pm
