I do quite a lot of EBay, and I turn off all global bidding and sell only within the US.
Before becoming familiar all that needs to be done to prevent international bidding. But on request, I've sold expensive lenses to international bidders through an intermediary. I checked them out first, and everything went fine.
i pay my dues...
Here's my story.,I sold a pristine 24" Emil Busch anastigmat to a guy in China, who promptly dropped it on the floor and opened an eBay claim. They took the money from my account and required him to ship the lens back for reimbursement. The only thing that saved me is that the cheap swindler used the cheapest shipping possible and it took two months to get back. I got back my refund and have the ruined lens. I am so unhappy about the lens, it is pretty rare, if not possibly the only copy around.
I've heard stories similar to this irrespective of ship-to location; luckily hasn't happened to me. I always take a cell phone phone as it's being packed, though I don't know that it would really prove anything.Originally Posted by evan clarke
Recently I sold a good quality 35mm camera to someone in China, via ebay. I started to worry about what if they received it and then claimed it didn't work properly, and demanded a partial refund to get it cheaper. So just before packing I set up my DSLR and made a video showing the camera was working correctly. I sat it on the front page of the days newspaper for proof of date. I then videod how I packed it well. That was a few weeks ago and I haven't heard anything good or bad from the buyer, but I think knowing I had that video stopped me from worrying. It'd be interesting to know if there have been any incidents where buyers claimed an item was faulty or sent damaged and the seller was able to use video to demonstrate otherwise. I'm wondering if ebay/paypal actually accept such proof.
I won a claim from a Chinese con artist who simultaneously claimed he didn't receive the camera and it was broken. It took a week.to make paypal see the discrepancy. More recently I have a USA buyer return a projector because he couldn't figure out how to load the film and couldn't be bothered to read the manual I sent that explains how to load the film... A foot broke off on the return trip, so I can't even resell it now.
I have a neighbor who's brother bought a fairly pricey item via eBay and demanded a return and refund. The thief sent back a box of rocks... and BRAGS ABOUT IT!! These are NOT my friends.
Mmmm, bad neighbors. Very bad. Sad to hear of such stupidity. Actually a criminal act.I have a neighbor who's brother bought a fairly pricey item via eBay and demanded a return and refund. The thief sent back a box of rocks... and BRAGS ABOUT IT!! These are NOT my friends.
I used to winter in Harlingen, but I seem to be avoiding it these days. It was the 70's, everywhere was nicer.
Tin Can
I recently sold a Hasselblad film back to a fellow overseas using the Global shipping deal. He was out of town so they couldn't deliver it to him and mailed it back to Erlanger and then to St. Louis where I live. He still wanted the film back so I mailed it back to him at his expense and everything worked out. The reason I bring this up is that the customs in his country opened the package and took the back out of the bubble wrap and half of the shipping peanuts out. If it had been a lens or camera it might have been broken rolling around in the half empty box.
I only ship cameras and lenses to the U.S. and Canada. Customs in some countries is just horrible.
I'm one of these 'foreign buyers', i.e. living outside the US. Please don't lump us all together like this.
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