I think everyone is just letting off some steam. Ebay can be a pita. Except for a few choice countries, I don't think that foreign buyers are any more dishonest than buyers in the United States.Originally Posted by NoBob
I think everyone is just letting off some steam. Ebay can be a pita. Except for a few choice countries, I don't think that foreign buyers are any more dishonest than buyers in the United States.
This is a terrible situation and your interpretation of what has happened could be correct.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.
But everything going overseas from the USA is subject to customs control in the receiving country. Even "Global Shipping System" items will be subject to random checks. A check means the package is opened, all loose plastic, air cells and secondary boxes are removed and the "bare" item (lens) is looked at. Repacking never replicates the original and lenses are often left to rattle around in a plain box. The receiver of the package pays his taxes (up to 30%) and knows where the damage has occured (treatment after repacking) but cannot get any kind of compensation from the authorities - so he/she looks elsewhere!
I have found no national trends in apparent dishonesty in Ebay transactions. However, my only 2 postal losses on their way to me have been in Denmark (clear tracking evidence) and a recent Derogy seller (from Bremerhafen, Germany), disappointed with the bidding result, tried to sell me the same lens after the auction was completed.
It can well be the case that this lens contains radio active elements. Scanners will go banana’s on it. If that’s the case than you hopefully have a 100% chance that it will be checked.
This is not true when using courier services, such as UPS/FEDEX/DHL, as they have their own customs brokering in house, and are responsible financially for the salfe delivery of any item (insured or not). In some cases DHL might be cheaper then USPS for international shipments, especially for small heavy items.
As far as Fedex shipping to Germany is concerned, that mostly centers around "financially" - I frequently had to pick up packages at the customs office (only to be told they are free of charge) AND pay Fedex more than the shipment's worth in "handling fees". Personally I have entirely given up dealing with sellers or buyers resident in the USA.
All those fees are known prior to shipment, and some services, like DHL express will give you a preview of what they will charge the recipient. There is also an option to bill the sender for all fees, if a seller agrees to that as part of the sale price/terms, but alas, they cannot be avoided, as that is part of the extra price you pay for the service of having things taken care of for you.
I thought I had all the bases covered to block buyers from certain countries from bidding. Someone still got through by having an empty country in their profile.
Today the story ends for me. After deciding not to trust the ebay rep who promised they'd credit my fees back, I opened an Unpaying Buyer case 12 hrs later. Why didn't I do this at first, people have asked? Simple, when you open a case, the buyer has 4 days to do something, including leave you bad feedback. Yep, only AFTER the case is closed, 4 days later, does the ebay system block any feedback from the buyer. That's what I wanted, to keep my good feedback (just because I do). I knew I'd eventually get my fees back. But since this idiot buyer didn't answer any of my ebaymails after he bid, telling him to acknowledge shipping would be expensive or I'd cancel his bid, I knew he could also get vengeful over the whole affair (he caused). Also, opening an unpaying case gives him 4 days to pay. I did NOT want to have to ship this lens to China, remember? What would I do if he decided to pay after all the moaning about the high shipping rate? I'll tell you what, he'd try to extort a partial refund or break the lens, later. I wanted him locked out of doing anything, like I tried when I blocked Chinese bidders.
As soon as I opened the Unpaying case, he started getting very communicative! "Can you please close case? I cannot do it? I don't want to pay that much for shipping....blah" True, the hosed ebay system doesn't let both of you agree to cancel a transaction, IF you open an unpaying buyer claim. And they keep the fact very hidden that you could close it first. I told him to give me a few days, I was busy with the holidays. I let the clock tick. This morning, 4 days later, ebay's sys allowed me to "close" it, refunded my sales fees. And blocked his feedback. Of course, with ebay's screwed up fantasy system where buyers can do no wrong, I can only leave "Green/good" feedback for any buyer. But I wrote "Unpaying Buyer, hacked into my auction to bid even though prohibited" in the text field. That should warn off a few more US sellers when he tries it again. If ebay doesen't remove it, to protect a poor, shyster, idiot in China from an evil American capitalist. Oh....like they are.
Rant thread over!
Garrett
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That is a violation of the feedback policy, and if he complains (most likely he will not), you will get a policy violation strike, which may or may not affect your account status, depending on how many transactions per month you have.
Beyond that, you ended up doing exactly what you fraught this buyer would do to you by being vengeful. I guess that door swings both ways.
Is someone named KOH speaking to me? All I keep seeing are the "Ignored" boxes pretty often, and hearing a gentle, windy, blowing noise. Strange....
Garrett
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