eBay sellers - Do you ship internationally?

I've got an Israeli guy who keeps bugging me to ship there, but I've stayed strictly domestic so far. I'm just curious if other sellers offer international shipping or use eBay's Global Shipping Program. Is there a lot of risk involved or is it fairly safe?

 

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If an employee of the USPS will not be delivering it to your door, you ain't gettin' it.

 

I agree with Rick. I will occasionally ship to Canada though.

 

I sold some Costa Rican WWII era paper currency once in a 7-day auction that didn't see much action until a buyer from Costa Rica asked if I'd ship there. After answering that question and posting for all to see that I would, the bids quickly ballooned as collectors from there fought aggressively.

I nearly screwed myself with shipping though, as when I set up the listing I hadn't thought about worldwide shipping and as such only charged $3 for it. My salvation was that the same bidder won all 6 notes. I explained to him (after he asked if I combine shipping) the fact that I'd originally intended to only ship domestically so could not do it. I shipped all 6 notes in one package and with insurance it cost over $18 so I got a happy buyer out of the deal and a much higher payday.

Shipping cost is high so the dollar value of the item would have to justify that.

I suppose it depends on what you are selling.

While I regret that sale today, and would keep the notes if I could do it all over, I take comfort in the fact that the notes were essentially returned home. I've read of many saddened collectors of American Civil War & Wild West memorabilia who were beaten at the auction block by European collectors with deeper pockets. They weren't upset so much at losing the auction as they were to see a part of American history being shipped overseas. So yeah, depends on what you are selling.

 

With the new eBay shipping policy it's not that bad. You ship your coins to an eBay hub and they do the rest. As long as the coin makes it to the hub(inside the USA) eBay will cover the price if the item doesn't make it to the buyer. I'd at least check into it.

 

Yeah I was attracted by the prospect of not being liable for international shipping mishaps. I sell mainly foreign coins, so I think I might have the chance of getting a higher price through international bids like silentnviolent.

 

I tried shipping to Canada...but seller protection miraculously ceased to exist once it crossed the border. After a couple missing packages I decided to stop. But I'll have to do some reading on this eBay hub idea...

Oh yes, I remember why I don't use this (and it hasn't changed since it came out):

Restricted Categories

Items listed in a restricted category are currently not supported by the Global Shipping Program due to export limitations and restrictions identified by the global shipping provider.

Restricted categories:

*Antiques
*Art
*Coins & Paper Money excluding Publications & Supplies

 

That's weird, eBay just gave me the option to use it for one of my new coin listings. Maybe they haven't updated that page, or maybe it's just messed up like so many other eBay functions. I'll see what happens.

 

I, too, received an eBay message trying to get me to use the program...but I don't think they expected me to read the terms and conditions. I consider it spam.

 

I don't, but I am considering starting. I blocked all international buyers after someone opened a case on me in another language and I had to call eBay and get them to translate it. Customs held it up for a month. After that I was done.
Since then all international packages go to Kentucky and then eBay assumes responsibility for them from there. However, a buyer can still leave retribution feedback if they're irritated about the amount of time it takes for the package to arrive.

ALSO, isn't it against the law to ship coins internationally? That may be why I once bought one from another country and the seller wrote "Small metal carving" on the item description for the customs form.

 

Not to change the subject but I DID sign up for the eBay automated returns program. It works smoothly, but I have had a couple more returns than usual since I signed up. Perhaps the ease of it promotes an increased use of it? Time will tell as it's only been a few months since I signed up.

 

I do not think you can get signature service with USPS once out of the greater USA umbrella. Perhaps other services can do that? Not even sure if you can get insurance via USPS for that - I am thinking no but am too lazy to check.

That being said, I have shipped to all the continents except down under edited

Keep in mind that none of what I am talking about is coins. But, those people in other lands thirst for stuff and pay well for it. They pay outlandish shipping costs and huge (and I mean huge) handling charges. You would marvel at some of the stuff I have sent to where and for how much. (don't ask, ain't happenin)

I'd take one of those transactions over 10 locals any day.

I have never had anything but the best outcomes for these transactions, they seem so appreciative.

 

I sell mostly foreign coins, and I started offering international shipping a few months ago and have sold a lot more coins since then. I get more bids on some items and I just sell more in general. If you are just selling U.S. coins I don't know if it would pay off as much but I'm glad I started. I sell a lot of coins to Canada and Russia especially. So far I've only had one package get lost out of dozens I've shipped. I don't use the eBay program though. One or two coins can be shipped in a regular envelope with a $1.10 or $1.30 stamp. If it ends up being a package then I use the eBay label printing service which includes customs, and the prices for that start at about $6.

 

I would think political commentary is not kosher here.

I send surface mail with USPS registered mail which offers tracking.

 

You could easily replace the reference to the ACA with one to pretty much any insurance contract and its fine print. So I think it's OK here.

Christian

 

Not even sure you needed to narrow it down to insurance. When was the last time you read a corporate contract of any kind?

 

Does it offer tracking even on shipments outside the US? And you do know that once Registered mail leaves the US the MAXIMUM amount the Post office will reimburse you if it does go lost is $49?

 

I have been selling on ebay from the uk for 13 years,i sell all over the world,i find lost in the post about one in six hundred,so I just treat it as a small extra fee,i just give a full refund ,no fuss.i don't even bother trying to claim from the post office.the overseas bidders must push up the prices and you make friends from around the world,well worth while,my charges just one pound-I very much enjoy selling around the world.i have sold tokens from the issuer,s modern family and people who came from my town long ago.coin collecting and dealing to me is fun.