Shipping and Insuring Internationally through Ebay

I just had a very negative experience using EBay’s global shipping service (Asendia). I sold a coin via auction to a buyer in Kazakhstan and shipped it to the US address from which the international courier takes over. Approximately one month after I shipped it I got a refund request from the buyer for item not received. The tracking said it cleared customs a couple weeks before but nothing after that. I contacted eBay who walked me through the claims process with the shipping service. In the end I got charged the entire amount of the return (around $280) and only got $100 back from the shipping service.

For those of you who ship worldwide, how do you manage those risks? It seems that a lot of countries carry a risk of items being delayed for long periods even if they aren’t stolen, and then the seller has to do a refund even if the item finally arrives later. Is there an option to purchase insurance for these shipments? I know that some insurers may exclude numismatic items. I was under the impression that EBay was liable after my shipment arrived at the US distribution center but I guess I thought wrong.

I found the function in my eBay account to restrict buyers from specific countries and changed it to exclude non first world countries. But there is a lot of demand from the Eastern Bloc and I would be happy to sell to people there if I could protect myself from the risks.

 

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I too was under the impression that EBay was liable after my shipment arrived at the US distribution center but I guess I thought wrong.
How can eBay not be responsible??
You fulfilled your obligation to ship it to the eBay address...they then took possession and then the liability.
I'd definitely be calling up a live person at eBay and throw a fit.