eBay Buyer is international

boab88 on 20/04/2016 - 14:39

Hi All,

I put a phone up on eBay and listed it as free posting to Australia. I did not offer International shipping. Someone has purchased it as a buy it now (Higher price than I had expected) and I'm surprised that the postage address of the buyer is in Georgia U.S.A. They've sent a request for payment details (Postage Costs). The payment will be via Paypal.

Are there any scams or risks to sending it to internationally that I should be aware off?

I'm worried they could receive the goods then reverse it in Paypal but I assume if I have a tracking receipt I can avoid that hassle. I'll make sure I quote postage at the cost with tracking and insurance.

Thanks for any input. Here is the eBay posting: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/172172882540

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Comments

  • Settero on 20/04/2016 - 14:51
    +2

    there is a common scam where they pay with paypal but make you post it to a address thats not linked to that paypal account , they get the money refunded. make sure it is the same address that is tied to their paypal acc

  • Cave Fire on 20/04/2016 - 14:59

    Did not notice an imei number in your listing, another common scam is to claim the phone is damaged in transit or dead on arrival. The buyer then sends back a faulty phone. Usually not having an IMEI number listed alerts bidders this may be possible.

  • tomsco on 20/04/2016 - 15:04

    Am I right in that this can go for around $600 brand new: https://www.google.com.au/search?q=Microsoft+Lumia+950+XL+Bl…

    I've heard before that (could be wrong) depending on which store front they purchased from (AU or USA) that different seller requirements might apply. Therefore, proof of delivery may not suffice.

  • eqv on 20/04/2016 - 15:04

    I had similar issue before with my eBay listing. I contacted eBay after I got the buy notification of request of payment details explaining them that I did not list it for international buyer.
    1-2 days later, I got a notice from eBay saying not to proceed with the transaction, and not long after, the buyer's account was disabled.

  • the-mal on 20/04/2016 - 15:06

    Make sure you cover all your bases before proceeding:

    • Take a video of the phone working (turn it on, show it's functional) and take pictures of the phone all over to show condition.
    • Send it via a post method that gives Tracking, Signature on Delivery (ideally) and Insurance
    • Get full payment before sending
    • ONLY send it to the PayPal address

    If you take all of those precautions then they'll find it very hard to get their money back from you.

    It does seem like an odd purchase considering this phone is US$649 new and you've just sold it second hand with a scratch for US$565 before postage.

  • Randxyz123 on 20/04/2016 - 15:11

    Yeah I listed my laptop for $900 and got a "offer of 1500" if I posted to the US for their "friend"… Then there was someone who offered me $1100 to post to their son studying "oversea".

    You can block international buyers that's what I did.

  • Diji1 on 20/04/2016 - 16:25

    From memory you can prevent this from happening by setting up your listing to hide the listing from users in country X. And while you're there you can also hide it from users with feedback below X as well which is a good idea, might as well let others take the risk.

    Apologies as I cannot recall exactly where in the process it is other than it's at the bottom of the page … presumably the normal "Sell" page I'd say.

  • boab88 on 20/04/2016 - 17:46

    I was very tempted by the-mals suggestion to try this and cover myself by following his steps. I know I won't get that amount locally for it but I think this buyer is too good to be true (He also clicked buy it now when the auction had a small amount of time to go and the buyer was the only bidder at $550)

    I'm going to play it safe and cancel the sale and relist here then eBay again

  • 2ndeffort on 21/04/2016 - 15:14

    Easiest way is to block international bidders.

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