eBay Sellers---Just US or World???

[spy88]

Of all the folks doing any selling on eBay, just wondering what your thoughts are concerning the good vs bad of listing just N America or including the planet for your sales.

 

Shipping would seem to be one prohibitive factor (cost and hassle) with selling beyond our borders. Any others??

[World Colonial]

It depends what you are selling. I do not collect any US coin anymore and sold the few that I did own, but I never bothered accepting bids from outside the United States when I did. Presumably, there are some instances when it might help generate a higher price that makes it worth it, but I doubt so most of the time. I suspect that most bidders from outside the US for US coins are expats or those temporarily living abroad. I do not actually know this but to my knowledge, it is the typical pattern for most coins of any "recent" vintage.

[Nutmeg Coin]

Foreign sales represent a major problem in terms of substantiating any claims if the coin goes missing. If your insurance company will cover such a shipment, I would get specific requirements for them to do so. If shipping and tracking are a major challenge in the U.S., it becomes even more or a problem outside of our country.

[Dave1384]

Ebay's favoritism towards buyers has contributed mightily to it's diminished profit base. Language problems, item not as described ( try working out one of those claims), damage, wrong signature, lost in transit, insurance not covering parcel, return shipping from overseas on expensive items unscrupulous buyers. If I can't sell it to someone from the United States, it just doesn't get sold. I have nothing against folks from other nations. Like the op says, it's the hassle.

 

If you really want to read horror stories go over to Audiokarma.

[Nutmeg Coin]

I was talking to a disgruntled ebay seller earlier who said when dealing with buyers from out of the US he just tells them to wire funds to him based on all his positive feedback. Shouldn't that be enough?? If someone's word is not good they don't survive very long on ebay or the internet.

[gmarguli]

If selling generic coins, you're probably not going to get a price bump by opening up your auctions to non-US buyers. If selling more unique items, you will definitely get higher sales prices if you allow non-US buyers to participate.

 

It now becomes a trade off. Is the higher sale price worth the significantly higher (item not received, SNAD, etc) claims and most likely your lack of being able to insure the item? I sell a lot on eBay - over $200K so far in 2013 - and about 1/3 of my shipments go outside the US. While I have very few problems overall, 99% of those problems come from non-US transactions.

 

You need Delivery Confirmation (Signature Confirmation over $250) for your shipments to qualify for PayPal Seller Protection and having any chance at winning a claim. The only guarantee of DC is Express Mail and that costs a minimum of $45. You can send a 3oz package with Registered Mail for $23 and you may get a DC/SC on it, but there is no guarantee. Registered Mail outside the US is nothing like it is inside the US. Will your buyers pay for this? Probably not unless it is an expensive item. Now you are left sending it First Class without any tracking and no PayPal Seller Protection. You have to trust the buyer 100%. And you have to know the current costs of shipping internationally. A 3oz package is now close to $10 to ship internationally.

 

USPS will not insure packages to most countries and even if they do, coins are usually excluded. BTW, you did know it is against the law to ship coins/gold/silver to many countries. That will kill most claims through USPS. So now you're 100% bare on insurance unless you use a private policy. These are cheap. Filing a claim is awful as you usually need the buyer to sign and mail back a form. Do you think the buyer really cares if you get your money back - especially if they were lying to you about not getting the item?

 

My suggestion would be that if you are selling items that would benefit from international buyers, find a person who takes consignments. They will likely have a built in customer base to help your sales, they know how the system works, and they will be the ones taking the risk for international shipping. For this you'll end up paying maybe 10% more than if you had done it yourself, but with much less risk and likely higher final sale prices.

[spy88]

Greg---as always, you have given the "total answer" to my OP. I personally do not sell overseas as my sales volume/value doesn't merit it.

 

Like Dave1384 says... If I can't sell it to someone in the U.S. then it just doesn't get sold.

 

I use eBay's USPS label print for all my sold listings and Sig Con is automatically added with their system if value exceeds $250. I keep in very close contact with all my buyers and actively follow all tracking numbers until they arrive at destination. Had a $800+ coin get 'stuck' at my local PO distribution center for 9 days before they forwarded it for delivery! Really po'ed my buyer and me.

 

Anyway, my OP was mainly for those members who may have wondered about selling overseas and Greg came thru with the best answer to both sides of the issue. Thanks Greg!

[Dave1384]

Hell, I'll let Greg sell for me, .

[Nutmeg Coin]

Does Hugh Wood cover international parcels? That should be enough of a guarantee.

 

Ship and Insure covers them, compare their US vs. international rates:

 

https://www.shipandinsure.com/international_rates.aspx

 

Basically, .65% of declared value. So a $10K parcel runs $65.

 

A really nice $20 gold piece that was certified and CAC I shipped to Japan for around $70 via FedEx.

[Conder101]

One problem that Greg didn't mention was when overseas buyer in some countries suddenly discover that their local customs is holding their package because the buyer has to pay customs duties and import taxes that he either didn't know about or was hoping the package would slip past unnoticed.