Dear eBay Queen:

I had an eBayer buy 13 books from me with my combined shipping rates posted in my listings.  I shipped the items the next day.  After the buyer left me feedback, I received 13 1 star scores in my DSRs, thereby trashing my account for an entire year and preventing me from becoming a TOP SELLER according to eBay’s rules. After doing a little research, I found out the buyer is another book seller on eBay, A TOP RATED SELLER who DOES NOT POST HIS COMBINED SHIPPING RATES in his listing!!

I thought maybe the DSR scores he left were a mistake. I emailed him to ask if he was happy with the sale. He emailed me back, and said “everything was fine.”

I went above and beyond what I said I would offer in my listing.  I told him I would ship media mail, but I sent the books priority shipping with insurance and tracking.  I called eBay customer support because I read on the feedback information page that “We also have safeguards in place to protect sellers against unfair negative or neutral feedback.”

Could you help me figure out what I am suppose to learn from this? Do you think this seller/buyer did this to prevent me from being a Top Seller?  Why did they buy the items if they were only going to ding my stars?

Bookish

Dear Bookish:

I do understand your frustration, and if this had happened to me I would be livid! I wish I had some really good advice for you.  In a situation like this I would contact the Dean of eBay Education, Jim Griffith griff@eBay.com and let him know what happened.  He will look into it.  If he sees any improprieties he will take action.

This is a really tough situation. I know how important it is to be a Top Rated seller to many people who sell on eBay.  I’ve read lots of articles and believe that most buyers do not understand the Top Rated Seller Program.  eBay has done it’s marketing to the sellers on it’s importance, but not to it’s buyers.  Buyers want their items fast and at a good price, they are not looking for a Top Rated Seller badge.  I know this doesn’t help much.  I hope that Griff is able to help you and the ones will be removed from your Detailed Seller Ratings.

Dear eBay Queen:

I’ve been selling for a year or so. People tell me it is good for your business to sell worldwide. I’ve sold a few things without a problem to other countries, but I am wondering if I should continue to do so.  I was sitting at Starbucks the other day and overheard these 2 women talking about eBay.  They were discussing selling internationally and talked about all the risks.  I butted in on the conversation, and here’s some of the information I learned from them.

1.      Germany, France, Italy, and Israel are high risk and up to 50% of our packages have issues in these countries.

2.      Always ship with tracking

3.      Be prepared to eat 5% of your orders when the buyers file claims because the customs agent stole it.

What do you think of this advice? Is it more of a risk than its worth to sell internationally?? 

Sharon R.

Dear Sharon:

I am not a huge international seller.  I do sell a few things here and there, but most of my products are bulky and heavy, which makes them pretty expensive to ship over seas.

I have heard the same thing about shipping to Germany, France and Italy.  I don’t know what it is about shipping to those countries, but they do seem to have some issues with customs and delivery.  You can easily alleviate this problem by selecting to NOT ship to those countries.

Never ship any package without tracking.  When I ship overseas, I always include insurance.  I am unsure about statement #3.   I do know that if you add insurance to all of your overseas shipments, you will not be “eating” any of your orders.

There is a risk in selling anywhere, but if you have the goods that international buyers want, I say go for it!

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