ampguy
Veteran
Frontman
Well-known
I've been buying and selling on eBay for years now, and have used paypal in the great majority of my transactions. Although I have had the usual problems of customs delays or inaccurate item descriptions, these things are par for the course in any kind of business.
I do sell and buy items from overseas, but I do a very careful feedback check of the buyer/seller, and the people whom they have bought and sold from. From the type of merchandise being purchased, and the length of activity, I can usually sort out the genuine seller from the bad.
Anyone who sells overseas has to be aware of Italian customs, any buy I have from Italy will get a disclaimer from me saying that I will not be responsible for delays caused by customs. If they agree to the terms, I will ship the item, if not, then I won't. The Philippines is another place which often sees customs delays, the last item I sent there took 6 weeks to clear customs.
Another reason I sell overseas is that on some items I can get a much better price from an overseas bidder compared to those in the US.
Now I happen to live overseas, and I am often disappointed when I find an item on eBay which I like, but which a seller will ship to the "lower 48 only". That I might have paid 1/3 more for his item than an American buyer probably never crossed his mind.
I don't buy Chinese-made products when I can help it, but I haven't had any problems dealing with Chinese eBay sellers. I have always found their descriptions to be accurate, and their shipping quick. In one case, an item I ordered from China never arrived, but the seller refunded my money quickly, and with no fuss.
There is a risk whenever you buy something. I've bought items face-to-face, only to find that the item I bought was stolen. I've bought things that seemed in good condition when I picked them up, only to find that they were moused together, and stopped working as soon as I got them home. "Let the buyer (or seller) beware", as they say.
I do sell and buy items from overseas, but I do a very careful feedback check of the buyer/seller, and the people whom they have bought and sold from. From the type of merchandise being purchased, and the length of activity, I can usually sort out the genuine seller from the bad.
Anyone who sells overseas has to be aware of Italian customs, any buy I have from Italy will get a disclaimer from me saying that I will not be responsible for delays caused by customs. If they agree to the terms, I will ship the item, if not, then I won't. The Philippines is another place which often sees customs delays, the last item I sent there took 6 weeks to clear customs.
Another reason I sell overseas is that on some items I can get a much better price from an overseas bidder compared to those in the US.
Now I happen to live overseas, and I am often disappointed when I find an item on eBay which I like, but which a seller will ship to the "lower 48 only". That I might have paid 1/3 more for his item than an American buyer probably never crossed his mind.
I don't buy Chinese-made products when I can help it, but I haven't had any problems dealing with Chinese eBay sellers. I have always found their descriptions to be accurate, and their shipping quick. In one case, an item I ordered from China never arrived, but the seller refunded my money quickly, and with no fuss.
There is a risk whenever you buy something. I've bought items face-to-face, only to find that the item I bought was stolen. I've bought things that seemed in good condition when I picked them up, only to find that they were moused together, and stopped working as soon as I got them home. "Let the buyer (or seller) beware", as they say.
Rayt
Nonplayer Character
I do my "garage sales" on ebay and really nothing over $300 so am not too concerned about getting ripped off. For some reason most of my buyers are in Europe mainly Italy. I ship via registered airmail and enter the tracking number on Paypal as soon as I ship and also always attach 4 copies of the Paypal invoice outside of the package. This is necessary for clearing Italian Customs.
ethics_gradient
Well-known
Knee-jerk Sinophobia, in MY rangefinderforum?!
I ordered a couple of different photographic odds and ends from a Chinese seller a few months ago, he sent them over two packages. One of them never arrived, so he sent me replacements at no additional charge, even though I hadn't purchased insurance on it. I've bought plenty of other items from other sellers and had no problems either. Hell, I've even lived in Beijing myself. Should nobody in the US have dealt with me when I lived there? 
akarin
Established
Well. I guess I can see why some sellers are weary of overseas sales. Even shipping only after money is in the paypal account still has some residual risk from determined crooks.
johannielscom
Snorting silver salts
I've had dealings with PayPal Netherlands when in trouble with a sale.
Most PayPal consultants I spoke to on the phone can't even find their backside with both hands.
They are in it for the money only and pay low wages to low-skilled personnel.
Even though my PayPal account was verified three times by now, it still shows up as an 'unconfirmed address' for foreign sellers from time to time.
Regarding tracked shipping: the Netherlands is a small country, there's little volume on tracked international shipping, so it's bloody expensive. Box > 2.5 kgs = USD 140. At prices like that there's not too many people interested anymore...
Most PayPal consultants I spoke to on the phone can't even find their backside with both hands.
They are in it for the money only and pay low wages to low-skilled personnel.
Even though my PayPal account was verified three times by now, it still shows up as an 'unconfirmed address' for foreign sellers from time to time.
Regarding tracked shipping: the Netherlands is a small country, there's little volume on tracked international shipping, so it's bloody expensive. Box > 2.5 kgs = USD 140. At prices like that there's not too many people interested anymore...