Ebayers help! I screwed up big. I did not send an invoice right away

[Maraya1969]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270478961917&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

(the item just sold on Saturday.)I got an email asking for the price plus shipping so | wrote back and said this:

"I'm sorry! I forget to send you an invoice! It is free shipping so the t
total is $50.00 I should be getting this out tomorrow.

Thanks so much

XXXX Then I get back this email:


Beste luucie1,

Bedankt voor het winkelen op eBay! Je totaal verschuldigde bedrag is $50.00. Hieronder vind je meer informatie over je aankoop.



Objectnummer Objecttitel Aantal Prijs Bedrag
270478961917 Great Music Festivals from Monterey to Woodstock RARE! 1 $50.00 $50.00
Subtotaal: US $50,00
Verzending via US Postal Service Priority Mail International Small Flat Rate Box: US $0,00
Totaal: US $50,00


Klik hier als je wilt weten hoe je jezelf beter kunt beschermen tegen spoofberichten.

eBay heeft deze e-mail verzonden naar [e-mail] over je account die is geregistreerd op www.ebay.nl.


There was more written in the email but I cut it out. I went back and found out the buyer is from the NETHERLANDS!

(I removed the name and the number of the street or whatever it is)

Marinus Batenburgplein
ROTTERDAM
3065KL
Netherlands

I wrote back and apologized and said I would give the total amount once I figured it out.

Is this the right thing to do? I can't believe this shit. I've been under a lot of stress and my body has been in a big knot for the last several days. That does not excuse me but it explains why I had so much trouble getting the postage to stay under "National"

I can't even calculate the "best" way to send it because my zip code does not match, (I guess I'm not near a big post office which is true.)

Should I just go to one of those packing places that you pay a little more for so I can get the best price?

I don't know what to do!

[tblue]

1. Okay. I'm not sure I understand what the problem is.

Is it that you aren't getting paid for postage?

[Maraya1969]

9. No, I told him the shipping was free because it was to US but he is in

the Netherlands. My invoice to him does not include shipping.

[tblue]

14. So tell him you need to make this correction. You're very sorry, maybe give him a

little discount. It's perfectly reasonable. Just be polite and professional. If he balks, then you'll have to decide if you want to risk the negative feedback. But he probably won't. It's very expensive to ship parcels overseas. The buyer knows that.


I stopped selling on eBay because of nutty stufff like this. Good luck!

[Maraya1969]

15. I was thinking of taking a bit off the price. Thanks for your help. Thanks

to everyone! I don't like Ebay for a lot of reasons and the Feed Back thing is one of them.

[Orrex]

2. Even a small post office should be able to give you the international rate

I'd suggest that you package the book for shipping, take it down to the post office, and ask them to give you a price--you can get a quote without having to pay for it at the time. They should be able to present at least several options; you can quote these prices to the bidder and let him decide which to pay for. You can even get postal insurance, but it costs a fair bit.

Since you'll already have the item packaged for shipping, you might as well go to Staples or FedEx/Kinkos to see what kind of rate they can give you, too.

I can't say for sure, but USPS is probably going to give you a pretty good price, though shipping might take about ten business days or so.


Anyway, your auction listing clearly indicates free shipping for US Priority Mail, but you make no claims about international rates, so you should be okay in that regard.


What's your specific concern, exactly?

[Maraya1969]

11. If you click the tab under shipping it says I ship to Europe and pretty much

the rest of the world. I never thought anyone would be be from the rest of the world but actually I figured that if it even happened I could just handle it. The problem was I did not know this person was from Europe when I sent the invoice.

[Orrex]

18. Ah. So you sent the invoice without knowing the actual shipping amount?

Seems like an innocent mistake. I don't recall from your OP; did you notify the buyer of the error? If so, then what did he say?

[salvorhardin]

3. What do you mean your zip code doesn't match?

You don't need to be near a large post office to have a valid zip code.

How big of an item is it? How much does it weigh? If it's about the size and weight of a book, send it USPS media mail. That will likely be your cheapest route. Just make sure you get it insured though.

On edit: I see your listing now. It is a book. Media mail is the way to go. http://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/173.htm#wp1060486

[Maraya1969]

12. But that page doesn't say it can ship to Europe. It is 11 oz. Can you ship

media mail to Europe?

I'm kind of most afraid that this person will get mad at me asking for more money even though I sent an apology and explained that after I find out the price I would let them know.

[salvorhardin]

16. You're correct. Sorry. Media Mail is domestic only.

What you want is First-Class Mail International Package. It'd be ~$11. http://ircalc.usps.gov/IntlMailServices.aspx?Country=10298&M=11&P=1&O=0&sd=0

[Hawkeye-X]

4. Did you in any place say that this was shipping for US only

or worldwide shipping?

[Maraya1969]

13. Not on the front page but there is a tab that says shipping and I said

so there. I actually have added Europe, Canada and others thinking that maybe that would increase my chance of getting a sale. I just did not think for a moment that this sale was actually from Europe!

One time I sold a bunch of AVON stuff and got a good price but quoted the wrong shipping and I just ate what I lost. I still made some money but not that much.

[pansypoo53219]

5. use the post office website

postage caculator. if it can go 1st class, sometimes cheaper than the US. and you can get priority packaging off an ebay thing. free. i had to eat a loss 1st weight booboo. but it equals out.

[madrchsod]

6. i`ve shipped overseas...

the post office will give you the shipping cost and the forms to fill out. once you find out the cost then email the person with the total. before ebay got totally screwed up that`s what i did with my overseas shipments. i actually received two bottles of german wine from a buyer in germany because i threw in an extra book i thought he could use.

you are getting stressed out over nothing...i was wondering if you were going to sell the book...

[SoCalDemGrrl]

7. I'm an ebay Powerseller and ship overseas daily - just get an accurate

weight of the item, then go to usps.com and click "calculate Postage" , then "International" and put in all the info and it will give you the price for "1st Class Mail International" which will be the lowest price, but does not include insurance.

If the buyer wants insurance, then you would have to use the "Priority International Mail" which is considerably more expensive, but automatically will insure for your $50.00 amount.

Any other questions, just PM me.

[truedelphi]

8. Here's the situation - you wanna pay for Flat Rate International

it is (Or was several months ago) the best deal for international shipping through the US Postal service.

It costs $ 12.95 and allows you to send a book up to 4 lbs.

ALSO make sure you do *not* include any notes letters, invoices etc as some times the US mail goes nuts over that. They sometimes question a mail patron. You can only send things these weird shipping ways if no Correspondance is included, so if you plan on sending an invoice, an updated two page catalog, a thank you note, USE A SEPARATE ENVELOPE!

[Maraya1969]

17. Your books are regular books right? Because mine is about 12 inches

by 8 inches wide. I'm just going to take it to the post office and do what they tell me to do.

When I looked up the flat rate like you said my dimensions were too big for it.

I shouldn't really complain because I think this is the most money I've ever sold anything for on Ebay. I've been so uptight about my uncle and the 3 weeks they've given him to live, (his wife, his family doctor and me all disagree with the diagnosis and who the hell is this doctor telling this man's wife her husband has 3 weeks to live? I've been in knots and all over the internet looking up Lou Gehrig's disease except he has lost a lot of weight and he says he is having trouble breathing but his oxygen rate when he went to the hospital was 96 - 98 %. I'd think if your diaphragm is not working because your muscles are atrophied you wouldn't have such a high oxygen level.

I'm rambling about this. I've been rambling about this all over this forum. Interesting that I've rambled about it on a market place forum!

I wish I could tell this person in the Netherlands to give me a break because I am having a nervous breakdown myself and mailing a package it a great big deal right now. I won't do it though.

Thanks for letting me ramble. I might go to the lounge and ramble some more after this. I need a fucking sedative....or more of the sedative.

[truedelphi]

19. Wow. Sorry to hear about your uncle having ALS.

Wish there were words to Make it better. What a nasty disease.

BTW, find out if he was doing drugs to control his cholesterol. The statins that the medical profession have people do for their cholesterol problem sometimes cause this ALS cluster of symptoms. (I probably don't need to mention doing it as diplomatically as possible - the last thing your aunt would need is to remember that she nagged her husband to take his meds, and now she has guilt over it.)

But if your uncle survives, there might be a lawsuit against the statin manufacturer about this, with enough money for him to have decent long term care. (And from what I hear, going off the meds only improves the situation a tiny bit.)

And yeah, my spouse says a twelve inch book would be too "large" for the cheaper treatment Postage- wise. What is your book about?

[Maraya1969]

20. Thanks for your nice words truedelphi. The book is an old music book

with music songs pictures and commentary about Woodstock and the other festivals in the 60's and 70.

[robinlynne]

10. If you pack the box and weight it at a post office or anywhere else, you can easily

get the shipping quote on usps.com online postal rates. Then send an invoice to the person. It is not cheaper to hire a shipping company. It will be more expensive.