I could use some EBay advice

[AtomSmasher]

I don't sell stuff on ebay very often, so I don't have much experience with it.  I'm currently selling a tablet pc which will hopefully sell for over $400, but I just got asked if I would ship to Australia and I'm not sure what to tell him.  A quick check at usps.com and it looks like it would only cost around $35-40 to ship it there, but I know if something goes wrong and I somehow get screwed, theres not a lot I can do.  I'm only accepting payment from paypal, and I'll obviously get a tracking number when I ship it, so it seems like I should be covered, but I just hear too many stories about people getting scammed.  He does have a high feedback rating (165), so odds are he is legit.

Is it wise to sell something on ebay to someone in Australia (or any foreign country for that matter), or is the chance of getting screwed too high (either by a problem in the shipping or from the buyer)?

I'm probably just worrying over nothing and should tell him it would be fine, but I thought I'd ask for a little advice first.

[danny_galaga]

im in australia and ive bought stuff from the US the UK and belgium. things seem to go quite smoothly from UK and US. but if i were you, i would just make your auction US only. as a beginner it would save some hassle, surely youll get enough interest stateside? when ive sold stuff on ebay, i just kept it aussie and simple.

biggest hassle ive had is current. bought from toronto. the ---meecrob--- is trying to charge me twice as much freight as his auction led me to believe. i think ill avoid canada from now on 

[boykster]

biggest hassle ive had is current. bought from toronto. the ---meecrob--- is trying to charge me twice as much freight as his auction led me to believe. i think ill avoid canada from now on 

I don't send stuff to Zakk anymore either 

Seriously, if the buyer is willing to pay with Paypal, and ship with a tracked carrier, then you're pretty well covered.  I'd say go for if.  Any oddness and I'd pull it and relist with US only.

[dgordon86]

Also, add in your paypal profile settings to only accept verified sellers. This will protect you in many different ways.

[CheffoJeffo]

biggest hassle ive had is current. bought from toronto. the ---meecrob--- is trying to charge me twice as much freight as his auction led me to believe. i think ill avoid canada from now on 

If the seller is relatively local (it's a decent sized city and I am a slacker), I may be able pick up and just keep it ship to you ... what's the item (and if arcade-related, perhaps I know the seller) ?

[AtomSmasher]

Apparently my item is highly sought after overseas because now someone is asking if I'll send to Norway.  This guy only has a 3 rating on ebay, but he says he has a verifed address in paypal.  I told the Australia guy yes, but I think I'm going to tell this guy no.  His rating just seems too low for me to trust him.

[shardian]

My 2 cents:
You are selling a high traffic item on ebay. Computers are one of the biggest targets for scammers. I would highly advise you to only sell in U.S., and restrict 0 feedback buyers.

[AtomSmasher]

My 2 cents:
You are selling a high traffic item on ebay. Computers are one of the biggest targets for scammers. I would highly advise you to only sell in U.S., and restrict 0 feedback buyers.

Heh, I think your right.  I got a question from someone asking if I accept paypal, and I responded with something like "I only accept paypal" and he responded with this:

"This email is not about your item.

Our company selling laptops from Europe.
We can't use paypal and we are looking for a money
exchange manager. Our buyers will send you money
through Paypal and you will resend us our part.
We will pay you 150 USD for each transfer + all fees.
Do you want to work with us?"

The item hasn't even been on ebay for 24 hours and the scammers are already comming out of the woodwork.

[Jdurg]

E-Bay scammers are nuts.  Some french P.O.S. hacked my account a few weeks ago and sent hundreds of questions to sellers through my account.  When the dickwad tried to sell some items using my account, E-Bay finally wisened up and notified me while freezing my account.  Thankfully, E-Bay and PayPal don't show your passwords or bank account information, so the assmunch didn't get any of my bank information.  Of course, I immediately went and changed my passwords and whatnot, but I was still a bit miffed.

I think we should be able to hunt these people down vigillante style and shoot them in the head without any fear of being arrested.  I would love to splatter the brains of these ass-holes who prey on the ignorant and the elderly.  I just wish an international police force would weed these people out and make some very severe examples of them.  Scare the ---smurfs--- into oblivion.   

[hypernova]

Our company selling laptops from Europe.
We can't use paypal and we are looking for a money
exchange manager. Our buyers will send you money
through Paypal and you will resend us our part.
We will pay you 150 USD for each transfer + all fees.
Do you want to work with us?"

The item hasn't even been on ebay for 24 hours and the scammers are already comming out of the woodwork.

Is that a "no," then?  Come on, I'll up it to 250 USD!

In all seriousness, how long has the Aussie been a member?  Ten years ago, I was out over $360 from a seller with over 300 feedback.  After the fact, I realized he wasn't a member for very long.  I think somehow he manipulated it. 

[AtomSmasher]

Our company selling laptops from Europe.
We can't use paypal and we are looking for a money
exchange manager. Our buyers will send you money
through Paypal and you will resend us our part.
We will pay you 150 USD for each transfer + all fees.
Do you want to work with us?"

The item hasn't even been on ebay for 24 hours and the scammers are already comming out of the woodwork.

Is that a "no," then?  Come on, I'll up it to 250 USD!

In all seriousness, how long has the Aussie been a member?  Ten years ago, I was out over $360 from a seller with over 300 feedback.  After the fact, I realized he wasn't a member for very long.  I think somehow he manipulated it. 

His feedback dates back to 2002, so I think he is probably legit.  I've gotten a couple other similar questions from newer members with 2 or 3 feedback, and I've told them all no.  I've sold a few things on ebay in the past and never had any issues like this, I guess computers really are the hot ticket item for scammers.

[RayB]

Some scammers gain access to old inactive accounts somehow. Some use phishing emails to get passwords.

Red flags:
Final shipping address is different than the original. (Especially red flag if Nigeria)
Payment by Money Order (especially red flag if offered MORE than you wanted)
Buyer gives sob story about moving soon and needing the item really quick.

Use reputable shipper, with tracking and insurance.