Question about Internation Shipping

Dokstarr

Dokstarr

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Hey everyone,

I do a lot of selling on eBay and have sold once in a while overseas (Australia usually).

A person contacted me about buying a 6 of my things (for a total of about 500 plus shipping) to the UK.

The person has about 1000 feedback and much of it recent buying other collectibles and comic stuff recently.

My questions was in regards to how the person wants me to declare a value of $19.00

I'm going to insure this package for the $500 I'm selling it for but with a declaration of $19 - will that mess things up if something happens and insurance was necessary?

As far as I understand the only one who could have any problems is the guy when he goes to get it. Customs may hold it and inspect it and decide it is worth more. The declaration only has to do with customs and the UK govt stuff, where as the insurance is through USPS.

Just wondering if people had experience with this. Thanks

 
I wouldn't insure the package through USPS if you're going to downgrade the value on the declaration form.

I would insure it through a 3rd party company like U-Pic (doesn't require a policy) or shipsurance (requires a policy) or any one of many others.

It was my understanding that USPS will only insure the shipment up to the value on the declaration form and even then you have to show proof through an invoice. I haven't used them in a long time (they're too expensive, make you jump through to many hoops, and take too long) so I may be incorrect but definitely look into that first.

Most insurance companies though will insure a package up to what the buyer paid for the item regardless of what is declared. Some will also include the shipping costs the buyer paid (USPS does NOT). This means that if the buyer bought $500 worth of items and shipping was $550 and the total price he paid on the invoice was $550 they will cover the entire $550 whereas USPS would only cover the $500 for the items.

I know that stamps.com (PIP) and the company that eBay uses (Shipvantage?) do NOT include shipping costs in their coverage.

Anyways I would research this further and look for the following parts in the fine print:

A) What do they cover  (make sure your goods aren't excluded)

B) How much coverage do they provide (do they cover shipping costs?)

C) What steps do you have to take and what documentation do you need to file a claim (some companies only need proof that a dispute was file (i.e. paypal claim) while others need a physical affidavit signed by the buyer. The ones that need an affidavit often won't pay out if the buyer doesn't cooperate).

 
International shipping of large/valuable items is a huge headache. Sending a large or heavy package with a low declared value is a good way to make sure your package is inspected. Many people lie about the declared values of packages so customs agents will usually keep an eye out of suspicious packages.

At the end of the day though, I wouldn't do this. Just because the buyer has 1000+ feedback means nothing (buyers can't get negs anyway- you don't know this guy's real history) since you're responsible for safe delivery of the item and if the buyer claims something was lost/damaged, you can't really prove otherwise.
 
Vinny said:
International shipping of large/valuable items is a huge headache. Sending a large or heavy package with a low declared value is a good way to make sure your package is inspected. Many people lie about the declared values of packages so customs agents will usually keep an eye out of suspicious packages.

At the end of the day though, I wouldn't do this. Just because the buyer has 1000+ feedback means nothing (buyers can't get negs anyway- you don't know this guy's real history) since you're responsible for safe delivery of the item and if the buyer claims something was lost/damaged, you can't really prove otherwise.
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The only other thing I was wondering about was making the guy do payment through paypal as a gift. That way if something happened with customs he wouldn't be able to do anything about it, right?

GBAstar said:
It was my understanding that USPS will only insure the shipment up to the value on the declaration form and even then you have to show proof through an invoice. I haven't used them in a long time (they're too expensive, make you jump through to many hoops, and take too long) so I may be incorrect but definitely look into that first.
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I checked USPS website and I can declare $19 but then insure for $500. This seems like a weird discrepancy - so I was wondering if that would bite me in the ass if I had to use the insurance.

 
It sounds like you may be breaking multiple policies on this one. Like others, I would not recommend it.

PayPal doesn't have a gift option anymore, only reimbursement to friends/family. Plus as square pointed out it can still be disputed.

The buyer is trying to get off without paying import tax on his purchase, so know that you'd be assisting in an illegal activity.

And finally, if I understood correctly, you're proceeding with a transaction that started on eBay and completing outside. Those are grounds for an immediate account ban. In fact just a request to complete a transaction outside of eBay can get you banned.

Good luck. I know it's a lot of money, but it's not worth the hassle and risk.
 
Dokstarr said:
I checked USPS website and I can declare $19 but then insure for $500. This seems like a weird discrepancy - so I was wondering if that would bite me in the ass if I had to use the insurance.
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Yes, they'll allow you to insure your package for more than the declared value because they'll make more money, but if something happens, they'll use any means possible to avoid paying you or reduce the payout as much as possible and the first place they'll look is the customs declaration. You can't lie about an item's value for customs, so if you dispute the payout, then you'd effectively shoot yourself in the foot.
 
Oh well - looks like it is a no go.

It would've been nice to unload an awful lot of stuff at once. I'll shoot the guy back a message in a bit and let him know and see if he wants to go through everything legit.

I've only sold a few other things before internationally and they weren't as much money and the buyer never asked a question about it.

 
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