eBay Question/Scenario Help

Last night I posted my jailbroken iPhone 3G for auction on eBay. It sold a few hours later for my Buy It Now price. The buyer is in India and has not paid.

I doubt the buyer will send the money, and if he does, I am worried that he will scam me. This is based on the number of stories on CAG and on other sites.

What can I do to protect myself from eBay and PayPal's mighty grasp if the buyer actually pays?

Any help would be appreciated.


Here is the link to the item in question:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170665358736&ssPageName=STRK:MESOX:IT

As a general rule, I do not sell anything to international buyers. I had a really bad experience the one time I did that and have never done it since. You can go into your eBay preferences and exclude countries you don't want to sell to. But that doesn't help you right now. You can also set your preferences to not allow buyers who have been reported for non-payment in the past.

If the buyer does not pay within a reasonable amount of time, you can report him for non-payment and he will receive a mark on his record. But if it only sold last night, you should give him at least a few days to pay. You can also send him an invoice to try and speed up the process.

If he does pay and you ship it to him, be sure to insure it so that you are covered in case of damage during shipment. I lost a lot of money because I didn't insure the item that I sent overseas. I'll never make that mistake again.

Thank you for your help.

I got an email from the buyer saying that he wants me to add an additional $10 to the price to cover international shipping. It sounds scammy to me.

How much were you asking for shipping? International shipping is considerably more so you should charge him extra. As long as he has a good feedback score, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Also, eBay and PayPal's protection is pretty solid.

I was offering free shipping, but he wants to pay an additional $10.

I'd just explain that you don't ship internationally as a rule. Take it up with ebay to get your fees back and then relist.