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Nat · 10-05-2005, 03:36 AM,

Some buyers on eBay don't read and don't care. Tonight I had an auction end that I had listed that I would ship within Canada and to the USA only. Yesterday someone sent me an ask the seller a question saying that they are from the UK and saw that I ship to Canada and asked if there was a reason. Well obviously there is a reason if I put it in the TOS of my auction but I wrote them back and politely explained why. I didn't hear back and assumed that was the last I'd hear of them.

Then a few minutes after the auction ended the same person sent me another ask the seller a question message saying that they stayed up all night just to bid on my auction (they are several hours ahead so it ended in the middle of the night over there) and they tried to bid on my auction a few minutes before it ended but they were blocked from bidding because they are in the UK and said they were not happy that they stayed up all night for that.

I couldn't believe it - my auction clearly stated that I ship only within Canada and to the USA, I wrote them back yesterday through eBay's message system explaining why I don't include the UK and then just before the auction ended they completely ignored my TOS and what I told them and tried to bid anyway? Thank goodness for eBay having that preference to block bidders from countries we don't ship to otherwise I might be going through the process of filing the UID and selecting the option that the bidder did not follow my terms. Zeesh, that's nervy!

accentnepal · 10-05-2005, 07:08 AM,

They do not read - most of the "ask seller a question" emails I get are clearly answered in the item listing -- and , after I nicely answer them (again) they do not buy anyway.

In my retail I usualy tell people that the things I sell are made in Nepal, to get the conversation going. The most common answer is "Oh, did you make them?"

Confused

mileyyoyo:

bargainbloodhound · 10-05-2005, 05:25 PM,

Quote:Some buyers on eBay don't read and don't care.

Very true, but it is true of buyers on all auction sites. All of my listings clearly state that I don't accept money orders, checks, or cash...and at least a few times a month I get an email from a buyer after the auction asking "where do I send the check?" BangHead

catholicemporium · 10-05-2005, 07:09 PM,

Quote:Very true, but it is true of buyers on all auction sites. All of my listings clearly state that I don't accept money orders, checks, or cash...and at least a few times a month I get an email from a buyer after the auction asking "where do I send the check?"

This underscores another reason that I much prefer to sell via our websites than on eBay. If the customer doesn't have a credit card or PP account, the cart gets abandoned and we don't get bothered. The item(s) stay up for sale and are available to people who can pay via electronic payment. I have made an exception a couple of times, one of which was a customer from Greece who Western Unioned $130.00 cash for some of our medals on the medals site.

I would like to know, though, about bank transfer payments. I have European customers who email and ask if we take bank transfer payments. I know this is VERY common in South Africa, with the B&B that we stay at preferring payment via bank transfer. I have also been told that it is very common in Europe, thus the reson for the inquiries.

I registered our domain as a .co.uk name and plan to mirror our site with prices in Pounds Sterling. I would conservatively estimate that 30% of our business comes from the United Kingdom. We are going to install a virtual telephone number via Vonage so that we have a number that is local to central London and attach a "Free Phone" service to it so that our UK customers can call us for free.

Which brings up this enquiry: BBH, you have experience with accepting international currency payments, right? I know that you can accept PayPal in Pounds, but will the WebPro payment system allow that (you know, where it looks like you have a merchant account)? Our Key Bank merchant account only accepts dollar-denominated payments, so I guess what I am looking for is a merchant account that will bill in Pounds (and Euros if possible0. Can you recommend a solution. And will it interface with osCommerce?

I am not adverse to opening a UK bank account. The volume of business we do with the UK most certainly justifies the expense of a trip to London to set one up if need be. Then, we can do bank transfer payments if needed.

Also, can you please move this post to a more appropriate thread if need be. Thank you for any insight you can provide.

diger7 · 10-05-2005, 07:19 PM,

You are right!

I say in my listings that I wait 14 days for checks to clear, that's what my bank told me, but I was also hoping that it would reduce the number of checks I receive, since they have to wait so long! A lot of the buyers who send a check usually email me within a week asking me where the item is!

Quote:The most common answer is "Oh, did you make them?"

scarboroughseaashells · 10-05-2005, 07:25 PM,

[quote author=accentnepal link=topic=678.msg2487#msg2487 date=1128496084]
The most common answer is "Oh, did you make them?"

[/quote]

Don't you know you're supposed to reply: "Yes, I actually fly to Nepal on Mondays, make them on Tuesdays, Fly back home on Wednesdays and put them up for sale on Thursdays." ?!?! Big Grin

bargainbloodhound · (This post was last modified: 10-06-2005, 03:29 AM by bargainbloodhound.)

[quote author=catholicemporium link=topic=678.msg2505#msg2505 date=1128539347]

Which brings up this enquiry: BBH, you have experience with accepting international currency payments, right? I know that you can accept PayPal in Pounds, but will the WebPro payment system allow that (you know, where it looks like you have a merchant account)? Our Key Bank merchant account only accepts dollar-denominated payments, so I guess what I am looking for is a merchant account that will bill in Pounds (and Euros if possible0. Can you recommend a solution. And will it interface with osCommerce?

Also, can you please move this post to a more appropriate thread if need be. Thank you for any insight you can provide.
[/quote]

OK, I'll start another thread on this topic. New thread is here:

http://community.tuliptools.com/index.ph...692.0.html