-Ask the seller to ship with USPS (I've had hundreds of packages shipped to me and like 3/100 get fees)
- ask to have the package marked as a gift
- ask to have the package valued at 40$
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Yeah, use full service courier instead of economy. Or regular post. That will avoid brokerage fees. There's no way to avoid customs, since that is based on the government, not the seller or shipper. The shipper could declare a lower value if you ask them. But if they use insurance, they won't want to do this.

Also, you could do the brokerage yourself. When the courier presents you with the package and/or bill, decline it. Get the paperwork from them, and take it to Canada Customs yourself. It is right where all the couriers are, by the airport, and just takes a few minnutes. Kind of a pain in the ass, but if you want to save $ there you go.

1.) You can cancel the bids and end the auction. There isn't any penalty for doing this. In the past, you would lose the fees for listing the auction, but now since it's free to list, that doesn't really apply anymore.

2.) It's been awhile, but there should be some built-in functionality to only allow certain users to bid on your auction. At the very least you can state in your auction that you will only sell to people that meet a certain criteria. If they don't, you should have grounds to not complete the transaction...

As jeedee said, ask the seller to use US Postal Service instead of UPS or FedEx.

If they don't ship by USPS and you have to use UPS or FedEx, don't get the Ground service. Unless something has changed recently, if you use UPS Expedited or higher service, they don't charge brokerage fees.

I've just started selling on ebay. It's an awesome platform to liquidate used goods just collecting dust in the closet. Some problem I'm having at the moment are with the international buyers. I've sold close to 40 items in the past two months, about 35 have been US buyers with 5 being international. I have been using Canada Post as my shipping service, and all my US buyers have received their products, as well as leaving feedback. All the international buyers (fine not all, but 3/5) have filed disputes with items not received.

I shipped the items through Canada Post (small packet international - 4 to 6 weeks for delivery) and now all my funds are "temporary on hold." I called paypal, ebay and Canada Post about the situation and because Canada Post doesn't offer tracking ID for international packets, I think I'm screwed.. (buyers get their money refunded through paypal and KEEP my item)

Canada Post's solution was to file a claim 75 days after delivery and they will reimburse me shipping + the product but I find that unlikely (it seemed like the person just wanted to get me off the phone.)

Have you guys encountered a similar scenario and resulted with a positive outcome?

Simple: don't use ground service.. even if it is free.

That's why you ALWAYS use tracking. Canada Post has it, should be normal First Class Airmail with Registration. If not, use Xpresspost or something.

Just switch to UPS / Fedex etc and charge accordingly. Once they won the bid they have to pay anyhow.

Some of the items sent $50-$60

I think the shipping charges would exceed the actual amount by a substantial amount.

Lesson learnt. I'm definitely going to switch shipping services if I end up getting bent over by the buyer/paypal/ebay

I've had similiar issues with Canada Post. That is why I now refused to ship Internationally. Yes, it sucks, but majority of buyers are from the US anyways. And if you do use tracking with Canada Post, shipping costs go up a significant amount, and that will deter some buyers anyways.
Good luck with your claim with Canada Post.

You will get your money back from Canadapost but it takes time and the max they'll refund is $100. And don't call Canadapost, email them and they'll give you one contact person that will open a case file. If you purchased additional insurance you will get reimbursed for the full amount.

And you're basically screwed when it comes to the international buyers because there's no way to track the items. You'll have to refund the money.

I think that's the smartest solution, to exclude international buyers because it's far too much of a hassle, especially the one's that will take advantage of the "no tracking ID" policy.

I didn't purchase any additional coverage, just the standard $100 for international deliveries. Thankfully, most of the packages to the international buyers were under $100. It's not so much the fact my money is being held that I'm frustrated about, it's the fact some buyers can get away with such actions.

Thanks for the heads up guys

It sucks man, I've been selling on eBay for years, have almost 1000+ feedback and you always get buyers who pull scams like this.

I've got a mere 40 transaction under my belt so I'm still a newb lol

The only reason why I enjoyed using ebay to sell is the how little work it requires. Pull something out of the closet, snap a couple pictures, construct a brief description and wait. The convenience is what sold me to the online auction concept despite the high service fees from ebay/paypal.

I mean, the stuff I was selling wasn't being used anymore so in my mind, it's 100% profit!

There are scammers everywhere..that's why I'm resorting to selling my macbook on revscene/craigslist - but even then they are the lowballers/scammers.

I've had similar scenarios but not positive outcomes. I sold a lot to australia and shipped out of USA (because it was cheaper) but without a tracking number, you are responsible.

Canada Post does not track any international product. Doesn't matter what service you use from them. I've had an issue with CP already and I filed a claim, still haven't got my money back yet. I had to use USPS as they will track all the way to the destination country.

CP is barely passable for domestic shipping. They are slow and not really all that cheap.

If you don't mind me asking, how long have you been waited already?

hmmm interesting information here guys. Jah and skinny giving same stuff with signature and tracking hahaha

I am planning to start a business soon with computer parts and cables. Looks promising.

edit: any tips? :)

Umm...I don't remember. At least a couple months now. I must've argued with 4-5 operators(which don't know shit, so don't bother with them), filed a claim which they were suppose to email me but sent me a letter instead? Had to provide original shipping labels, reciept, etc and I mailed it back and haven't heard from them since. I've been so busy lately I completely forgot till I saw this thread, lol.

That's a brutal wait time.

The representative on the phone told me it would take 5-10 business days, 15 days maximum for the claim to be settled. He explained the process as 1)claim filed 2) CP calls the receiving post office 3) receiving post office confirms package never arrived 4) you give paypal transaction total or ebay listing to CP for proof of value 5) CP reimburses you with the total (under $100 unless you paid for extra coverage)

What I find puzzling is how retarded Canada Post has to be to not address the "no tracking" policy for international deliveries. They shouldn't even offer a worldwide service if they can't guarantee proper delivery.

Forget about worldwide guarantee, they don't even know if the delivery even leaves Canada !!

I think you could put in your auction that Bidders with less than 50 feedback are required to contact the seller before bidding otherwise bids will be cancelled or something like that.

Like others have mentioned, make it mandatory to have confirmed address and only ship to the address attached to their ebay/paypal. You will probably lose couple customers but it saves you the hassle down the road going through dispute process.

Not to thread jack, when you guys sell expensive items on CL, how does the payment work? Do you ask for a bank draft or something? Eg, a set of rims for $2000

I have no issues with shipping products to the USA using Canada Post, it's worldwide that provides a problem.

In terms of craigslist, I usually just ask for cash because of convenience. For something $2000, I will request new $100/$50 bills only for security. Another thing to do is meet somewhere public ie. tim hortons/mall parking lot during the day. It's even better if you can bring a friend or two.

I recently sold a set of MartinLogan speakers on craigslist, the guy came up into my apartment so I could demo them. He handed me the cash after and I helped load them in his truck.

if $2000 just ask for cash. never trust a money order only if you go to the bank with them and see the teller create it on the spot.

canada post has flat rate envelopes that have some tracking features but in general just go to pt roberts. flat rate box was around $15 up to 4 lbs. comes with priority tracking number.

Also make sure you only accept confirmed payments from Paypal, never ever accept unconfirmed payments because you're not covered. One known scam is the buyer files a charge back with his/her credit card company, Paypal removes the money out of your account and if you didn't accept payment from a confirmed account you're out of luck. There's a lot of things you have to be careful of when selling online and using services like Paypal.