Question
Hello,
I no longer ship internationally since the original version of BidPay closed and stating in my listings that I would accept payment in US Dollars Cash is disallowed. I can not afford to take the risk of international PayPal chargebacks for non-delivery.
I would like to accept PayPal payments from the UK and Canada that have confirmed addresses, as I understand that is now an option. I've spent an hour on the PayPal site, and the USPS site, and I cannot figure out what meets PayPal's minimum criteria for online trackable online proof of shipping. What is comparable to DC for Canada and the UK. Can I choose this option on the PayPal site when printing a label thru them?
Thanks so very much for any help or advice any can give me.
Below is a copy and paste of requirements from the PayPal site:
6. You must ship the purchased item to the address listed on the “Transaction Details” page, and that address must be identified as a Confirmed Address,
7. You must ship the item to the buyer within 7 Days of receiving payment,
8. You must have trackable online proof of delivery from an independent shipper to the address on the “Transaction Details” page. For transactions involving $250.00 USD or more, you must provide a proof of receipt that was signed or otherwise acknowledged by the buyer, and
9. You must respond to PayPal’s requests for information within the time period PayPal specifies.
Answer
Hi WillowCreek!
I'd started to say 'hello', but I see you've been a member here longer than I have...
Bumping this hoping for a response...
Answer
I've started shipping to Canada (and the occasional place in Europe or Australia) and I haven't found many alternatives in this respect. There doesn't seem to be a way of making a package "certified" where it can pass through the US and Canadian borders and still be trackable. There is such a thing as "recorded delivery" (my endicia indicates it costs 2.40) for international mail letter post items, and there's additional information on endicia which says its for first class and priority mail only, so its not for the less expensive and much more economical shipping methods.
So I decided two things. One was, to hell with paypal, I insure my international packages (as well as the domestic ones) through u-pic, which at $1.40 per $100 DVU is less expensive than the "recorded delivery" option, and its not like the "recorded delivery" gives you any insurance, or a guarantee that paypal will cover you. The private insurance is less expensive than what you'd pay the post office, FedEx or UPS, and less restrictive too.
I was in a UPS store yesterday, and a couple brought in a autographed basketball they had won at a charity auction or something, and wanted to insure it for $400. UPS guy told them if it was an irreplaceable item, i.e. one of a kind, they could only insure it for $100. So I wrote down the u-pic web address and walked over and gave it to them. I also know a quilting instructor who was only allowed to insure one of her works at FedEx for $500, even though its price was $2,500 (because it was artwork), and sure enough, her very valuable package "disappeared" before it was even scanned on the pickup truck. The private insurance companies are less fussy, they don't care what the contents are, I don't even need a tracking number for the international shipments, its a question of how much coverage you want to pay for. They WANT the business.
The other thing I do, since I sell heavier hardback books and cookbooks, and do sell a number of those to Canada, is make liberal use of the global priority mail flat rate envelopes, which do have a tracking number. They are the same size as the US priority mail flat rate envelopes, and I can fit a two or three pound hardback cookbook in them. Cost is $7.50 to Canada, $9 to certain places in Europe, probably in UK as well. So if you are selling heavier items to Canada and Europe that will fit in the flat rate envelope, that's a really good alternative. (And shipment is a little quicker as well, I believe).
Answer
Thank you colorscape for posting and sharing your knowledge. I'm not sure why PayPal makes this so difficult.
I am currently preparing to list a series of vintage porcelain figurines that are popular in the U.K. I wish I could safely use a Global Priority Box. I REALLY miss the old Bid Pay.
I will explore using u-pic. I just don't want to take the risk of an unwarranted charge-back.
I appreciate that you took time to post :-).
Answer
Paypal makes it difficult because they really don't want to cover those possible instances of fraud and seller chargeback.
Most people (buyers and sellers alike) just take the "$2,000 fraud protection guarantee" at face value, without reading the fine print, and don't realize what a mistake that is before push comes to shove and they try to make a claim. Just like a lot of people will take the "$15 Paypal rebate" at face value, without checking the fine print, only to forget about their rebate months from now, never realizing that the seller didn't have the proper account for them to be eligible, or they purchased a service instead of a good, etc., etc. 90% of rebate forms are never mailed in, that's why manufacturers do rebates instead of just lowering the price. They only have to make good on 10% of the offers they would otherwise have to honor.
Answer
Originally Posted by colorscape_quilts
Paypal makes it difficult because they really don't want to cover those possible instances of fraud and seller chargeback.
Most people (buyers and sellers alike) just take the "$2,000 fraud protection guarantee" at face value, without reading the fine print, and don't realize what a mistake that is... 90% of rebate forms are never mailed in, that's why manufacturers do rebates instead of just lowering the price. They only have to make good on 10% of the offers they would otherwise have to honor.
Sad, but true. Most are stupid or rather non-thinking. Sheep to the slaughter at the altar of commerce under the watchful eye of father PayPal and mother eBay...