Sending a package to France

[SeaWitchly]

I clearly state that I only post within the UK.

Well, yesterday someone won my item and then messages me asking for it to be sent to France and that that I should send it 2nd class. I checked with the post office and they said they could send 2nd class trackable to France for £10.

I messaged seller asking if they were happy with this and they replied could I send it 2nd class and just get proof of posting as it is half the cost... and that apparently other sellers do it for them all the time...

I presume however that if this item goes missing en route or buyer doesn't receive it/says they don't receive it I will have no proof of delivery with a proof of postage... and so buyer will be refunded and also keep the item [if they have indeed received it or it arrives later on].

Just wondering how others would respond to this? I find it quite cheeky to be honest as buyer bid on item and should have seen that I only post in the UK and offer 2nd class signed for postage and now they have won it they are trying to renegotiate the terms of the deal

Is the buyer's address for this transaction in France?

You have clearly stated you post in the UK only. I would ask them to provide an address in the UK.

Did you adjust your settings so your listings don't accept bids from buyers outside the UK? If not then "clearly stating" this doesn't matter one bit.

And never ever send something to an overseas seller without using a service that provides proof of delivery. It's just asking for trouble. Use the Royal Mail price finder so you can provide the buyer with an accurate postage cost.

I'm on the other end of a similar situation. I've won some stuff on eBay in the past and asked the seller if they minded to post to me anyway (I'm EU but not U.K.) when I didn't notice auction was for the U.K. only. They told me the price, I accepted and that was the end of it. Didn't want the 'signed for', but items' value was low and I wasn't going to scam anyone.

Posting to say there are decent buyers out there :-)

I'm in France and if I'm buying something off UK Ebay, this message comes up if the seller has not specified postage to France:

Postage:
May not post to France - Read item description or contact seller for postage options.

Posts to:
United Kingdom

So if you had not specified otherwise, the buyer really should have been able to see that they need to contact you first.

Are you enrolled on the ebay "Global Shipping Program" ? If not, take a look. I recently found myself (unexpectedly) shipping to Italy, and more recently Australia. Seller pays postage to the UK shipping centre only. I can cautiously recommend it, although I quaked a bit when I sent my first.

If you don't want to send abroad you could relist item- I would seriously consider opting in to the global shipping program before you relist it, so that if your buyer really wants it, you only have uk postage to pay. Ta da!