Selling my camera on ebay from US, a bidder wants to know if I will ship it to Russia?

Question

I'm a little slow on these matters, please advise. Roughly how much would my camera cost to ship to Russia if it weighs about 8 lbs and is worth at least $500? What service should I use? Mostly, should I tell him I will ship him the camera or not? Many thanks...

Answer 1

No. Stay within the U.S.  That is if you are in the U.S.  Charge $75 to ship outside U.S.  Just to protect yourself.

Answer 2

It will cost a lot to ship, go to post office and ask them weight wise for a package to russia, they can ballpark it for you. Make sure you get the money cleared before you ship it out, especially when buyers are from overseas

Answer 3

It would cost a sh*tload to ship to anywhere out of the country.

Answer 4

I certainly wouldn't ship the camera to Russia.  This is very likely to be a scam.  You ship the camera, they don't send any money.  If they do send some money it could be in the form of a check that turns out to be counterfeit.  Despite what your bank might tell you about waiting 10 days to see if a check clears, it can take 3 months and longer to find out it's counterfeit.  If they pay you by PayPal they can challenge the payment, claim they didn't get the camera, and get their money back.  I've heard of buyers doing that in the States.  Just how much chance do you think you'll have to get any money back from somebody in Russia?  

  

  

Answer 5

At ebay as in life, skepticism is your friend…………………

You can assume it’s a scam but you can’t assume all Russians are scam artists. That wouldn’t be fare just as it would not be fair of Russians to assume all Americans are scam artists.  I have received similar emails asking if I would ship to Germany, Taiwan, etc. and I have not had any problems.  Yes, more expensive items are the targets of scam artists, but scam artists do not ‘buy’ (read target) any and every more expensive item on ebay.

I will take a guess though and be willing to bet you don't offer PayPal as a payment option but only checks and money orders. This is a big mistake. Such listings with MORE EXPENSIVE merchandise and no PayPal are the prime targets of scam artists.  Scam artists only want to pay with 'worthless paper.'  If you don't offer PayPal as a payment option in your listing, you can stop here. IT'S A SCAM.  If you do offer PayPay in your listing, then read on.....

The way to protect yourself in these instances:

Ensure the email was sent through ebay. Just check your listings at “My Ebay’ for ‘unanswered questions’ for any of your listings to see the same email there.

If he/she is wanting to buy your merchandise through the ‘back door,’ and not through eBay - you’re done – it’s a scam.

Check the requestor’s feedback rating. If their feedback is good (99%+) with at least 50 feedback postings, the buyer is probably on the up and up. If no feedback, you’re done.

      

If good feedback, tell the person the only form of payment you will accept is PayPal. .  No checks, no certified checks, no nothing else. BE FIRM. If the person is insistent on not paying with PayPal, then no, you don’t want to do business with this person

Yes, shipping is expensive, but that’s not the issue. You won’t be paying for it. Eight pounds Priority Mail International Flat-Rate Box  6 - 10 Days $38.95    Priority Mail International Large Flat-Rate Box   6 - 10 Days $49.95.

If the prospective bidder can comply with your requirements and shipping charges, then tell him yes, he can bid.  If worse comes to worse and he wins and you don’t receive the PayPal payment, you can always offer a “second Chance offer” to any of the other bidders who didn’t win. If there were none, notify ebay that the buyer didn’t pay so you can receive a credit on your final value fees. Then relist the camera again.

Answer 6

do not fall for this. unless you can afford to lose the camera

Answer 7

Dont do it.

Its a Nigerian Scam, but instead of Nigeria they are using Russia.

He or she will send you a fake check or stolen paypal money... for you to ship it out to Russia.

Keep your sales in the US and Canada.  

Answer 8

no