Sold Wedding Dress; But buyer didn't respond to questions

[emilyjmccarthy1]

Hi All,

I recently sold my very much loved and pristine wedding dress on ebay. Supprisingly, despite lots of dresses listed at a similar price it sold really quickly. When I reviewed the buyer I noticed they were based in the US (I had meant to list only in Australia). I contacted the buyer with a nice congratulations message and just highlighted to them that the dress size is an Australia size which is different to US sizes (our sizes are much smaller). As postage was not included in the price - I also asked for there postcode to calculate shipping costs as it will be pretty expensive to send to the US.

The buyer replied with one sentence "Send me your paypal email". They can't pay me yet as I haven't added shipping to the cost of the purchase. I really feel uncomfortable shipping it unless they understand it might be a different size they they expect because it's an Australian Size as I am worried they will want to return it or give me a bad review.

Interested in thoughts?

Cheers,
Emily

[kopenhagen5 · Accepted solution]

It's possible it's a scammer just wanting personal details for hack attempts or are using hijacked accounts.

They often select newish sellers with higher priced tems and only want PayPal or bank details.

The fact that they just hit BIN when you have make an offer in the listing makes me think it's a scammer.

Wait to get clarification on size and if no responses after 4-5 days then open an unpaid item case.

Feedback cannot be left if an unpaid item case is closed and you get the fee back.

Or I would send an invoice with something like 60-80 for pack and postage, well covered for costs and see if they pay.

Then if they do, try to get clarification on size afterwards. You can always just hit the refund button.

Then again, best to go the unpaid case hoping they don't respond to sizing and probably best not to sell O.S. at all on this item.

Too many headaches if they want it returned. A wedding dress needs to be very precise.

[collect247]

Apart from you being worried about a return or a bad feedback you will also have the money put on hold for 21 days as you're a new seller if the buyer does pay.

[daydreams_12]

Just to let you know that if/when this is over and you need to relist the amount you have stated for Local Postage will in no way cover the actual cost.  I think you would need to do a bit more homework on that one.  IMHO.  Very pretty by the way.

[digital*ghost]

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@kopenhagen5 wrote:

The fact that they just hit BIN when you have make an offer in the listing makes me think it's a scammer.

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I think so too - I doubt a bride is going to be so relaxed about potential sizing issues when there are no measurements in the listing, and the dress itself looks like it's very fitted (I get it can be altered, but most who'd be interested would probably want some basic stats to go on).

They also don't need your PayPal email when they can pay via eBay after an invoice has been issued (which I personally wouldn't send at this point). Asking for the PP address is another red flag.

I suspect the dress will be relisted in the end, so to avoid overseas buyers from purchasing in the future, make sure you go to My eBay > Account > Site Preferences > Buyer Requirements and activate the block on buyers with a primary postage address in a location you don't post to.  

[emilyjmccarthy1 · Accepted solution]

Thanks everyone! I am pretty new to this and was having trouble listing it... it's really good advice. I think I am going to wait it out and see what happens. Any real bride who has spent that much money will want to know lots about the dress so I am sure would be asking me lots of questions. They I can just resolve as unpaid and relist.

When i relist I will make sure I only sell it in Australia! Too much risk overseas with shipping and different sizes / expecations!

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@digital*ghost wrote:

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@kopenhagen5 wrote:

The fact that they just hit BIN when you have make an offer in the listing makes me think it's a scammer.

---

I think so too - I doubt a bride is going to be so relaxed about potential sizing issues when there are no measurements in the listing, and the dress itself looks like it's very fitted (I get it can be altered, but most who'd be interested would probably want some basic stats to go on).

They also don't need your PayPal email when they can pay via eBay after an invoice has been issued (which I personally wouldn't send at this point). Asking for the PP address is another red flag.

I suspect the dress will be relisted in the end, so to avoid overseas buyers from purchasing in the future, make sure you go to My eBay > Account > Site Preferences > Buyer Requirements and activate the block on buyers with a primary postage address in a location you don't post to.  

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[shoppingbag*]

You have less than ten sales, so you cannot sell internationally anyway, so you can cancel the sale and ask eBay to refund your fees.  When you relist the dress, make sure you select "excluded countries" and tick them all. If you just select "selling to Australia" they can still buy from you.  This happened to me when I first started selling.  I only started selling in July 2017, so I presume the rules about this would still be the same.  Check your Seller Dashboard to get details about your restrictions as a new Seller.

[shoppingbag*]

I just checked, rules for selling Internationally have not changed. I will insert it here.

[emilyjmccarthy1]

Thanks everyone! Actually I was contacted by eBay last night as apparently the buyer account had been used without their authority so they canceled the sale. I am going to be a lot more careful and follow all your advice when I relist so thanks for your help.