Does this dude really think I'm that stupid?

Either that, or he's that arrogant. You've really been encountering some difficult buyers, Sleeperblues.

I've never sold much clothing, but I'll soon start selling vintage laboratory glassware, and I don't know what those buyers will be like. Actually, I hope there are buyers! And I hope I can do an effective job of packing glass. Books and other non-fragile items have spoiled me.

I had a string of no payers, but lately things have been really good--until this. I just got off the line with ebay and I will refund his money and cancel the transaction. Then I get my final value fee back and hope he doesn't leave me negative feedback! I couldn't get a clear answer whether ebay will remove it if he does.

Good luck selling your glass, Alisande. Clothing doesn't break, lol.

Make sure it's worded that buyer pays ALL shipping & customs. (You offered free shipping, overseas??) Ebay ticked me off when they tacked a fee onto local shipping, yet they never touched the product. Greed.

Perhaps you missed my explanation of the global shipping program above, Oldfixer. The "free shipping" is to a distribution center in Kentucky, where they will charge appropriate shipping and customs charges to the buyer. It would have cost me 3.00 to ship to Kentucky, not Sweden.

Sleeperblues, I'm sorry that happened to you.
I've put up stuff for sale on Ebay here and there (decluttering, I give most items away but put some up for sale).
I've had people contact me and try to make deals and cut out Ebay (I always say no) and had someone recently ask to cancel a purchase after I had shipped (I said no, did not want them to have both refund and item at the same time).
In my opinion most people are basically honest. But in my opinion, Ebay has become a gathering spot for some of the few that are not.

That's good that eBay cancelled the sale for you. I hope the buyer doesn't leave negative feedback for you, too.

Not related to your original topic, but as a buyer, I hate this new request a return system because there's no place to post pictures in the initial request. That's so inefficient.

Good luck to you, Alisande, shipping glassware. The breakage I've experienced lately as a buyer has been horrible. Of course, some of it is because some sellers have no clue how to pack. The best packing material I've seen is the GreenWrap paper used by Crate and Barrel. That stuff is terrific and environmentally friendly.

Since ebay is most often private party transactions, don't expect any more sophistication regarding international (or even interstate) commerce than you'd find at an in-person (rather than online) garage sale. That's why ebay offers the various services it does.

If you were to ask a person "You have your choice between A, which follows required formalities and results in added costs to you for shipping and duty, or B, I'll send it to you for free", everyone will always choose B. That's how the buyer saw it, nothing more.

What about those styrofoam peanuts?

I haven't had experience, but have heard folks say that they work well.

o j

Second thought: if you have some items that could partly fit together, the styrofoam'd likely conform better than some other packing systems.

o j

Your post said shipping was $9, now you say $3. Of course the buyer pay international fees & customs the rest of the way, which he didn't want to pay. He would have paid $50 to receive $43 worth of goods? USA is bad enough, I never offer international sales.

The shipping for the first item was free. That was the item that would have cost me about 3.00 domestic shipping with first class mail, so I offered free shipping to sell the item faster. The SECOND ITEM this individual bought was a dress with many layers that needed to be carefully packed, which was why I charged 9.00 for shipping. I hope you understand that now. I never try to make money on shipping.

I find that when I sell something internationally, the buyer ends up paying about double what I am charging due to shipping and custom fees. They are well aware of what their costs will be, and obviously think the merchandise is worth it.