> Actually there are two questions, the second is while I have bought on > ebay and have never sold, I've noticed some sellers don't ship to > certain places -why is that? I live in Canada, should I only ship to > Canada and U.S?
It depends on your comfort level. There are some places (like Nigeria) that are notorious for scams, and should be avoided, while others (Indonesia, the Middle East, etc.) aren't as notorious, but are still risky. One of the biggest problems with shipping internationally is getting paid in a secure manner. Canada and the US have very strict laws regarding mail fraud, but it can be difficult and expensive to pursue scammers in other countries. If the buyer pays with a money order, it could be a month or two before your bank discovers that it's a forgery, leaving you on the hook for it. If they pay with PayPal, you're really screwed. Many international buyers love PayPal because it's fast and easy, but PayPal refuses to offer any seller protection for items shipped internationally. In other words, if your buyer requests a chargeback on his credit card for his PayPal payment, you're SOL. PayPal will withdraw that money from your bank account or credit card without your permission, and then charge you a $10.00 US fee for the chargeback. If the buyer has a good feedback rating you'll probably be ok. I ship internationally to most countries and have never had a problem, but I've only done that around 10 times. chris
