Well why didn't you just ward off those questions by calculating the shipping for every single country Global delivers to for every single thing you're selling?

No, you shouldn't have to hold his hand ;)

Sure, it would be good to say so up front. It's just as easy for them to figure out as it is for you to do it if you've provided the weight, etc., right? Also, in this particular case, do you think maybe he doesn't understand English well enough to get what you're telling him?

If he doesn't, that's a bit of research I don't have to do.

Exactly.

My two cents: When you are selling things on e-bay, you are acting as a business and the bidders are your potential customers. This means answering silly questions, providing irrelevant details, hand holding etc. In the end, it benefits you as the seller. If you make your responses public, potential bidders will see you are friendly and diplomatic and will be more likely to bid.

ico: I didn't provide a weight, but I'd think that anyone who is buying a particular piece of merchandise (especially if it's anime-related) can guesstimate on their own what an item would weigh based on what similar items weigh that they have from their own collections. Or if you don't have that kind of item, it's also not hard to, say, go to Amazon.com.$NAMEOFRELATEDCOUNTRY and see what they charge for shipping and figure it out like that.

At least that's what someone who has a brain would do, right?

And no, I don't think that he may not understand English well since his responses were well-written and possibly not Babelfish-translated.

Otis: I considered that aspect of it, too. However, I also don't want to be a pushover. What I may end up doing is actually figuring out how much it'll cost to ship to Singapore, start downloading Customs forms and based on how much hassle it was, charge a "flat" fee to ship to any country US Global Priority services. But that'll be for future purchases.

That's just the way it is when selling things on eBay. I've had auctions where I was only selling things in the US, and I had one of those little dealies where people type in their ZIP code to get the postage, and I still would get e-mail asking me how much shipping was. EBayers are... special.

At least that's what someone who has a brain would do, right?

That's what I would do! Actually, that's what I have done, lots of times, when I wanted to buy something from ebay and the seller was in another country. I looked it up myself out of curiosity and to see if the cost was so exhorbitant that it would keep me from bidding. Otis's comments make sense too, from a seller's viewpoint. I've never been a seller, only a buyer. I've wanted to sell things a few times, but I see so much complaining and horror stories from sellers in the forums there, I'm afraid it just won't be worth it.

Or if you don't have that kind of item, it's also not hard to, say, go to Amazon.com.$NAMEOFRELATEDCOUNTRY and see what they charge for shipping and figure it out like that.

That's a pretty sophisticated expectation and US oriented too. Canadians for example don't shop for merchandise on Amazon because they either don't ship it here or the brokerage kills us.

can guesstimate on their own what an item would weigh based on what similar items weigh that they have from their own collections.

If it is a gift then they may not know what it weighs. Mind you they should have asked for the mass in that case rather than the shipping cost.

Mitheral: They have Amazon.ca, right? And I've bought books from Amazon.co.uk, before so I know that buying and calculating shipping on items like that from other countries is possible. Pardon me for being U.S.-centric, but it's not too hard for me to imagine what I'd do if I were living in another country and wanted merchandise shipped to me.

If the seller doesn't specify shipping, I always ask before I bid. I don't know if they're going to use a 4 foot box to ship a 2 inch figurine or put in a pound of packing peanuts or simply slap on a $5 "handling" fee. I want to lock them in to a price, in writing, beforehand. That way there's no surprises.

Shipping scams are one of the main reasons I've pretty well stopped using eBay. Be as clear as possible, post the weight, size of box and everything else for the bidder to get as much information as they need.

I hate shipping internationally too, its an extra hassle for no extra money really.

They have Amazon.ca, right?

Yep, but they only sell books, movies and software.

I do like fenriq says. I state: My handling/packing fee; box dimensions; item mass; and the most expensive shipping within Canada (IE: to the East Coast) by either Canada Poste Expresspost for small items or Greyhound for large/massy items. I also offer to ship by UPS/FedEX/Purolator if they prefer.

I sold some stuff on ebay recently and really got screwed on international shipping (to the point where it cost me money to have a couple cheap magazine auctions won). I would really suggest knowing the PACKAGED weight of the item, padding it with a reasonable handling fee, and using the shipping calculator feature. Yes you can and should refer them to using it. Also, pick a service level (like you have- Global Priority ) and stick to it. I had a buyer buy a large collectible figurine, bothering me about Express shipping, so I added it as an option. THEN when they won and paid, they chose the airmail, and then were unhappy at how long it was going to take. So we went back and forth for a while (with special bonus language difficulties) and in the end, I ate most of the cost of express shipping because it had insurance and tracking and I didn't want to deal with them any longer.

I also no longer ship out of the US because of the hassle.

Him: "So how much is it for Singapore?"
You: $230.00

If he wants his hand holding, do it. But get paid for it.