Originally posted by ElJamoquio The post office often doesn't have tracking information to the rest of the world. The USPS hands it over to Australian post and it 'disappears'. KEH sends it, you "never receive it" or "received a box of rocks". Paypal will take you at your word and refund your money. You have a $3800 lens for free.
USPS "First Class International" does not have tracking out of the US, but If you ship with "Priority" or "Express" then you should have full tracking with international shipments. I believe that when the Priority/Express package gets to the foreign country it is transferred to a private delivery company or courier service instead of the local postal system. Of course, those services are rather expensive, especially with large packages. If I'm selling something on eBay and I'm offering something internationally, then I just make sure the shipping charge is high enough. For example, I'm currently selling a Sigma 50-150mm f/2.8 on eBay. My shipping charge for US buyers is $9.99, but for International buyers it is $49.99.
I usually offer my items internationally, but if I think that something will be unreasonably expensive to ship Priority or Express, then I only offer it in the US. But I will sometimes still get international buyers asking if I'll sell them the item and ship using USPS First Class in order to save on shipping charges. I usually tell them that the only way I'll sell to them and ship First Class is if they intentionally pay in such a way that they do not qualify for eBay/PayPal's "Buyer Protection" program.
I tell them that if they're willing to waive their buyer protection and assume the risk of shipping First Class to their country, then they can pay me by a direct PayPal personal payment. In other words, they do not use any links associated with eBay, and instead just send me a general payment by logging directly into their PayPal account. That way, the payment is not linked to the eBay transaction and they don't qualify for the buyer protection. I've had a lot of people take me up on the offer.
As others here have pointed out, eBay/PayPal's buyer protection can be very frustrating for US sellers who ship internationally since it is very easy to abuse the system. Basically, if a US seller ships something First Class, then the buyer just has to claim they didn't get it and they almost automatically get a refund from the seller's PayPal account.
I had that happen to me a few years ago when I sold a Pentax K100d Super to someone in South Africa that seemed to be a reputable buyer. He requested that I use First Class to save shipping costs, and at the time I didn't know any better. He later claimed to not receive it. I had documentation proving that I shipped it, but since I used First Class I didn't have full tracking and delivery confirmation. So I lost the camera and PayPal refunded the $250 or so out of my PayPal account.