I listed a guitar on ebay with conditions of shipping to the lower 48 states only. Received a question asking will I accept a bid from France if the shipping address is in the states. Any possible pittfalls that I could fall into here if this person wins the bid? I can't see any myself as long as they pay with Paypal.

What is his feedback rating?

When that happens to me, I tell them that I will ship internationally based on what the cost that Ebay shipping calcualtor comes up with.

That way, I don't have to go to the post office or UPS store to get a quote before I get paid.

The calculator tends to run a little high, so I have always been covered.

Has a rating of 10, all positive.

If the shipping address is confirmed through paypal you are shipping conusa and should not have a problem and should be covered by paypal.

Think I found my answer...I'm required to ship to the Paypal address?

You are not "required" to, but it is the safest way to do it. If you don't, then have a claim, like the guy says he never got it, you may have a lot more difficulty resolving it to your satisfaction.

If indeed he would be the high bidder I really don't see a problem as long as it's paid through Paypal and the money is safely in your account before you ship. He probably has a friend or family in the states that will ship it to him as a "gift". I guess I would question why his friend in the states didn't just bid on it for him.

If it was a few hundred I wouldn't sweat it. Within an hour of posting this item I've been inudated with questions and offers to buy it outright right now. I expect it to go a quite a bit.

One more thing. If you DO end up selling it to the bidder in France, and he asks you to ship it to a USA address, make sure his and your communications on that are done via the Ebay notes on the item listed, that way there will be a record of your communications in Ebay and your agreement. If he gives you a USA address, and you have a tracking to prove it was delivered to that address, there should be little risk to you.

It sounds like you have a guitar that is a hot item. In that case I would tell the guy in France to look elsewhere. Even though he may be on the up and up, it still isn't worth the risk for a $10 (or whatever) increase over the next highest bidder in the US. If he really wants it he can do like I said earlier, have his friend here bid on it for him assuming he has a confirmed Paypal address.

What I was thinking..thanks

Nope. I bought a pair of golf shoes this week, paid with Paypal and had them shipped to where I am going in Myrtle Beach on Friday. They were delivered by UPS today. I am in northern Canada and have done this several times.