No Overseas Shipping

Discussion in 'Third Party Sales & Auctions' started by carrolls, Feb 12, 2011.

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  1. mscoll

    mscoll Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK, South East
    Ohhh Man! I have this problem all the time. Anytime when I was asking about shipping to the UK I got same answer. Now even if I found something interesting I always passing away. I give up!
     
  2. ATSMUSIC

    ATSMUSIC Senior Member

    Location:
    MD, USA
    If anyone wants to pay the $25 it costs to track I will ship to you almost anywhere. Of course on the forum I offer to ship internationally (without tracking) but funny enough I hardly ever get buyers from outside the USA, and I have sold a lot on here. It is a lot more hassle but in the spirit of this forum and because I know a lot of people on here personally I will ship and take all the risk myself (no tracking or insurance).

    But like I said I get a lot of complaints on the forum about not shipping internationally but then when I offer to no one takes me up on it. Go figure. :)

    and I will state again, if anyone here wants to bid on my auctions just pm me first. I said this before and not one pm but like 10 complaints before hand. :laugh:
     
  3. mesfen

    mesfen Senior Member

    Location:
    lawrence, ks usa
    With the online USPS service, international mailing is a snap. I usually ship internationally but usually with a shipping method that gives me a tracking service and insurance (with the USPS that doesn't allow many options cheaper options). It only takes one costly "mistake" before I either choose not to do international or go the more expensive route. Years ago (not that long ago) insurance could be purchased with 1st class international, but not anymore; its priority (excluding flat rate) or above. So I lose a lot of sales because many buyers won't pay that amount. I can express some reasons why many don't ship internationally. Paypal weighs in their obligations for their seller protection which drives up the shipping cost (mandatory signature for anything over $250; this is available only through express or better for international shipments). Also, EBAY seller protection is a farce; its heavily favors the buyer.
     
  4. ATSMUSIC

    ATSMUSIC Senior Member

    Location:
    MD, USA
    Another thing with overseas on Ebay is you can bet they are going to "one star" you for shipping cost even though you charge the exact shipping.
     
  5. Who's the one here being selfish? I used to do a bit of selling and was lucky enough that my former employer would allow me to ship using their system (and I would pay them whatever actual shipping costs were). But that only worked for US shipments. For overseas, it would require a frustrating drive through traffic, waiting for a parking spot to open - and if none did, paying the parking meter - and then standing in a long line at the Post Office along with filling out Custom forms. Then the drive home (and associated gasoline costs). Often times, this took 45 minutes to an hour.

    I'm sorry, but my time is worth a lot more to me than two or three dollars profit on a CD so that I'd have the priveledge of shipping overseas. Factor in the occasional lost package and I was actually losing money.

    Would you go to such lengths on a regular basis for overseas purchasers?
     
  6. eelkiller

    eelkiller One of the great unwashed

    Location:
    Northern Ontario
    I would for forum members, I have been helped on numerous occasions by friends in Europe buying items for me that won't ship to Canada. So I reciprocate. It is a two way street for me.

    FWIW the customs form takes 3 minutes of ones time max and I fill those out in advance.

    I have been guilty myself offering Canadian only shipping in the Pay it Forward threads on occasion. No way am I paying additional shipping for free items. :)
     
  7. noname74

    noname74 Allegedly Canadian

    Location:
    .
    Yes...anytime we in Canada ship to the USA we need to do all of those things (customs forms etc)...9 out of every 10 discs I sell are to the US or overseas so I can honestly answer yes...I'll do this on a regular basis for anyone on this forum. I will admit for ebay I charge more for shipping to account for all of these things but for my fellow SH.tv'ers I'll do it for free and just charge the actual postage. Call me crazy, I guess.
     
  8. I guess it's just a different perspective. I've seen people selling things where they don't accept Paypal. At this point, I will not make purchases unless I can pay by Paypal. Do I complain that the seller isn't operating in the spirit of the Forum, is being selfish or start a thread bemoaning it? No, I let it go and spend my money elsewhere. It's that seller's decision to operate the way that makes sense to them.
     
  9. rene smalldridge

    rene smalldridge Senior Member

    Location:
    manhattan,kansas
    And for me it is the complete opposite.
    I do not use Paypal and so I will not make purchases where the seller ONLY accepts Paypal which is happening with increasing frequency.
    I , also , don't whine and moan about it, I simply pass and spend my money elsewhere.
     
  10. misterclean

    misterclean Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cleveland, Ohio
    Of course you will, otherwise you would have a very few sales if you limited your customer base to Canadians residents only.
     
  11. ATSMUSIC

    ATSMUSIC Senior Member

    Location:
    MD, USA
    He is also a very nice, generous person.
     
  12. misterclean

    misterclean Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cleveland, Ohio
    I don't doubt that he is.
     
  13. John Buchanan

    John Buchanan I'm just a headphone kind of fellow. Stax Sigma

    I would be reluctant to ship to some countries any more. Sent a copy of "The Secret" to Italy after a woman won it on an auction on Ebay. The postage to there was an unbelievable amount and it took......wait for it.....3 MONTHS to get there. The poor old carrier budgie wouldn't have even been worth roasting at the end of that journey. I suspect it only got there because I appealed to the universe to help........:hide:
     
  14. Question for those who do overseas transactions, either as buyer or seller. I'm thinking of selling some CDs/LPs on the Forum and would like to open it up to most countries. I'd also charge actual postage but have no way of knowing what that will be until I bring the items to the Post Office. What's the best way for this to work? Have the buyer pay for the item via Paypal, then wait to hear back from me as to the actual postage cost and then send another Paypal payment?

    As International buyers/sellers, what works best?
     
  15. ATSMUSIC

    ATSMUSIC Senior Member

    Location:
    MD, USA
    If they send two seperate payments then your paypal fees will be a tad higher. What I do a lot is have them send like $10 then refund the difference with the paypal refund mechanism which refunds fees as well. That is usaully how I do it although I have done it about every way you can think of lol
     
  16. John Buchanan

    John Buchanan I'm just a headphone kind of fellow. Stax Sigma

    Weigh and measure an album/CD + packaging and look up postal charges on the net. You should be able to then give an accurate idea of the costs of postage. Beware of the Ebay limits on postage costs - I would suggest a lengthy disclosure of real postage costs in your listing.
     
  17. Claude

    Claude Senior Member

    Location:
    Luxembourg
    What's even worse than "no overseas shipping" is european sellers refusing to ship to Europe (outside their country).
     
  18. ATSMUSIC

    ATSMUSIC Senior Member

    Location:
    MD, USA
    This was how I do it on the forum. On Ebay I usually don't ship out of the country.
     
  19. Thanks ATS! John, I don't have a scale to do weight measurements of packages but I guess I should probably invest in one.
     
  20. Geoman076

    Geoman076 Sealed vinyl is Fun!!

    Location:
    Massachusetts
    I've sold over 4,000 lps in the classifieds, and the package has always arrived safely, and that's with most international packages 1st class, no insurance, no tracking.

    If you are not shipping overseas on the forum due to a bad Ebay selling experience, I don't think your fear is well founded. It's true that for 1st class international packages you have to actually go to the post office to pay for shipping. It can be a pain, and to each there own. IMHO, compared to the total work involved in selling stuff, it's not that much extra effort.

    I did the Ebay auction thing, the Ebay store thing, and even had my own website for a while, and I will NEVER EVER sell anywhere besides the classifieds section again. Maybe it's naive of me, but I view Ebay as selling to strangers, and the forum as selling to friends. Would you go to the post office for a friend? Sure you would! And you would expect your friend to go to the post office for you.

    It's not all about getting the absolute highest price for each and every thing you sell, so stop feeding the Ebay beast. If you always sell on the forum, your international shipping problems will cease to exist, and you may find that giving a bargain to a friend brings you just as much, and maybe even more happiness, than getting a higher price from a stranger.
     
  21. Jay F

    Jay F New Member

    Location:
    Pittsburgh, PA
    Oy. No wonder you don't want to sell things.

    Seriously, though get a scale. Wrap and weigh. Then go here: http://www.usps.com/tools/calculatepostage/welcome.htm?from=home&page=0061calculatepostage
     
  22. grouploner

    grouploner Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pittsburgh, PA
    You're a good kid, George. :D

    I think the problem here is...folks are talking about two different things. If I'm understanding correctly, the original poster was bent out of shape about folks advertising their eBay auctions using Forum posts, then limiting the transactions to US only.

    I don't think he mentioned using the Forum Classifieds for selling items. But I think many took the post to mean that. (I may be wrong...if so, feel free to correct me.)

    It is different in certain ways selling on the Forum, but one still has to do what feels right for them. If someone doesn't want to sell outside of their own territory (whether in the US or elsewhere), that is their right. You may not like their decision, but that's the way it goes sometimes.
     
  23. KeithH

    KeithH Success With Honor...then and now

    Location:
    Beaver Stadium
    carrolls, insulting the sellers whose policies you disagree with is unlikely to get the result you desire.
     
  24. KeithH

    KeithH Success With Honor...then and now

    Location:
    Beaver Stadium
    I have seen parents struggle with kids many times at the post office. It's no picnic for anyone there. Everyone is frustrated having to wait in a long line, and the parent has the added frustration of dealing with one or more young children who can't stand still or keep quiet.

    If there is a "spirit of the forum", it is not to make any and every sacrifice without question because people want to buy music.
     
  25. carrolls

    carrolls Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dublin
    Jees calm down,
    Thats not an insult, its a slight comical retort. Grow a sense of humour.:righton:
     
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