conus ONLY sales! WHY? fess up

beyblade · #1 03-10-2005, 10:20 AM

I'm trying to understand why it is that SOME US sellers both here and on **** won't sell to someone in another English speaking country. Sure I can understand there are plenty of non english speaking countries reknown for fraud but please consider this -

1. I pay in CASH using PayPal (not credit card) including shipping & handling and even the fees if the seller feels so aggrieved about paying them, so what's the risk with this?

2. Whether I ship a guitar to a location in my own city or to the other side of the world, I still have to go to the postal shop and fill out a form and the content I need to fill out is basically the same, i.e. senders details, receivers details & item declaration. So is the effort the same? Maybe it works differently in the US? I don't know.

3. Whether I ship a guitar to a location in my own city or to the other side of the world, the amount of packaging is the same. If in packaging, it requires a little more bubble wrap etc, the seller pays anyway?

4. I insist on tracking and insurance. If a guitars strays on it's route whether it's to Duluth TX or Sydney, Australia....what's the difference in grief to you?

5. Sure there are customs fees and duties but THEY ARE THE BUYERS PROBLEM?

So tell me, what's the problem with shipping instruments that came to the US from a foreign country in the first instance?

Why would anyone feel it necessary to limit your market and accept the risks of either a less than optimal price or the possibility of a prolonged sale?

Rotti · #2 03-10-2005, 10:49 AM

I know that in some cases sellers have been charged for duties the buyer never paid. One shipper, I think it's fedex will deliver the item, then a week or two later send the person a bill for the duties and brokerage charges. If the buyer doesn't pay that bill I think it gets charged back to the account of the seller. And I understand they make the seller get an account before they can ship internationaly. So some sellers have been burned this way. Thats one possible reason.

beyblade · #3 03-10-2005, 11:04 AM

There is sense in that if it is the case. The system here is, if I don't pay the duty regardless of who the shipping company is, I don't get the guitar released. Pure and simple. Don't pay the duty = no guitar.

Devo · #4 03-10-2005, 12:39 PM

same system here in the UK no duty no guitar... I am also baffled by sellers who wont ship outside their country.

Rich · #5 03-10-2005, 12:47 PM

I can't blame anybody that doesn't want to ship out of the country. You may have to fill a form out overseas no matter what, but here the only need to fill out 1, 2, or even 3 [depending on the value] forms is if you ARE shipping out of the country. Add to that payment problems. Anybody taking credit cards through Paypal is just waiting to get screwed [www.paypalsucks.com], anybody taking overseas cards direct is also just waiting to get f'd, which leaves Western Union [which no buyer wants to use since that's how most con men want payment] or bank to bank wire transfer [which is just more work for the seller cause now he has to get all that info from his bank, and then continually check his account to find out when the transfer shows up].

Americans are lazy, and only dealing with other Americans is the easiest way to deal, period.

**jim777** · #6 03-12-2005, 11:04 PM

It's not that we're lazy Rich, it's that we're so f'ing busy

JESTER700 · #7 03-13-2005, 09:30 AM

I've shipped to Oz, and it's not so bad for a one off. I have to go to the post office instead of printing out a shipping label from my PC and having my mailman pick it up. I have an extra form or 2 to fill out. And I only accept money orders. Paypal from a bank account might be OK; I haven't looked into the risks.

But if I were a business and shipping a lot, I don't think I'd make it a policy, except maybe for special pals or something... ;-)

track7 · #8 03-13-2005, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich

Americans are lazy, and only dealing with other Americans is the easiest way to deal, period.

and another sure fire way of shutting yourselves off to the rest of the world further re-enforcing a lot peoples/countries oppinions...but i spose when you got the muscle your in charge of the hustle

You're not all lazy by the way!

I get so pissed the amount of times i see a deal then read the seller wont ship. I'm lucky i spose cause i can get it shipped to my g/f who is in the us then she ships to me, but its just extra postage.

Rich · #9 03-13-2005, 01:17 PM

Dude, do you have any idea how much I'd buy out of Germany IF the seller would ship to the US, but won't!! Same thing with Japan, maybe 1 in 1000 auctions the seller will ship international, and every other country. I was being sarcastic above, it has nothing to do with just Americans, it's EVERYBODY.

rgr · #10 03-13-2005, 02:44 PM

I worked at a music store last year, while I was laid off from my engineering job. We only dealt with used gear and sold most of our stuff on ****. Shipping overseas for us was a pain. We only had a UPS account, so shipping outside of the US was quite expensive and buyers didn't want to pay for UPS shipping. We made special trips to the Post Office for a while, but that was a hassle because we shipped so much. We also had problems because different countries have different size restrictions on packages. And, I hate to say, Australia was the worst. Their postal service has a size limit of 36" (914mm) on packages, so the only way to ship was through Global EMS or some other service, now shipping is up to $250US or more and the seller is complaining about shipping being too expensive. We actually tried to ship a baritone clarinet (or something like that) to Australia and it made it to the continent then got returned to us because is was 1/4" or so over the limit. The seller was po'd becuase they were waiting for a long time and we didn't know where the package was (you can't track through USPS after it leaves the country). So, we eventually quit shipping outside of the US, it was just way too much hassle.

I usually will ship items that I am selling privately out of the US if the seller contacts me ahead of time and we work out the worst case shipping charges before the sale. If the shipping charges are less, I refund the buyer but I have to have payment up front. I also have to say, I've never had a problem with Paypal and yes, I refuse offers from Indonesia and other suspicious areas.

$0.02,
Roger

beyblade · #11 03-13-2005, 10:24 PM

There seems to be lack of understanding, unfounded rumors, misinformation and general horse whispers floating around about the pitfalls of international shipping. He's one of them -

Quote:

Originally Posted by rgr

We also had problems because different countries have different size restrictions on packages. And, I hate to say, Australia was the worst. Their postal service has a size limit of 36" (914mm) on packages, so the only way to ship was through Global EMS or some other service, now shipping is up to $250US or more and the seller is complaining about shipping being too expensive.

I got news for you. We do receive items into the country that are larger than 36". The restriction is in YOUR shipping service. Global EMS won't accept anything longer than 36" and USPS Airmail Parcel Post at 42". At 42" most cased guitars qualify provided the seller pays attention to the size of the outer carton.

As far as shipping services go, if a seller offers only UPS or worse value still, Fedex, it's a show stopper for me, I'm happy to walk away from the deal. USPS delivers quality service and value. I refuse to feather the nests of other shippers compared to USPS, their international rates border on extortion.

I've found the responses helpful in better understanding why some folks don't want to ship overseas. Every deal that I have done with a US seller willing to ship to me has been a delightful experience. I consider myself fortunate to have done business with so many wonderful people in the US and the last thing I would consider any of them is lazy.

In hindsight, I'm grateful that some sellers refuse to sell with me because once I quickly deal with the rejection, I realize that I just escaped from the possibility of a deal that's not meant to be and averted the risk of a nightmare horror experience by buying from an inexperienced seller.

rgr · #12 03-13-2005, 11:16 PM

No, it's not USPS, not trying to start an argument, but going through www.usps.com to get international rates, there are different restrictions for different countries. Most are 42" (if I remember right) and if packed tightly, alot of electric guitars can make it. I shipped many guitars to the UK but couldn't ship to Australia through them. I don't claim to know exactly where the problem was, but that's been my experience.

Roger