Your thoughts on international shipping?

[DeludedDude]

I've been hanging around on here for a while now, and have made a few enquiries and bought a few things from the spam thread(s), and being in New Zealand, I've noticed some people are totally cool with shipping internationally while others prefer not to.

 

I've got no problem with people not wanting to ship internationally; as far as I'm concerned, it's up to you what you're willing to do with your stuff, but I'm interested as to the reasons why folks are keen or not keen, having never sold any gear myself.

 

Wherever you're from, are you comfortable shipping abroad, and why/why not?

[ambient]

Born and raised in CHCH, now live in Sydney. So I have to be OK with international shipping - not that I do heaps of trading.

[melx]

I don't ship to the USA anymore, I used to all the time with no problems but I got sick of asking people in the US if they would ship to the UK and them saying 'No, upper 48 states only' or reading 'I only ship to the continental US' in the spam thread.. or some other {censored}... so I thought, {censored} it why should I bother? If your happy to buy things internationally then you should be willing to send things internationally imo.

 

 

I'll ship anywhere else though.... are you still after an ebow?

[Foamoi_refreshe]

i have bought and sold internationally too, and i dont see what the big deal is about some folks not wanting to do it.

but i can see that customs charges are something to think of if importing into the uk from the USA, and i guess items going 'missing' etc, the usual kinda ebay scams, i think some people are scared and dont want to get screwed over.

so always send something with the correct insurance, and have a tracking number :poke:

seems like a no brainer to me

[ambient]

If I was really worried about getting something from the US or UK i'd get it sent to someone else I know/trust in those countries first.

[Paint]

I got sick of asking people in the US if they would ship to the UK and them saying 'No, upper 48 states only' or reading 'I only ship to the continental US'

 

 

This x100. I have given up on trying to get stuff from the spam thread.

 

wish there were more oceanic bros on this forum. it doesn't help being so far away from everyone....

[Army of Darkness]

International shipping is as easy as domestic post, to me. There's only a few extra customs forms to fill out, for shipping outside EU. Takes a minute to fill them out.

I find that people in North America are the most reluctant to ship internationally, especially the US. Most sellers, in countries outside of North America, are pretty OK with it.

I think it's personally insane for Americans to not post internationally, given that the US Dollar is so down against most other currencies now. They would get much better sale prices from people buying abroad.

[KoskineN]

but I got sick of asking people in the US if they would ship to the UK and them saying 'No, upper 48 states only'

Same this here! It pisses me off that a lot of people(especially on Ebay) won't ship to Canada from the States. Come on! We're neighbourgs!

[kpd78]

I got sick of asking people in the US if they would ship to the UK and them saying 'No, upper 48 states only' or reading 'I only ship to the continental US'

 

 

That annoys me too.

 

It also annoys me (on ebay) where a US-based seller offers free domestic shipping, but then quotes $30-40 for international shipping - if they're prepared to ship free in the US, then why not provide some kind of discounted international shipping? (i.e. discounted by however much domestic shipping would be.) I've bought enough things from the US to know that even with tracking and insurance, it doesn't usually cost anywhere near $30 to ship a pedal from the USA to the UK.

 

 

I don't have a problem shipping items internationally; of the last 5 things I've sold on eBay, only one item stayed in the UK - two went to Australia and two to Brazil.

[ArrMatey]

I have shipped to America and to Finland full sized amps, I don't understand what's so hard bout shipping a pedal for an american?

 

So I don't mind shipping anywhere as long as they understand that:

a) whatever shipping price I put is to be paid. If it's big, it will be a heck more expensive (sent a laney klipp to Cali!)

b) that if it gets lost because you use cheap shipping, I will try to accomodate but thank god I haven't lost anything I sent in international transit.

 

I've never had to refund anyone but I did get scammed once via ebay (using a 3rd party bank account) so unless it's people I know round here and get all the info, I get wary.

[melx]

This x100. I have given up on trying to get stuff from the spam thread. wish there were more oceanic bros on this forum. it doesn't help being so far away from everyone....

 

 

for what it's worth I've sent 4 or 5 things over to Austrailia just using standard Royal Mail Airmail and it's all got there quickly with no problems, it wasn't expensive either.

 

...and thanks for the x100, I thought I might get a bit of a grilling for saying that, but it is frustrating when you are prepared to send stuff anywhere yourself.

[DeludedDude]

I'll ship anywhere else though.... are you still after an ebow?

 

 

Yeah, if I come across one for a decent price I would jump on it, but I'm not desperate so I'm happy to take my time. I'm about to leave uni too and haven't got a job to go into yet, so funds might become scarce for a while soon!

 

It's cool to read everyone's opinions. I agree with what most people are saying, I don't see much difference between domestic or international, except maybe a few extra forms. I think tracking is a really good idea, if not essential, when shipping abroad.

Customs can be an issue, but only for the buyer as far as I'm aware? I got hit by a big customs charge on the guitar I bought from Germany recently, but it was still a good price I think, so I'm happy. On most used effects I don't see that as being an issue anyway.

[jacobhf]

I have no problem shipping out of the US.

[triviani]

I would say thanks to the people on my sig.. without them willing to do international shipping I would have never been able to try the pedals I have had.

 

Sometimes is the first time for sellers to ship "overseas" and they don't feel comfortable with the extra hassle, even when I'm offering to pay for the extra cost. These sellers are mostly USA dwellers, but I can understand that with a huge second hand market for pedals as they have some of them would not bother to sell elsewhere.

 

As a seller, I see it as simple as local shipping. I do ship using EMS, for safety and fast delivery, most of the packages reach the destination within 3-4 days.

[nightraven]

this thread came up on TGP a while ago and people were actually saying that it was too much hassle queueing up at the post office to ship outside USA

[NetStar]

this thread came up on TGP a while ago and people were actually saying that it was too much hassle queueing up at the post office to ship outside USA

[melx]

Yeah, if I come across one for a decent price I would jump on it, but I'm not desperate so I'm happy to take my time. I'm about to leave uni too and haven't got a job to go into yet, so funds might become scarce for a while soon!

 

 

Well, I'll keep an eye out over here anyway, but they don't come up that often used and when they do they aren't usually that cheap to be honest, but you never know.

[BmoreTele]

I've bought, sold, and traded with folks in the US, Canada, UK, Oz, Belgium, Uruguay, Korea, Japan, and maybe a few others.

 

Never had a problem, until recently.

 

The buyer, in Australia, didn't want to pay for tracking or insurance and then filed a claim with PayPal, saying he never received the pedal. I'm now out $300.

 

Live and learn.

[HeartfeltDawn]

I find that people in North America are the most reluctant to ship internationally, especially the US. Most sellers, in countries outside of North America, are pretty OK with it.

It's odd how there is this reluctance to post overseas when North America seems quite happy importing so many goods.

If I'm selling on Ebay, it's no problem getting an international quote. For anyone outside of the Euro zone, I tell them I'm quite happy doing deals away from Ebay, especially you poor Aussies. You lot get gouged for postage rates and get gouged on gear prices within Oz. I figure I may as well give you a helping hand

[HeartfeltDawn]

I've bought, sold, and traded with folks in the US, Canada, UK, Oz, Belgium, Uruguay, Korea, Japan, and maybe a few others. Never had a problem, until recently. The buyer, in Australia, didn't want to pay for tracking or insurance and then filed a claim with PayPal, saying he never received the pedal. I'm now out $300. Live and learn.

 

 

If someone doesn't want tracking and insurance, then I won't sell to them unless we've done business before. Rule 1 with selling online: always cover your ass in every way as a seller.

[melx]

I've bought, sold, and traded with folks in the US, Canada, UK, Oz, Belgium, Uruguay, Korea, Japan, and maybe a few others. Never had a problem, until recently. The buyer, in Australia, didn't want to pay for tracking or insurance and then filed a claim with PayPal, saying he never received the pedal. I'm now out $300. Live and learn.

 

 

ouch, but to be fair that could have happened if you had sent it from one side of the US to the other couldn't it?

 

...that's more of a case of a {censored}ty rip-off buyer than a problem with shipping to Aus.

[Ambient Exposure]

this thread came up on TGP a while ago and people were actually saying that it was too much hassle queueing up at the post office to ship outside USA

[THAT4301]

Outside the UK = tracked and insured, non-negotiable.

other than that, I'm perfectly fine with it

[renula]

Lately i'm seeing a lot of people on ebay unwilling to Ship to Puerto Rico. WE use the USPS, I have a zip code, I use dollars, hell our boys go to the US military...

 

Oh well.

[dramaticrunner]

i generally won't ship outside of the US because things disappear into customs for weeks. then the buyer files a claim, paypal sides with them, and you are left with no product, and no money.

 

grrr, someone from overseas just won an ebay auction yesterday that was listed as shipping to the US only... now i have to try to cancel this transaction and get my final value fee credited back.