posted on September 7, 2000 03:12:33 PM
krs, I thought you knew that the extension .com stands for commercial and is used world wide. Most countries, except the US (with very limited exceptions), also use their country code. If the Americans would use the .US extension, all would be so much easier. Especially since Americans are now only a minority of Internet users.
posted on September 7, 2000 03:29:16 PM
I've recently started purchasing from a seller in Wales. His ISP is AOL. Is AOL available to everyone worldwide?
posted on September 7, 2000 03:36:49 PMabingdoncomputers, we'll have to agree to disagree on whether it was a favor or a deal. However, the seller agreed to accept a Canadian bid and decided on the shipping method, so it's his/her responsibility to be aware of the shipping costs including the brokerage fee.
Yes, we'll have to agree to disagree as well about the seller's responsibilities as far as choosing a carrier is concerned. I can and do respect that.
redeer:
I'm sorry that my refusal to accept your opinions concerning this thread has irritated you. That was not my intention. And it is not my intention to trash Canadian buyers (or sellers). I ship to Canada fairly often with no problems. But to expect this particular seller in this particular circumstance to take the blame for what happened is unfair to say the least.
Again, the buyer's beef is with UPS, not the seller. The only problem I see with the seller is his apparent refusal to answer the buyer's emails or pursue an insurance claim with UPS. Maybe the seller is irritated at the buyer for refusing the shipment which resulted in the item being damaged. Who knows? I hope the seller is invited to these threads so that we can hear the other side of the story (nothing negative against the buyer here). Then we can maybe find out why he is refusing to cooperate.
[ edited by abingdoncomputers on Sep 7, 2000 04:10 PM ]
posted on September 7, 2000 04:36:07 PM
And for those poor sap sellers who don't surf the auction message boards, and - not having any idea of which questions even to ask ("Uh, that's the TOTAL shipping? Will the recipient have to pay extra fees? Are you SURE? Really really really sure??"? Jeez, I'm on the net every day and I didn't even know AW existed for the first year I was selling.
Keep in mind that a good chunk of sellers are very small-timers, doing this as a hobby. They get a bid from across the border, they find out from the UPS site that the package can be picked up (and is cheaper to ship than by USPS), and then THEY get it between the eyes down the road and are excoriated for not doing extensive research on shipping methods and border policies.
Very well said. IMO these threads are counterproductive at this point and to continue to post here will serve no purpose until the seller shows up to:
a) Tell his side of the story
b) Explain why he refuses to answer the buyer's emails or pursue an insurance claim
There really is no fault to be placed here. The seller did as he is required as far as completing his end of the transaction. The buyer IMO erred in refusing the package. Things would have been much better now if the package had been accepted and the seller contacted about the possiblility of a partial refund to help cover the buyer's unexpected costs. The seller IMO would not be required to do so, but he just might have out of concern for keeping a customer happy.
The way the buyer handled the situation probably alienated the seller and now cooperation is not very certain at all. And the seller holds all of the trump cards, as he has the money, the damaged merchandise, and proof that the buyer refused delivery. I understand why the buyer refused the shipment. But it really was a short-sighted course of action.
Anyway, maybe the seller will show up if he is invited. This is one of those sad situations where no on wins.
posted on September 7, 2000 06:44:46 PM
I've sold (part-time) on eBay for over a year and I never knew that UPS has these various 'charges' for Canadian (international?) delivery.
I'm with HartCottageQuilts on this one - I very rarely ship internationally. Four times a bidder has emailed first and asked if it was ok. I said 'Fine'. Two of them eventually backed out after finding out how much postage would be (to Europe) - one heavy book cost $30 to ship surface to England (the bidder choked but came through) and one other very nice bidder from Denmark who paid in cash and was a joy to work with. But - in general - it's just not worth the hassle - at least for the small dollar items I sell.
posted on September 7, 2000 07:48:33 PM
Reddeer -
OK, I read http://www.ups.com/using/services/details/terms.html and did not spot anywhere where it says "WE WILL CHARGE CANADIANS A BROKERAGE FEE!" ... can you cite the part that says that for me? The closest I can find is "A fee may also apply for shipments to other countries." Note the word "may" ... and the lack of the word "Canada".
Nowhere on their calcluator site does it even MENTION a brokerage fee, and their clerks in the USA don't know about it.
posted on September 7, 2000 08:19:43 PM
Well, put me down as being stupid because I never would have figured out that the Canadian buyer would have to pay an extra charge from either of those two web sites (the second site deals with stuff coming *into* the US, not from US to Canada).
posted on September 7, 2000 08:24:04 PM
Yes, Ken, but that's the Canada to U.S. breakdown.
The interesting part is that not only does UPS charge a Brokerage Fee, but they also charge a Disbursement Fee, and some such other nonsense as well. When going to the U.S. from Canada I'm pretty sure they also charge State Tax, at least they did last time I asked.
All it takes is 1 call to their Toll Free 1-800 # to get the facts about shipping across the border.
posted on September 7, 2000 08:26:36 PM
I am thinking somewhat along the lines of HCQ when she said
<<Keep in mind that a good chunk of sellers are very small-timers, doing this as a hobby. They get a bid from across the border, they find out from the UPS site that the package can be picked up (and is cheaper to ship than by USPS), and then THEY get it between the eyes down the road and are excoriated for not doing extensive research on shipping methods and border policies.>>
The thing that I have learned from this experience is when I enter an agreement with an international buyer, that I pay the agreed upon shipping costs and any other fees or charges occured is their responsiblity.
I would not expect a Japanese shipper to have to know all the requirements of the United States.
Once again, people want to deal with a one-on-one seller-buyer relationship, but want high tech business service.
posted on September 7, 2000 08:26:54 PM
Oh, I know that, but in the links from that location can be found:
"Use the Quick Cost Calculator to determine shipping rates and service availability for UPS Standard To Canada. UPS Standard To
Canada rates do not include customs clearance. Brokerage charges,duties and taxes will be billed to the importer unless otherwiseindicated by the shipper."
For Standard To Canada shipments, UPS Customs and Brokerage services are available unless otherwise specified by the importer. The importer is responsible for all brokerage charges, duty and taxes at the time of import.
Contact the International Customer Service Center at 1-800-782-7892 for information regarding international shipments,including:
Customs clearance information about each country served Commodity Classifications
Export Documentation Prohibited Articles
Charges & Fees generally mean $$$$ where I come from.
posted on September 7, 2000 08:41:15 PM
Well, in that case I guess if you're selling online you can glean the info off their web site?
I've phoned UPS many times in the past, if the rep I spoke with didn't have the answers, I asked for a supervisor & got results every single time.
I didn't start this thread to attack sellers that don't want to sell Internationally.
To each their own.
I started it due to all the B.S. being posted in regards to Canadas Tax/Customs/Duty laws.
I hope I've at least cleared things up with regards to that subject.
The seller that sold to Equestrian more than likely had no idea about the extra charges that were going to be tacked on once the parcel arrived in Canada. I can understand that.
What I don't understand is their unwillingness to pursue the insurance claim through the shipping service that they chose & paid for? If UPS were the only ones to handle this parcel since it was shipped, then obviously UPS ahould be held accountable for the damage.
Seems pretty simple to me, yet so far the seller sounds like they aren't going to pursue this matter any further.
posted on September 7, 2000 08:46:49 PM
I don't know. We do not know the seller's side of the story.
I ship a lot of guitars UPS to Canada and I had UPS send a claim form to me because one arrived with the case dented.
Why can I claim mine, but not in this one? Does it have to do with the buyer signing for it and making the claim?
(He kept it).
But realistically, I still feel an international buyer is asking a lot of a seller to spend the time checking and rechecking and calling and web surfing to track down all costs.
posted on September 7, 2000 08:53:41 PM
Barrelracer .... Oh, I agree to a point. Had the seller clearly stated via email or on their auction that they will *only* ship via UPS, I would say the International bidder is on their own.
Most sellers that ship Internationally already know the ins & outs, and if they don't, they learn quickly.
My only complaint of this seller is that they seem to have taken the "oh well, I tried" route & are now going to ignore any further attempts at getting the insurance $.
They could have straightened this out by now, had they made any "real" attempt at it. IMO
posted on September 7, 2000 09:00:21 PM
And Ken, you'll appreciate this International Shell shipping tale.
A couple months back I shipped a Coral [I think?] shell to the U.S. Approx 6 weeks later I got an email from the high bidder asking me how long I thought it would take to arrive. I just about fainted. I thanked her profusely for being so patient & apologized for the delay. I also had a PO MO in the mail the same day & told her if the shell arrived to keep both it & the MO for the inconveniance I had caused her.
I always wondered if the Shell Man tipped off the Feds?
posted on September 7, 2000 09:01:20 PM
All I can say is if I was the buyer and wanted it so much I would have paid and hoped for some money from the seller. At least I would have had the item.
If I was the seller, I would be communicating with the buyer, and maybe try to settle 50 % or something, but I would be communicating.
We don't know the other side of the story, do we even know the amount the total bid was for?
I started another thread, check it out and tell me how you would handle it.
posted on September 7, 2000 09:20:23 PM
I won a book from Canada once, and right after I mailed my pink "international MO" I was at my post office asking about customs, and if I paid customs through them etc.
They (small town remember) hadn't a clue, and just looked at me like:
"she ships to other countries, now she is going to start getting stuff from them? "
But I wanted that book, and I would have driven to a customs office if I had to.
Good timing on this thread as I am expecting an item from Belgium any day now, shipped via UPS. The seller, who is very professional, gave me fair warning that there would be a brokerage fee on my end as the item I purchased isn't classified as an antique.
The only catch seems to be finding out what the fee will be. The seller couldn't be sure, and UPS refuses to give that info out over the phone. And yes, I called the UPS International shipments/Import number.
Do you know what the fees run like? I am assuming it is a percentage of the purchase price, but what percentage I don't know.
posted on September 7, 2000 09:49:23 PM
Julesy ..... They wouldn't give out that info over the phone????? Who the hell do these people think they are? I would have ripped em a new one, but that's just me.
