posted on December 17, 2000 07:35:44 PM new
Just curious.
Do certain items, categories, weights, payment procedures or countries cause headaches big enough to say No?
Or is it something else altogether?
posted on December 17, 2000 07:46:06 PM new
Well you do have to mail from a regular Post Office, not the sub-station at Hallmark or other stores. I will mail to Canada. You do have to go online and calculate the postage, it does take a little more time. I have nothing against people from other countries. Also if someone wrote me even and asked if they could bid on my US Only auction I would probably say yes. I still get people that bid even when it says US only, but not very often.
fonze
posted on December 17, 2000 07:55:18 PM new
I've got nothing against furriners either (my dear father was one, in fact), but I won't ship internationally under any circumstances.
I have a lot of reasons, but to be perfectly frank, the main one is that I'm addicted to the ease and convenience of Priority Mail, which only works in the U.S. I'm lazy, yes, but in my defense, I'm not really a business -- I'm a stay-at-home mom who sells on eBay to make a little extra eBay spending money. If I were a full-time seller who depended on eBay for my livelihood, things would probably be different; I would bend over backwards to accomodate the widest possible audience of buyers in order to maximize my sales.
Another, very important reason I don't ship overseas is this: almost invariably, the buyers want me to lie on the customs form and claim that the item is a gift valued under $50. Even if I were willing to lie to government officials (which I try to avoid), it means that I can't insure the package for the full amount it's worth. Even if the buyer is willing to take the risk, I'm not. I'd rather make less money and avoid the hassle.
posted on December 17, 2000 08:11:32 PM new
I enjoy the contact and the emails with international trade and have never found anyone asking me to lie about the value or any other thing.
posted on December 17, 2000 09:07:02 PM new
I gladly ship internationally, but it definitely takes a little more work and time.
1. Need to calculate the shipping costs (easy and quick enough)
2. Need to complete a customs form (easy and quick enough)
3. Can't use Priority Mail supplies (no biggie)
4. Can't print my own postage/drop package on the loading dock. This is the worst aspect of international sales. I hate standing in line to ship a CD or something that I made $5 on.
On the other hand, I think of the extra bidders/bids that accepting international bidders gets me. Some items are tough to find in other countries and the international biddes are often willing to bid quite high.
I used to get a lot of Canadian bidders ask me to lie on the customs form, but very few do now.
posted on December 17, 2000 09:51:42 PM new
There *is* International Priority mail available to a great many countries. Our post office provides envelopes and boxes for this service.
We don't sell all items internationally for various reasons. Some items may not be legal everywhere; some may be just too fragile to pack and ship safely; and some may be just too inexpensive to be worth the hassle. Insurance is way too costly if it is available, by the way. Most international buyers know and accept this fact.
posted on December 17, 2000 10:18:39 PM new
barkrock, I knew about the Global Priority envelopes, but didn't know they also had boxes. I'll go check on those!
u-pic (stamp program) will insure for 45 cents per $100/coverage. There are some countries they won't insure to... probably the same list that USPS won't insure to.
posted on December 18, 2000 12:22:55 AM new
The main reason is shipping costs. To Canada it's fine, but other countries are $8-15. After having a couple international buyers backout due to costs, I just stopped doing international. I still get them though, and take their business just so I don't have to go through relisting and getting a refund.
posted on December 18, 2000 03:13:40 AM new
When I initially started on ebay I too shipped internationally. Three out of four buyers asked me to lie on customs forms and I certainly am not about to lie to the government. That was my reason for stopping international shipping.
posted on December 18, 2000 07:30:48 AM new
You guys have answered all my questions. I'm comfortable enough with everything except the "can't print postage at home" aspect. Ouch.
Thanks tons for such quick and complete responses.
posted on December 18, 2000 08:34:00 AM newI certainly am not about to lie to the government
Too funny! You're joking, right? I mean, the government lies to us all the time. I have absolutely no qualms about lying right back to them. Especially now that we have an illegitimate president.
Anyway, I have always accepted international bids... Some of my best profits have come from non-US eBayers. They are sometimes willing to pay much more for an item because it's impossible to get in their own country. After selling to over 200 non-US bidders and NEVER experiencing a problem, I will gladly continue to do so!
I will also gladly continue to bamboozle, evade, confuse, and generally annoy our government because that's what they do to me.
"My possessions are causing me suspicion." - Neil Finn
posted on December 18, 2000 08:41:47 AM new
waspstar--
You mean our "legitimate" would-be president couldn't get in with thousands of illegal votes from convicted felons right?
posted on December 18, 2000 01:24:16 PM new
I do eBay as a hobby and have never had a problem shipping internationally. They do sometimes bid much higher, sold a Haynes auto repair manual that I picked up for 10 cents to a man in South America for over $75! If they are willing to pay the shipping I am more than happy to sell to them.</p> Have met a lot of interesting people all over the world. I've only had one person ask me to mark it as a gift on the Customs tag and in all honesty had no problem doing it.
posted on December 18, 2000 02:23:10 PM new
Ditto to the other reasons, which basically boil down to "it costs more in my time than the additional bids it might generate." And yes, I've run the figures.
Too funny! You're joking, right? I mean, the government lies to us all the time. I have absolutely no qualms about lying right back to them. Especially now that we have an illegitimate president
Ah, moral relativism at its finest. But hey, if all bets are off, why on earth stop at customs forms?
posted on December 18, 2000 02:52:45 PM new
I don't see it being "morally" wrong to mark gift rather than merchandise on a package. The US government doesn't care anyways, they are shipping it out of the country. It's countries like Canada that hope that everyone will be honest on their customs stickers so that they can make a ton of money on duty!!!
Do every international bidder a favor and always mark gift on the package. You will gain a repeat customer, and potentially save someone a lot of money in fees.
I mark gift on ALL of the approx 75-100 items I ship each week. I have NEVER had a problem doing this. There is no way for them to prove that it is not a gift. The US government has so many of you people scared to death of them, WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT THEY WANT!!!
If anyone has an example of someone getting dragged through court about customs declarations, I would love to hear about it.
posted on December 18, 2000 03:22:27 PM newmballai: Yeah, it's a real shame that that REPUBLICAN CONTROLLED statehouse & Gov down there in the Land of Dimples FAILED in its duty to weed out those few felons who voted!
OTOH: they were quick to supply CIA spooks to HELP(?) with the vote-counting!
