posted on April 8, 2001 05:38:02 PM
Hi everyone! This is a double whamy-vent and a question. I just had an auction close, rather high, very surprised! Went to send my EOA...winners email addy pops up..and the name looked Japanese? maybe? So I checked the feedback, all good, only one neutral..but...wherever this person lives its overseas. I click US only in my auction ads!!! I've only had one other international transaction, (Germany), and he was kind enough to email me first and ask! Everything went fine, thank goodness! So...question for those who have shipped to Japan? how did it go? Anything I should be aware of?
posted on April 8, 2001 05:55:35 PM
saljo63...Although I sell USA only now, I have had several Japan purchases in the past. My experience, very polite buyers, super quick payments, & shipping expensive (buyers usually aware of that & it's not a problem for them)...The rest is the same postal stuff: eg. customs forms, etc....
posted on April 8, 2001 06:02:01 PM
Japan is no hassle, mostly get pink postal money orders from Japan, easy to cash. Like Rancher said,my experience is they are very polite, and quick to pay. More trouble with people in New York
posted on April 8, 2001 06:05:08 PM
I've sold quite a bit to Japanese buyers. They have all been great. The shipping is high and will shock YOU. They will expect it, though. My advice is to take the package to the P.O. and get an accurate shipping amount before you quote a price to the buyer. I goofed once and had to eat $10.00 in undercharges. That could have bought a lot of sushi.
posted on April 8, 2001 06:08:24 PM
You'll find that your Japanese bidder is an above average eBayer. They WANT to buy from you because your widget can not be had in Japan any other way. They will most likely pay with Bidpay and they already understand about high shipping costs, import duties, taxes etc. Wonderful!
I really cannot understand why anyone would not try to sell to overseas buyers as a matter of course. The only extra work is the customs forms and that's not much extra. There is a very slight chance that you are selling something that has export/import restrictions and if you are you should already know that. My international sales have been to Japan, Western Europe, Oz and NZ. All have been flawless.
Is Canada international?
[ edited by iowaantiques on Apr 8, 2001 06:11 PM ]
posted on April 8, 2001 06:16:57 PM
I have one regular buyer in Japan...she has probably bought twenty five items from me now. She's very polite, friendly, pays quickly - I couldn't ask for an easier person to deal with.
Shipping lightweight items like jewelry to Japan is not that bad...the airmail letter post rate is pretty reasonable, really (the new name for what used to be small packet rate - and I even have my post office trained now that not only letters can go that rate!).
The first time my buyer paid with an international money order - she said it was $25! Now she's signed up for PayPal and it's no big deal at all to get paid quickly.
Yeah, your buyer should have asked first if it was OK to bid, but you may be pleasantly surprised at easy it can be to deal with international buyers. Plus, they tend to bid higher, at least that's been my experience.
posted on April 8, 2001 06:22:46 PM
Howdy!
I've sent many things to Japan and the Pacific rim. By all means get an accurate quote on the shipping cost before you send the quote. If they are sending a MO, be sure they send it in US funds. If you ship surface, the item will take around 3 months to get there. I always quote them the air and surface rate and let them choose which one they would like.
Always a positive experience.
I cannot believe anybody would not want to ship outside the US. There is a whole world out there that the internet has opened up for us!
Good luck! http://www.school-auction.com
posted on April 8, 2001 06:23:10 PM
i sold a videotape to someone in japan
the shipping alone was 8.50-they dont seem
to care-he sent cash(american at that)had
no problem
posted on April 8, 2001 06:26:42 PM
Thanks all for the quick replys! My bidder just emailed me...funniest email I've ever gotten! And yep, she/he is in Japan! She/he must have written her reply in Japanese and then had a program translate it...quote "I live in Japan, I am here", "Can you send yourself to Japan?" LOL I checked the USPS website for prices to Japan..it's a bit confusing...so I guess I'll be taking the package to the Post Office to get the quote on shipping.
posted on April 8, 2001 09:59:10 PM
My biggest $$ sale was to a buyer in Japan (pocketwatch). Very smooth transaction. US PO has agreement with Japan PO re money orders.
If the item is not very big, check out global priority. It cost me less to send the watch global priority than any other way and she had the item in 4 days!
posted on April 8, 2001 10:05:36 PM
"I live in Japan, I am here", "Can you send yourself to Japan?" <grin> I lived in an apartment with 3 Japanese students my senior year of college. I was the only native English speaker. Things could get interesting and I always worried when they were speaking Japanese they were talking about me! LOL! Actually, we got along great, and I always proofed their terms papers for them! That took patience at times!
Anyway, your Japanese bidder will probably be one of your best customers. I love selling to Japan. Payment comes quicker than many American bidders, and I've even had someone from Japan send me a $20 bill before. Most likely, they will use BidPay.
posted on April 8, 2001 10:38:33 PM
I sell internationally, and I've had a number of customers from Japan. Incredibly polite, quick to pay, wonderfully helpful and patient, and just generally nice people to work with.
I usually use Global Priority for shipping. It's fast and I've never had a problem with it. Most overseas bidders are aware that it'll be fairly expensive to ship, and don't mind paying as much or more in shipping as they spent on the item. As one person pointed out, they usually bid on things they can't get any other way.
[ edited by iowaantiques on Apr 8, 2001 06:11 PM ]