posted on November 1, 2002 09:22:38 PM new
I am posting this story just in case the information is useful to any eBay sellers.
This summer I sold comics from my husband's boyhood collection, which I found in the basement. I was taking a vacation from selling my antique French porcelain, and using the respite to focus on inventory acquisition for the Christmas season.
At the tail end of the run of comics auction, I was listing real old Walt Disney comics, four in each auction. A buyer from South Korea won quite a few of the auctions, and the final total was quite a few hundred dollars.
The buyer paid promptly via Paypal. I packaged well, using acid-free boards, tissue paper, and plastic wrap for moisture protection, then placing each bundle inside a moisture resistant large envelope. The envelopes were packaged inside a box, the spaces filled with packaging peanuts, packing slip inserted, and the box was sealed securely. I shipped promptly, airmail, due to arrive in South Korea in 5-7 days.
The weeks passed, and the buyer asked where his box was. I said I don't know, perhaps it is mired in Customs at his end. More weeks passed, again the customer inquired about his box. I gave the customer the customs number off of the US customs form. The customer found the customs center for his region, gave customs the number, and sure enough, they had his box.
Here is what happened. South Korean Customs opened the box completely, then opened up each envelope, then untaped the bundles of carefully wrapped comics. Then the opened box with its contents sat there for week after week after week, because old Walt Disney comics were not in their data base. The South Korean customs officers had never seen old Walt Disney comics before, didn't know what they were, couldn't find them in the data base, and so they couldn't figure out how to assess a customs import tax. Thus the box sat there while they bickered about what to do. Finally, the customer arrives, finds out what had happened to his precious comic books, had an in-the-face confrontation with a customs official, and they handed him his box of comics. Because the customer had a strongly voiced hissy fit, customs gave up trying to figure out how to tax the comics, and let the customer leave without having a tax of any kind.
The customer loves his comics, and loves more that he didn't have to pay a huge tax to acquire them.
The point of my story is on international sales, be aware that customs in the destination country can be responsible for missing packages.
[ edited by hotcupoftea on Nov 1, 2002 09:24 PM ]
posted on November 1, 2002 09:38:16 PM new
When I first started reading your post I thought you were going to say they didn't get through customs.
Prohibitions for Korea, Republic of (South Korea)
Counterfeit postage stamps.
Documents, books, printed papers, engravings or other articles contrary to public security.
Firearms, sabres, and swords for military use.
Firing caps and loaded metal cartridges for portable firearms.
Machines and paper for making cigarettes.
Salt.
Textile fabrics.
Weights and measures.
posted on November 1, 2002 09:47:55 PM new
Hi sapington,
Now that would have been funny if South Korea Customs had determined that 1940s Walt Disney comics were contrary to public security.
Nope, the customer said they just couldn't figure out how to tax him.
I am not all that experienced with shipping internationally. I encourage international bidders because they bid up my prices. However the international customers rarely win the auctions, so I don't ship outside the United States very often, maybe once or twice a month.
posted on November 1, 2002 10:12:10 PM new
I think international shipments are hit or miss depending on the country. How funny is this? I finally received a package back from Russia I sent out February 2002 for unknown addressee!
posted on November 2, 2002 12:59:44 AM new
Wow. I'm glad there was a happy ending--for a moment there I was afraid you were going to say that the Customs Officers has spilled something on the opened comic, or folded the pages or something <sigh of relief>
Karen -->wondering why the prohibition on salt, not that I was planning to send salt to S. Korea
