Why you don't ship overseas?

[John Austin]

So far I have had no problems with overseas buying or selling

In the case of small items to Australia I accept that the postage may cost more that the item - But often small things of little $ value can have great significance, like bits to make bigger bits work - When this happens I gladly pay the postage as it means I can continue to make my aged lens set work

John
Quinninup

[Steve Smith]

I'm in the UK, sending overseas is the same as sending domestically except that you've got to fill in a customs declaration form.

Not to all countries.


Steve.

[brucemuir]

IMHO, it's more an american mindset, than anything else.
I don't think the customs forms are more complicate than in other countries, or that there are other major obstacles.
Quite the opposite, probably.
It's just the image the average (read: not so informed) US citizen has of the outside world.
Every national culture is affected, up to a certain degree, by a nationalistic bias.
In the USA, the newspapers, the television, the popular culture, the way history and geography are studied, all that (and more) is very USA-centric.
It comes as no surprise that those, who are less aware of the outside world, think that out there is still Middle Age!

The sad thing is that it's a loss for both sides:
for the buyer, there are many items which are very dfficult to find outside the USA
for the seller, it means less profit, 90% of the times


have fun

CJ

Sent from my Android tablet

Yes, we are mostly hillbillies that only get to town/PO on Saturday evenings for the weekly picture show.

[Rick A]

Selling to foreign countries is simple. I use paypal and require all funds in US dollars, buyer pays shipping, and zero guarantees. Filling out customs forms is simple, takes just a few seconds. I use a small post office, speedy lines if any. The only country I've hd issues with is Canada, miserably s=l-o-w delivery and mangled packages on arrival, not to mention abysmally even s-l-o-w-e-r shipments to me, so I don't buy from my neighbors to the north any more.

[Steve Smith]

Yes, we are mostly hillbillies that only get to town/PO on Saturday evenings for the weekly picture show

That's what we thought!


Steve.

[CGW]

Why shipping overseas is a PITA:

• You have to stand in line at the US post office, and it is a sloooww moving line.
• You have to fill in a 'bed sheet' customs form with such niceties as the HS tariff number and the EEL/PFC, not to mention the complete name, address, business name of the sender the complete name, address, business name, postal code, province of the receiver, the detailed description of contents along with the value of each item, its net weight and the gross weight of the total package.
• The clerk then has to re-type all this data into his computer while you stand there - thus assuring that it is a sloooww moving line.
• The cost for shipping a $95 enlarging meter can be $35 - and the post office claims it looses money.
• The package gets out of the country fast enough - but then it can sit in customs in Portugal (or Canada, for that matter) for 6 weeks.
• The 6 week delay prompts lots of "Where is my xxx?" emails that have to be answered - politely.

Canada Customs usually takes mere minutes (at worst overnight) to clear items shipped from the US. Not sure when clearance ever took 6 weeks. Besides, that's the buyer's headache.

[ChuckP]

I believe that the USPS delivery types that allow delivery confirmation and insurance are very expensive compared to first class parcel. If you use Paypal and the buyer claims the item wasn't received the seller takes all the hit unless he can prove delivery. Proof of shipping doesn't count. So for inexpensive things the shipping cost would be more than the item cost. If you go with cheaper shipping with no delivery confirm or insurance it's best for the seller to avoid Paypal. But other forms of payment can get complicated. So much easier to sell in US where shipping with delivery confirm and insurance costs much less.

[sandermarijn]

I believe that the USPS delivery types that allow delivery confirmation and insurance are very expensive compared to first class parcel. If you use Paypal and the buyer claims the item wasn't received the seller takes all the hit unless he can prove delivery. Proof of shipping doesn't count. So for inexpensive things the shipping cost would be more than the item cost. If you go with cheaper shipping with no delivery confirm or insurance it's best for the seller to avoid Paypal. But other forms of payment can get complicated. So much easier to sell in US where shipping with delivery confirm and insurance costs much less.

+1

... unless you get the buyer to transfer the money to your paypal address directly (no invoice), in which case there is no buyer protection and thus no need for expensive delivery confirmed shipping.

BTW, the only reason I ship outside the Netherlands and outside the EU is because otherwise the market would be too small. I can perfectly indentify with US sellers who find their home market large enough to say "CONUS only" (those dreaded words ).

[NormanV]

I used to live in the Falkland islands so obviously everything I bought had to be via internetional post or shipping. In approximately 100 transactions I only ever had two problems, a camera from Japan took along time as the Falklands is not served by EMS and it was returned to the seller who had to repost it by normal post. The other was a camera from russia that never arrived but I got a refund from Paypal. I have sold a few items with never any problems.
If the buyer is prepared to pay the postage and customs charges what's the problem?

[Ian Grant]

Something that's lost or rather forgotten about is forums like APUG and the Large Format Photography forum are about sharing information etc and also helping each other out.

I've had some great help from US members selling me bits that would be almost impossible to find here in the UK (and no chance what so ever in Turkey).

The majority of US members will ship to the rest of the world and we need to thank them for taking that time and effort. They know who they atre

Ian