I take offence - or why are so many for sales listed at CONUS only

[TOMBSTONE]

Paypal doesn't see it that way,and you can agree to limit the sellers risk and then change your mind when the item doesn't arrive and seller is screwed or in cases of a scam.As has already been said, it being overseas even makes it more unlikely to recover a loss,heck we wouldn't even beable to file mail fraud charges outside the US.When I sell something on-line I usually really need the money, so I don't need to get caught up in any drama,loss, or having funds held up or refunded.
On top of that, almost all outside the US buyers that have contacted me over the years most all want me too file undervalued declarations and misleading shipment item descriptions.So to start off the transaction the buyer is trying to involve me in unethical shipping documents, how can I trust they will keep their word about limiting my responsability in event of a loss?
I do agree with you though, I think it sucks,cause I actually like getting items from overseas as well myself.I do understand completely the reluctance to want to ship to me from outside the USA from other Countries.

The way I see it, you track it as far as the border then your responsibility ends... but I understand I guess.

 

[TomTerrific]

Canada is a pertinent example for me in that I sent, per the instructions of the buyer, a properly labeled, insured and tracked package that was subject to customs duty that the buyer agreed to pay beforehand. Knives got there, buyer decided that he was not going to pay the duty and it took me 2.5 weeks to get everything straightened out and the package returned (at substantial extra cost).
Mark

Was the charge a duty or national/provincial sales tax? Different things.

Seems like the buyer should have been responsible for backing out of the sale.

My late wife was Canadian and I can say Post Canada has worse service than the U.S. Postal Service. I never had any problem shipping things across the border, tho.

 

[CapitalizedLiving]

I have shipped stuff to Europe and Latin America with no problems, only a super slow delivery pace compared with what I am used to. My main issue is every time I sell something to someone in Canada it takes weeks to get there and it goes off the radar for so long that the buyer almost always contacts me panicking about it. I can't blame them - I panic when stuff goes missing for weeks on end too. So then I get stressed out, and now we're both unhappy and I'm wondering whether the buyer will assume I'm a cheat, file a claim with Paypal, and open a whole new can of worms.

So I say CONUS only and about 90% of the time I actually mean it, with the 10% of exceptions based on whether the buyer does not live in Canada.
Hopefully that answers your question...

 

[roughneckrob]

Nevermind....

 

[GWashington1732]

Because I'm lazy, that's my honest answer. I just don't feel like filling out extra forms or dealing with any problems that might come up. Besides, I don't do that much buying or selling on the forums anyway.

 

[Striderco]

I think I usually ship CONUS just cause i ve heard its a royal PITA shipping overseas! I would gladly ship to Alaska, Hawaii and maybe even Cananda!!

 

[Planterz]

In the past I have shipped all over the world without problem. Canada, UK, France, Russia, HK, Singapore, and others I can't specifically remember. Always with the stipulation that once it's shipped I no longer have responsibility. And no issues. But in the past few years, there have been too many stories, too many problems, too many instances of PP screwing the seller, that I'd hesitate to sell outside the country these days. It's not an issue of the customer, but the postal systems, customs, taxes, declared values, etc. just make things more trouble than it's worth, especially if I can get my money without complication from somebody within the US (and in the end, that's what it's all about - getting my money as quickly as possible with the least amount of hassle).

The other issue is the possibility of the lost knife/knives. Many of the knives I've sold in the past were rare, limited, and valuable. I sent a Benchmade 42C to France. The buyer was extremely enthusiastic about getting it. There were only 100 made, and it's a significant knife to collectors, being both the first spring latch Balisong, and the first with a pocket clip. If it got stuck in Customs, or lost (stolen) along the way, that would have pissed me off to no end. To know that the knife disappeared, or was in the hands of some douche that couldn't really appreciate it would have been more depressing than the money lost.

It's not personal. But sometimes it's just not worth trying to sell outside the country.

 

[schluterc]

Generally I highly prefer to keep sales "USA Only". That said I have shipped internationally many,many times: Canada, Germany, Japan, UK, France, Italy, even Russia- sometimes the delivery time was a bit lengthy and myself and the buyer got a bit worried, but all in all everything always worked out OK. I too have always spoken to the buyer about the risk and where my responsibility ends and I also ask for specific instructions as to descriptions and values for custom and insurance purposes. My biggest problem however; with international shipments is pretty simple, it's a question of time, as in my time. If I don't want to ship internationally it's not because I'm discriminating against somebody overseas or anything like that. For USA shipments, I can simply put the package (which is generally under 13 oz.) in a drop box or give to a mail carrier. For many (but not all, depends on country) international shipments I have to physically go to the post office and hand them the package (as well as sometimes get the plastic envelope for the documents- which for some reason the PO's in downtown Chicago only have behind the counter). This can be an EXTREMELY time consuming task, easily taking an hour or more......just to drop off a package at the post office. The lines are always at least 12 people deep (that would be not busy) and there are never more than two employees working (and if someone in line wants to pickup a package where delivery was attempted, one of those two employees will disappear to the back for 15 minutes or longer...). Generally I have to drive there as well, there can be parking issues(in fact at cetain PO's I would have to pay for parking), etc, etc. I don't know how it is in other big U.S. cities, but people in Chicago would rather get root canal work done than go to the post office. I know that in the "suburbs" it's not so bad. So again, nothing against international folks but if I have a U.S. buyer it's a lot easier!