International sales?

[Lord Farquhar]

Hi

I am a knife maker in the U.K. Across the pond as it were. I was wondering how do people in the States feel about doing trades/sales and other knife based business with people in Britain and the rest of Europe. I have been reading the Ann_Dem thread and it seems as if people in the states are quite cautious, worried and reluctant to do business with people in other countries.

Personally I have done business with people all over Europe, the States, Australia and New Zealand and I (may be its just luck) have not been scammed.

Do you people have countries that you would not do bussines with? I was just wondering what criteria you would use when it come to being safe when it comes to international business.

Regards

Lord Farquhar

Oh and if you want to have a look at British knife making have a look at http://www.britishblades.com

 

[empty5853]

Hello,

Speaking for myself, I don't sell or ship to anyone out of the USA. My problem is not being afraid of getting scammed. You can get that here too (just read the GB&U forum) it's just I've had a few problems with the things I ship, never arriving. I don't know if the problem is on my end or the other end but it's just not worth the hassle. I don't have that problem when I ship within the USA. At least not yet.

I'm just a private collector and sell maybe 10 knives a year. A dealer or a knifemaker has a lot more experience in shipping around the world and knows the tricks. This is just my opinion.

I've been to the british blades forum. There's some very nice knives there.


Take care,

Mark T.

 

[Danno4017]

Everytime I buy from overseas (mainly USA) I worry when the knives take a long time to arrive, I am sure that eventually customs will hang on to something.
So far I have not had a problem and I do not buy anything that I believe to be illegal here in Australia.
There is a large Grey area regarding double edged knives and assisted openers and flippers etc.
I have noticed one thing though it may be due to international exchange rates or different living standards etc but the USA has many bargains to be had, some well known brands are half the price on ebay compared to Army surplus or Knife shops here.
On the other hand when I see GBP as the currency I barely
give it a look at, all of the British stuff is way overpriced on ebay. Even the Postage is criminal most times, I do not know why this, I understand the currency values but something is not right.
I suspect it may cost of living there where 6 beers (6 pack) costs as much there as a carton of Beer (24 pack) here.
Thank god I am downunder Barmy army Barmy Army
Sorry I could not resist it

 

[english mark]

Every knife I own has come from the U.S.A. I've never had a problem with anything not being delivered, this includes knives,toys,binoculars, allsorts.

 

[Tanguay Custom Knives]

As long as they use paypal and pay the shipping I'd be ok with it. I've sold to Canada alot and never had a problem. Its a case by case basis. It depends on what the individual is asking for.
Scott

 

[kevtan]

The only thig to watch out for is saving on the shipping. NEVER save on the shipping, pay for USPS GEM trackable. Cost about $25 - $30 to 3 lbs, but its worth it.

 

[Parker]

I'll say it til I'm blue in the face -FEDERAL EXPRESS.

Sending a knife to Europe took two days via Federal Express, door to door. Tracked every step of the way.

The reciprocating Postal priority Mad Dog Knives are warranted to be free of defects in materials and workmanship for the lifetime of the original owner. They are specifically not warranted against damage caused by abuse, neglect or stupidity.
ackage from the Netherlands was fine until it left the Netherlands, then the postal priority tracking system managed not to see where the package is. I finally was updated on the tracking about three weeks after my box arrived at my office.

I did recently send a blade out Global Priority, but only at the insistence of the buyer and his willingness to accept the "inshalla" of the mail system. He got his blade fine, but I have a problem with not being able to determine where it is at any given moment.

I've only put in one claim with the postal service and that was plenty. You need to wait 60 days to start a claim (1999), what that's about I don't know - they have my tracking number and all packages are scanned in theory. They should be able to determine where my box is instantaneously and they cannot.

 

[kevtan]

Parker, of course using Fede or UPS or DHL or TNT is better, but u pay at least twice that of the USPS rate. And some countries customs pays special attention to these couriers packages.

There are also a limit to the dollar amount including shipping that the customs will clear without you paying taxes on. And let me tell you that its not the taxes that worries you, its the package held and the letter to you stating that you need to appoint an agent to clear for you or you need to go to the customs to clear yourself. And whenever customs are involved theres the slight chance that the person in charge that day did not get some last nite and decides that the blade u got in the package is prohibited item.