International shipping woes!

I sent a knife to france. Insured with return receipt and it still wasn't signed for. I have had registered express mail packages not signed for. It is a crap shoot.

As far as Hawaii goes. I would guess if something is sent parcel post it probably went on a barge. That happens often to Alaska.
 
With PayPal, though, the seller *is* responsible until the package is delivered (and delivery is proven), regardless of whether or not the buyer and/or seller chose to take the risk of uninsured and/or untrackable shipping methods.

ooitzoo said:
This is generally how I comport myself on international sales. The reason that I ask to be absolved of responsibility after something leaves the US is for the UK/Oz/etc customs issues mentioned above. There is literally nothing a US based seller can do about a UK customs agents who insists on taking your property.



Yep. Its all about personal responsibility. In other words, domestically, the Seller is responsible for getting the buyer his purchase. The way I do this is to buy insurance (on items above a certain amount) or simply "self insure" (on cheaper items). That is to say, if something doesn't get there I will make the buyer whole (provided I believe that it actually didn't get there.)



I've had relatively good experience with International buyers absorbing the shipping costs. I am willing to leave it up to them with regard to the shipping they use but will not responsible for customs theft or a package that cannot be tracked (because the buyer insisted on using the cheapest method possible for shipping.) Its unfortunate but its also a reality.
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Customs duties or confiscations are the problem for the buyer to address, just ensure you state that in your terms.
Confiscations or non paid duty should result in the knife being returned to the seller, should..but then Customs are only human...or are they?
 
willgoy said:
Customs duties or confiscations are the problem for the buyer to address, just ensure you state that in your terms.
Confiscations or non paid duty should result in the knife being returned to the seller, should..but then Customs are only human...or are they?
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Often customs simply seize the parcel for auction or destruction.......the seller never sees it again.

I have yet to see a GBU thread where all my rules were followed and there was still a mess. In all of the problematic international sales GBU threads that I have read........someone screwed up and never followed the correct protocol.

Steven
 
Alfaholic said:
There does not need to be an issue with International sales if you follow a few basic rules without deviation.

Ship USPS Express Mail International Insured. The system is fully tracked and the delivery protocols are at a far higher standard.

Value and Insure the item at the actual sales price.

Describe the item truthfully.......Here are some of my typical descriptions........
Fixed Blade Knife
Folding Blade Knife
Pocket Knife

Do not ship Auto's, Bali's, or Gravity knives as a matter of policy.

I often pay with PayPal Personal (Not the gift option, I always pay my fees) and I have NEVER had a problem.
I work on reputation and trust and with several hundred BF purchases from various sellers to date I have never been disappointed.

It is also important to understand what is illegal in various countries. The UK and Australia now both have very onerous knife laws, so understand that even a Spyderco Military can cause customs problems.

If your buyer wants you to bend the above rules.........refuse to continue with the transaction as you are essentially opening yourself up to major conflict.
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I had bought a thing or two from Tundratrader. My policy for Intl shipping is NO custom/tracking number i won't even ask about buying.
ALL of my purchases from CONUS has been done USPS and only once i found out local custom stole my folders.

Thanks for the blessing so far.
 
JNewell said:
With PayPal, though, the seller *is* responsible until the package is delivered (and delivery is proven), regardless of whether or not the buyer and/or seller chose to take the risk of uninsured and/or untrackable shipping methods.
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That would be why I insist on PP gift for international sales.
 
dustycanuck said:
As a Canadian, I have the experience of being on the receiving end of international shipments, and it's not any more pleasant from this angle.
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Amen to that, you'd think that two countries with such close ties in both trade and travel it would be easier for people to ship and receive packages across the border. I generally don't buy from individuals, mostly online retailers and generally it all ends with a happy ending. Some items take longer to arrive than others but that's a given. The only gripe I have is that USPS doesn't update the tracking info once the package arrives in Canada so your pretty much just left in the dark as to when your item will arrive and since knives spend about a week or two at customs it can be harrowing knowing that your purchase is out here and you have no way of knowing where it is. It sucks that a few rotten apples have spoiled it for everyone.
 
I have bought hundreds of knives from the U.S. and the only one I didn't receive was poorly packaged and fell out of the envelope that it was sent in. I will only buy if it can be shipped USPS and I've never asked to have the value underestimated. I am not concerned with paying GST but less than 10% of my purchases have ever been checked by customs.
 
I have had knives spend anywhere from 2 hours, to 2 weeks in Canadian Customs. Out of the nearly 100 knives I have purchased (both from dealers and private sales) I have NEVER had anything go missing. As mentioned, some take a little while longer, but that is the name of the game. I do understand that there are scammers out there, but it still kinda irks me when I offer to cover all additional costs and assume the risk, and a seller still won't ship, even with good feedback. That is his (or her) prerogative though. So I just spend my money somewhere that will accommodate me. That's all I can do. It may take a little while longer to find what I want, but I will find it. YMMV
 
ooitzoo said:
Different people call it different things but the effect is the same.
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Last time I was sending money, they were different choices, but had the same effect, as far as I could tell. The "gift" thing gets some people all worked up. :rolleyes: Payment owed seems not to. :confused: :)
 
That's why I only take USPS money orders.

As the seller, you set the terms. If the buyer doesn't want to meet those terms, don't sell to him. Seems simple to me.

I shipped internationally only one time. The buyer stated in an email that he would accept responsibility for whatever happened to the shipment. It got to him without a problem, just longer than usual due to the regular customs delay. (Per his request, I did tighten pivots, etc.) I can't remember what I declared on the customs form.

~Chris

ps - "terms" defined as: paying for the type of shipping that protects both sides, state in writing that the seller won't be held responsible for customs confiscations, etc.
 
Helo Guys,

I live in NZ, I love knives and guns, Its cheaper for me to buy stuff from the US and have it sent over to me, also the customer service from the other side of the world (USA) is awesome. Over here made in USA still means good quality.

I rely on forum member to ship internationally so I can pursue my interest in knives, Its sad so many folks wont ship overseas. Ihave sent and recieved numerous packages from and to the USA and never had an issue.

For US sellers to be safe I would say ship any items tracked and insured and there shouldnt be a problem, If someone asks you to lie on the customs declaration I wouldnt do bussiness with them.

I will say a big thanks to all the folks in the US I have done bussiness with over the years, your generosity and integrity has blown me away.
 
I regret the fact that there are these kinds of problems. I often buy stuff from eBay, knives included, and I've bought knives here at BF as well. Nothing has ever gone wrong.

I always ask the sellers to mark knives at a significantly lower price than they cost because it's a pain in the ass when you pay for example 100 USD for a knife and when it passes through customs it would get held up until you pay 21% taxes. I already pay more for shipping so I don't want the government to exploit me some more. If sellers don't want to undervalue their item, I respect that but I do not buy the item because...well... 21% on an item of 100usd isn't worth it, it makes the knife 1/5 more expensive.

Once again, I've got tremendously good experiences buying online, nothing has ever been held up at customs. Shipping usually occurs in a small box or a thick envelope. Items always take exactly 1 week to ship to Belgium.

Once again, there should not be any problems if buyer and seller respect each other and when they can negotiate truthfully. Therefore I really regret it when I see people saying CONUS only or anything similar. I respect their opinion, certainly when they've had bad experiences in the past, but I regret it. I would've been able to buy a lot more knives than I have atm, I can tell you that.
 
thaeffman said:
Amen to that, you'd think that two countries with such close ties in both trade and travel it would be easier for people to ship and receive packages across the border. I generally don't buy from individuals, mostly online retailers and generally it all ends with a happy ending. Some items take longer to arrive than others but that's a given. The only gripe I have is that USPS doesn't update the tracking info once the package arrives in Canada so your pretty much just left in the dark as to when your item will arrive and since knives spend about a week or two at customs it can be harrowing knowing that your purchase is out here and you have no way of knowing where it is. It sucks that a few rotten apples have spoiled it for everyone.
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FYI, if you enter the shipping info into canadapost.ca you can track items to the end location- I have done this before- but am not sure what kind of tracking was purchased.

It saddens me to see people not wanting to ship outside of their borders, but I understand. I have sent messages to CONUS only sellers, simply stating that if they ever change their stance on shipment I am interested. Often I only have "x" amount of dollars available, so I will give the seller the maximum amount I can afford with shipping, so everything is up front. I have only had a single rude response, and many times a deal has been struck. Occasionally I am turned down, and I will wait some times until it is clear there is no rush to buy it from others- a sale internationally is better than no sale at all. I never ask a seller to fudge prices (some do anyways , or ship without finding what I want), GL Drew set me straight about the dishonesty early in my collecting/BF sales, and I thank him for his polite way of showing the right way to do things.

In the end I have missed out on some good knives (every Busse I have had an agreement to purchase was recinded- partly due my location was given as a reason each time), I have found some great knives at good prices that I would have never held (Elishewitz damasteel folder for under $200 to my door), and met some great people who have even offered to be a proxy for me in the future.

I am thankful for everybody that will deal with me, understand those that won't, and hope for good relations and transactions for everybody. Honesty and communication are the keys for me.

I wanted to add, my deals have been Canadian, American, Australian, Israeli, and Argentinian (possibly more), with only a single issue that was dealt with forthwith by the seller.
 
Galeocerdoshark said:
I always ask the sellers to mark knives at a significantly lower price than they cost because it's a pain in the ass when you pay for example 100 USD for a knife and when it passes through customs it would get held up until you pay 21% taxes. I already pay more for shipping so I don't want the government to exploit me some more. If sellers don't want to undervalue their item, I respect that but I do not buy the item because...well... 21% on an item of 100usd isn't worth it, it makes the knife 1/5 more expensive.
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Essentially you are asking the seller to collaborate with you to commit tax/duty fraud.
You are also exposing the seller to the possibility of customs seizing the package for under declaring the value.
Your practice is wrong and possibly criminal.
 
CUTS LIKE A KRIS said:
FYI, if you enter the shipping info into canadapost.ca you can track items to the end location
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I have not had any trouble with Canada to this date.
But
On 01/24/12 I've shipped a knife via International Priority Mail to Richmond B.C.
US tracking shows acceptance and departing Lexington, KY on 01/24/12 but no history after.
Canada Post does not recognize this USPS tracking# at all.
The buyer informed me that item has safely arrived to him on 02/03/12
Good thing this was transaction with honest buyer (I have made few transactions with this buyer in the past).
 
Alfaholic said:
Essentially you are asking the seller to collaborate with you to commit tax/duty fraud.
You are also exposing the seller to the possibility of customs seizing the package for under declaring the value.
Your practice is wrong and possibly criminal.
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The seller can always decline. If he doesn't, he gets the money he wants and I get my knife. Everybody happy. There have been no problems in the past so... Tax forms always say "pocket knife", which isn't a lie.
Furthermore, if the seller would mark the item as a "gift", I'd also evade customs so that would be fraud as well? But how can the people at customs know it wasn't really a gift but a purchase?
If the seller would undervalue, I doubt that -without opening the package- any customs officer would be able to see on an x-ray if the value of the knife is correct. Even if they would open the package, it would require another knife nut to declare if the item was undervalued...
I could also buy knives in the USA, let them be shipped to an adress in USA of some of the people I know in USA and make them send it as a gift to me.

Different methods, same result. Seller gets paid, I get the knife. Who is without sin, cast the first stone?

I could argue that politicians in my country often get into the spotlights with different corruption stories, fraud affaires etc. while the regular citizen is paying his last dime to taxes (which are very high over here), it would be true, but unhonest to hold this against the whole government. Pars pro totos can be made quite easily, government officials 'stealing' money from regular citizens, but they would be faulty arguments. My point is that a lot of stuff happens, I pay enough taxes already, politicians commit fraud quite regularly so I choose not to pay import taxes on my knives. My decision. Not 100% ethical? Sure.
Does it bother me or anyone else who I bought from online, not that I know.

So please, don't compare 'evading import customs in one-way-or-the-other' with real crimes such as murder, rape,... I'm not a criminal, just a student with a limited budget.
 
Galeocerdoshark said:
So please, don't compare 'evading import customs in one-way-or-the-other' with real crimes such as murder, rape,... I'm not a criminal, just a student with a limited budget.
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You obviously believe that your practice is correct so I won't waste my time arguing with you. But justify it any way you want.......what you are doing is wrong and you are exposing sellers to a potential problem.
This impacts on other International buyers who want to purchase here and abide by the correct procedures.

No doubt when one of your purchases goes wrong you will be here complaining about it.
 
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