International shipping

Chris*33

Chris*33

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Jan 16, 2017
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350
Hey guys,

I just wanted to voice the disappointment that follows after most of the sale threads i read.
As the title suggests, i live outside the U.S. and obviously most members don't ship outside the U.S.
Considering the stupid prices in EU for most USA made products i'm bound to look elsewhere, so i really feel that i'm missing when i find a good deal and the i see the 'CONUS only' laughing at me.
-More often than not, it comes cheaper to order a knife from a dealer and paying the customs than purchasing from the EU..that sums it up!

I understand that there might be an extra element of risk of something going wrong, but still, if i'm ignorant of my country's regulations regarding knives, then it's obviously my fault and i have no right to ask for anything back. If something goes wrong, the risk should be on me, given that the seller would at least communicate with the local USPS office and urge them to look into it (something that would be expected in a transaction within US as well i guess).

Considering that you don't even have to go to the Post Office (USPS) anymore to print an international label, it does make it the same process as sending an item in the US (PayPal gives you the option to fill the customs declaration form through their labeling system so you save the trip to USPS, and also both parties are safer since the tracking number is being communicated through an official source, like PayPal).

So that's it, i just wanted to share that, and listen to your views and possible bad experiences that inhibit you from selling internationally.

*Also, a 'thank you' to the folks here in BF that trusted me to sell their knives:thumbsup:
 
It goes both ways, Chris. There are many EU produced knives that are very costly here in the states.

Also, I would consider direct purchasing from the EU but the VAT tax is a real turn off. Yes, I know, people claim it doesn't apply to US sales but, I'm not always so sure.

With that said, the last time I purchased a knife from the EU it cost me almost half of the going price here in the US. :)

Of course, parts for my BMW motorcycle make up for that. BMW is very proud of their parts here in North America. Prices are insane!
 
sabre cat said:
It goes both ways, Chris. There are many EU produced knives that are very costly here in the states.

Also, I would consider direct purchasing from the EU but the VAT tax is a real turn off. Yes, I know, people claim it doesn't apply to US sales but, I'm not always so sure.

With that said, the last time I purchased a knife from the EU it cost me almost half of the going price here in the US. :)

Of course, parts for my BMW motorcycle make up for that. BMW is very proud of their parts here in North America. Prices are insane!
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If you contact the seller before ordering he should deduct the VAT from the price. My fiancee runs an online shop and that's the case with any sales outside EU.
Regarding BMW, i do believe they are very proud even here, i can only imagine the situation in the U.S.

It seems to me that dealers are not happy with the 'standard' profit they would get, but they charge more for the prestige or something for having an imported product. If an item ordered from the local dealer costs less for me even after paying my country's VAT at the customs, and the dealer still gets his share, it means that they just pump up the price just for carrying that product.

What can you say...people love money :cool:
 
I live in Australia but have sold and sent knives to the US without a problem. However sending and insuring a knife there costs about $60 and usually means taking a bath in an undesired loss for a second hand knife.

Also I have bought knives from dealers in the US and Europe alike without problems too.
I havent bought a knife on the exchange from an international individual though.
 
I've replied to folks selling knives in the US and they've OK'd shipping to Canada. A lot of that depends on your footprint on this site. Shipping a knife to someone outside the US borders does require the seller to stick their neck out a bit further.

Unfortunately not all will and the US has a massive population so most of the time one of the knives you may be interested in will get snapped up by someone living nearer to the seller. All you can do is keep looking.

I suspect this thread will move to the GBU sub pretty soon. That's the spot where these kind of discussions have the best fit.
 
I send stuff internationally all the time. I just can't reasonably set up my site to handle international orders to my satisfaction and so I just have folks send me their shopping list and I send 'em a personalized digital invoice. It's a bit more of a hassle for folks who don't own a postal scale, though, and the extra steps of filling out the customs form can be scary to some folks.
 
Chris,

Have you considered using a mail forwarding service? There are many to choose from but here's one of them:
https://www.usa2me.com/site/Mail_Forwarding_How_It_Works.aspx

With these types of services, you set up an account and they provide you with a U. S. shipping address to have your packages sent to. They then forward the packages to your address anywhere in the world.

The seller only ships to the U.S. which means that you can buy from anybody in the U.S. Even those that refuse to ship overseas. It takes the stress off of the seller and you don't have to worry about the "U.S. sales only" clause because you aren't asking the seller to ship outside of the U.S.

There is a fee of course, but the fee is not part of your transaction with the seller which also simplifies things because you don't have to negotiate extra shipping costs with the seller.
 
Railsplitter said:
Chris,

Have you considered using a mail forwarding service? There are many to choose from but here's one of them:
https://www.usa2me.com/site/Mail_Forwarding_How_It_Works.aspx

With these types of services, you set up an account and they provide you with a U. S. shipping address to have your packages sent to. They then forward the packages to your address anywhere in the world.

The seller only ships to the U.S. which means that you can buy from anybody in the U.S. Even those that refuse to ship overseas. It takes the stress off of the seller and you don't have to worry about the "U.S. sales only" clause because you aren't asking the seller to ship outside of the U.S.

There is a fee of course, but the fee is not part of your transaction with the seller which also simplifies things because you don't have to negotiate extra shipping costs with the seller.
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That's very helpful, thank you.
I knew about people /companies that provide this kind of service but never really got myself to research further in the subject. I'll definitely check your link out. Have you used their services before in any way, or it just happened that you know it?
 
I'm in Canada so I hear ya... I ship to from USA frequently for many things and that's easy. Knives into Canada are tricky these days for other reasons, but not impossible if you're creative and willing to gamble.

However shipping international to EU / abroad is something I don't really do much either. A basic air-post tracked padded envelope to most EU countries is $40 and that's only insured to $100 at the most (I think). Most knives coming in/

Shipping anywhere in Canada/USA is $16 CAD.

If a buyer in EU / abroad wants to pay the difference + additional insurance to cover the total cost as shipping to some countries can be risky for loss/theft, then I have no problem shipping worldwide.

What you need to do is make a friend in USA that will drop-ship for you from buyers that don't ship internationally. Have knives sent to him, and he'll send them to you. My brother does this for me ;)
 
Chris*33 said:
That's very helpful, thank you.
I knew about people /companies that provide this kind of service but never really got myself to research further in the subject. I'll definitely check your link out. Have you used their services before in any way, or it just happened that you know it?
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I have never used any of these types of services myself because I live in the U.S.A. I think I have sold to at least two people who used one of these services. Those buyers never mentioned using a forwarding service but I suspect that they did because their Bladeforum profiles listed their locations and they were not in the U.S.A. yet they provided a U.S.A. shipping address.

They both got their packages in what I thought was a reasonable amount of time. Within 7 days if I remember correctly.

I found out about these services by reading a blog on a dealer website about why he doesn't ship outside of the U.S.A.
 
Railsplitter said:
I found out about these services by reading a blog on a dealer website about why he doesn't ship outside of the U.S.A.
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I am pretty sure I have read that blog as well, and, to be honest, it is kind of BS. Lots of retailers will (and have) shipped to me internationally. I just have to be prepared for a pretty heavy fee for value-added taxes and import duties when it gets here. No problems, on either end, with natural materials as long as they are not prohibited by international treaty or local law (such as elephant or whale ivory or tortoise shell).

As for the re-shippers, I think some caution should be exercised with them. I have known a few people who never got a knife they ordered when the re-shipper took it upon themselves to decide they didn't want to ship "dangerous goods". Also, the extra time might push you over a retailer's return time-frame for faulty merchandise, whereas, if you order direct, you can usually work that out in advance.
 
I have shipped knives sold internationally. Depending on the country it can take months. The USPS does not track outside the USA, and DHL, FedEx, and UPS are expensive. I won't ship anything without a true cost on the declaration, which stops most foreign sales, as the buyers usually wish to minimize any customs duty they are forced to pay. Failing to put a true cost on the package hurts the seller if the package is "lost" though (ask me how I know).

Yes, VAT can be removed for sales outside the EU, but shipping and taxes are still high. The last order I placed from a dealer in Germany came with only one knife (out of the three I'd ordered and which were in stock on the website). Cost for shipping that one knife added over 45% to the total cost when delivered, and it was not a "cheap" knife. German Post is pretty good about tracking; they use DHL in the USA, but it still took almost 6 weeks to get that small package. Italy and Spain are worse, England and Ireland are a bit better, Canada is easy, and there's no way I'd ship to Mexico. It's not all about distance...
 
There are a number of threads on this already, if you care to do a search you will get a load of reasons. No doubt it is a problem for our international members.
I'll just list a couple quick reasons
1. EU isn't that bad to send to but there are a number of countries that are terrible to send to-easier to just say you will not send international . You can always still ask and see if they would. Even though my ads say US, I often can work it out with the buyer.
2. It is not just the custom forms, it is the declaration of value. I have found very few that don't ask me to lower the declared value to avoid their countries fees. Besides placing me in a position of lying on official papers(which I am not willing to do), you also can't insure the item for true value.
3. Even though you say you are willing to take responsibility for the package after it is mailed, the statement is only as good as your word. If you file a PP dispute you will likely win and the seller will be out. PP follows their rules and is not interested in our side agreements.
4. Just doing an international deal takes a lot of time. Communication is hampered by time zones(while other deals may slip away). Just figuring out the shipping costs takes time and effort-then that info need to be passed to the buyer and wait for a response. Sometimes it can be a full day between 1st communication and answer. The shipping and delivery process is also drawn out.
5. I can find buyers in the US and really don't have to take on the added risks and hassle of international sales. Yes it sucks for those outside the US and I do feel for you(certainly glad I don't have to deal with the problem), but I just don't have any problems on my US sales and have had many on international.
I could go on. We are not trying to be un-reasonable or have some dislike for non-US members(I find they add a lot to the forum), but there is a lot of difference between a US and an international deal.
 
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eisman said:
I have shipped knives sold internationally. Depending on the country it can take months. The USPS does not track outside the USA, and DHL, FedEx, and UPS are expensive. I won't ship anything without a true cost on the declaration, which stops most foreign sales, as the buyers usually wish to minimize any customs duty they are forced to pay. Failing to put a true cost on the package hurts the seller if the package is "lost" though (ask me how I know).

Yes, VAT can be removed for sales outside the EU, but shipping and taxes are still high. The last order I placed from a dealer in Germany came with only one knife (out of the three I'd ordered and which were in stock on the website). Cost for shipping that one knife added over 45% to the total cost when delivered, and it was not a "cheap" knife. German Post is pretty good about tracking; they use DHL in the USA, but it still took almost 6 weeks to get that small package. Italy and Spain are worse, England and Ireland are a bit better, Canada is easy, and there's no way I'd ship to Mexico. It's not all about distance...
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Actually, i can track USPS mail as long as it is Priority and not the Intern. Economy. I think this issue is Country specific, and not only between continents. For example, even though Germany is in the EU as well, i can never track a registered package i send there, most probably cause they apply a different tracking to fit their system..

What happened with that package that got lost? You were compromised because of the difference in PP and Custom declaration, or you got less money from the insurance?
 
Peter Hartwig said:
There are a number of threads on this already, if you care to do a search you will get a load of reasons. No doubt it is a problem for our international members.
I'll just list a couple quick reasons
1. EU isn't that bad to send to but there are a number of countries that are terrible to send to-easier to just say you will not send international . You can always still ask and see if they would. Even though my ads say US, I often can work it out with the buyer.
2. It is not just the custom forms, it is the declaration of value. I have found very few that don't ask me to lower the declared value to avoid their countries fees. Besides placing me in a position of lying on official papers(which I am not willing to do), you also can't insure the item for true value.
3. Even though you say you are willing to take responsibility for the package after it is mailed, the statement is only as good as your word. If you file a PP dispute you will likely win and the seller will be out. PP follows their rules and is not interested in our side agreements.
4. Just doing an international deal takes a lot of time. Communication is hampered by time zones(while other deals may slip away). Just figuring out the shipping costs takes time and effort-then that info need to be passed to the buyer and wait for a response. Sometimes it can be a full day between 1st communication and answer. The shipping and delivery process is also drawn out.
5. I can find buyers in the US and really don't have to take on the added risks and hassle of international sales. Yes it sucks for those outside the US and I do feel for you(certainly glad I don't have to deal with the problem), but I just don't have any problems on my US sales and have had many on international.
I could go on. We are not trying to be un-reasonable or have some dislike for non-US members(I find they add a lot to the forum), but there is a lot of difference between a US and an international deal.
Click to expand...

I hear you (read you even :confused:) and i know you're right. It depends on the willingness of the buyer to send an item abroad,and on the seller not to screw him up if anything goes south.
It's not a habit of mine to ask for a different declared value than the original, because usually my budget lies under the 177$ mark which indicates a rise in the fees you pay (valid for my country), but i have done it with a recent purchase of a folder that came at 250$. I admit i felt uneasy after that, but it was already done (if you read this, thank you:thumbsup:).

I was determined that if everything went wrong i would take the loss, because the seller was more than helpful, and also declaring it missing would put him in jeopardy since the PP value and the declared one would not be the same. I do not have money to throw around but it would what i'd do.

Happy to see your point of view through the points you've made
 
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