Why CONUS only? For selling items.

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powernoodle said:
When people say CONUS only, I think they really mean "shipping to America only".
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This is it. Lots of people don't know what they are doing. I specify the 50 United States. I have only lost one item. It was shipped to PR. USPS but not in the United States.
 
cheesemaster said:
I once had to ship something from CONUS to UK and the buyer asked me to vastly understate the value on the customs declaration for VAT reasons. I refused (moral and legal reasons) and it was a hassle but we eventually worked out an accommodation. Do you guys agree I was right to stay away from that?
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You were 100% right not to lie. I would not deal with a person who asked me to lie.
 
craytab said:
This is it. Lots of people don't know what they are doing. I specify the 50 United States. I have only lost one item. It was shipped to PR. USPS but not in the United States.
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If by PR you mean Puerto Rico, it most definitely is in the USA.
 
powernoodle said:
International sales increase the seller's risk of grief. The package is more likely to get lost, because it may be travelling via multiple carriers and going longer distances. The buyer's country may have import limitations, they may open the package for inspection and will sometimes confiscate the contents - lawfully or otherwise. Who gets screwed when this happens? Often the seller, because the buyer will just (honestly) tell Paypal that he never got the package. Scammers may be more difficult to avoid at long distance too.

There have been countless international sales on Bladeforums that worked out fine. But it increases the risk of something going wrong, and risk-avoidance is a good thing.

Just my take on things having watched this stuff over the years. I will not ship internationally, because there is no good reason to do so when you have plenty of CONUS buyers (though CONUS is a misnomer, as it excludes Alaska and Hawaii). This is not a moral isssue, as we are not talking about selling potatoes during a famine. If a guy in Russia really wants he knife, he can get one in Russia. I have no moral compulsion to send him one, especially when there is a real risk that I could lose a knife in the process. Rock on.
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^^^
I believe you pretty much nailed it! +1

bflying said:
Just wondering why so many US sellers in the exchange specify CONUS Only. I have yet to sell anything here, so hopefully some of experienced traders could clarify for me. I totally understand not wanting to sell internationally with unknown knife laws, and potential import duties/taxes/fee's etc. But does the USPS not deliver to Alaska and Hawaii the same as any other state? What am I missing?

Just something I think about when surfing the exchange. Not really the biggest issue for my buying as I live in the lower 48. But when I decide to sell something in the future, I don't want to exclude some domestic locations without having a good reason for doing so. I would guess that many may list their ad that way just because they see it listed that way on so many other listings.

Mods, if this is in the wrong section, please feel free to move. I just wasn't sure if anyone wanted to see selling/shipping questions in the exchange, or just listings. Just thought general was the best place as it may be of interest to future exchange sellers/traders.
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FWIW- when I was a newer member here, I sold 3 or 4 knives, Internationally. Each arrived safely to their destinations. One knife in particular, I sold to a comrade in Russia. It took approximately 8 weeks to arrive, but it did finally make it.

After reading so many negative thread's here in the GBU, I decided that I would keep all future transactions, confined to all 50 U.S. States (no U.S. Territories)...

The damnedest thing happened, just last week! I sold a rather expensive knife here on the exchange (a knife that I had specifically stated "U.S. sales only"), to a member I presumed, lived here in the Northwest. I shipped the knife out USPS priority, with signature confirmation. Three days ago, I received an email from the buyer, stating this:

" I confirm the package has arrived. The address I have given you is a forwarding address and I'm consolidating with other goods before shipping back to Australia." "I will put in a good feedback for you in the next 2 weeks."

^^^
This part of our transaction was never discussed, so naturally, it caught me off guard. Now, I can only wait & hope that this knife arrives to it's new owner, down under...

And if it doesn't???
 
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KELAMA said:
The damnedest thing happened, just last week! I sold a rather expensive knife here on the exchange (a knife that I had specifically stated "U.S. sales only"), to a member I presumed, lived here in the Northwest. I shipped the knife out USPS priority, with signature confirmation. Three days ago, I received an email from the buyer, stating this:

" I confirm the package has arrived. The address I have given you is a forwarding address and I'm consolidating with other goods before shipping back to Australia." "I will put in a good feedback for you in the next 2 weeks."

^^^
This part of our transaction was never discussed, so naturally, it caught me off guard. Now, I can only wait & hope that this knife arrives to it's new owner, down under...

And if it doesn't???
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You shipped it to the address you received from the buyer and he informed you that it arrived. Not your fault that the buyer omitted that it was just a forwarding address to be shipped overseas. I'd say you did your part and have no further responsibility.
 
benchwarmer380 said:
You shipped it to the address you received from the buyer and he informed you that it arrived. Not your fault that the buyer omitted that it was just a forwarding address to be shipped overseas. I'd say you did your part and have no further responsibility.
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Thank you, BW380- I appreciate your opinion.

The fact that we're dealing with a Country, like Australia, I'm not really too worried about it...however had this important fact been disclosed prior to shipping; I would've requested that I be absolved of all responsibility, once my package leaves U.S. soil.
 
Chris Larrikin said:
As an international recipient I completely understand the reluctance of some to ship outside the US. While technically it may be the seller's responsibility to ensure the package arrives I very strongly believe the obligation needs to be shared, especially when the buyer lives overseas. For example I have a general rule that if a seller sends an item to the right address, packaged properly and with a truthful declaration I take responsibility for the item once it leaves the US. That way it's clear that if it gets confiscated by customs because of my ignorance it's on me. I have also pointed a number of makers to relevant customs info for their satisfaction or future use. Thankfully not one seller has refused to ship to me so far. I have bought numerous knives in at least 15 individual transactions and the only real delay was caused by a sender getting the address wrong (the package made it home and then on to me in the end :) ). I have had packages opened by our customs and just a courtesy note left - nothing ever seized or turned around.

For those who are happy to sell internationally - and thank you - there are some red flags to consider. I would suggest steering clear if they show complete ignorance of their local laws. Also there are a few people who will ask you to mislead customs by either lying on a declaration or by disguising the knife. I have heard a few people suggest circumventing restrictions on certain folders by shipping it with the blade open in the hope it will look like a fixed blade because "they will only see what an xray sees". These people are asking you to take all of the risks so they can have something they probably shouldn't. Don't be afraid to ask the buyer to point you to the right information. I know it's a bit of extra work but that could lead to future opportunities.
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Well stated post. If all International buyers had your Ethics, I would have no problem shipping Internationally, but you sir are the exception rather than the rule.
 
MercyfulfateXX said:
I used to only sell to the USA lower 48 only then a member copied and pasted the info on that for me to show that the prices (Flat Rate USPS Priority) was the same to the US Territories and Alaska and Hawaii.

takes a little longer to get there but prices are the same.

But I still wont go outside of that to other Countries.
it is a pain in the a$$.
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Did you also know that all packages 13 ounces and less can be shipped to all US Territories for $3 and Change or less, and that first class mail is handled exactly as priority mail with tracking and the same exact shipping time.
 
What about Canada? I see some do, some don't.....some see us as another State, some see us as China.

Most of the comments I see pertaining to "international" here in this thread seem to be directed over a body of water but wanted to clarify for us, your northern brethren.
 
Chris Larrikin said:
As an international recipient I completely understand the reluctance of some to ship outside the US. While technically it may be the seller's responsibility to ensure the package arrives I very strongly believe the obligation needs to be shared, especially when the buyer lives overseas. For example I have a general rule that if a seller sends an item to the right address, packaged properly and with a truthful declaration I take responsibility for the item once it leaves the US. That way it's clear that if it gets confiscated by customs because of my ignorance it's on me. I have also pointed a number of makers to relevant customs info for their satisfaction or future use. Thankfully not one seller has refused to ship to me so far. I have bought numerous knives in at least 15 individual transactions and the only real delay was caused by a sender getting the address wrong (the package made it home and then on to me in the end :) ). I have had packages opened by our customs and just a courtesy note left - nothing ever seized or turned around.

For those who are happy to sell internationally - and thank you - there are some red flags to consider. I would suggest steering clear if they show complete ignorance of their local laws. Also there are a few people who will ask you to mislead customs by either lying on a declaration or by disguising the knife. I have heard a few people suggest circumventing restrictions on certain folders by shipping it with the blade open in the hope it will look like a fixed blade because "they will only see what an xray sees". These people are asking you to take all of the risks so they can have something they probably shouldn't. Don't be afraid to ask the buyer to point you to the right information. I know it's a bit of extra work but that could lead to future opportunities.
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........ thanks Chris you pretty much saved me typing that same thing out. I have, in the past couple of years, received well over 100 packages from the US to home, the majority containing knives. I have not had a single lost, stolen or seized. The only delay through Customs has been for the calculation of import duties and taxes (this shows on the tracking as "Held in Customs"). I have also happily imported a number of firearm parts and accessories. I follow the law to the letter and have had not a single issue.

kershawguy said:
Well stated post. If all International buyers had your Ethics, I would have no problem shipping Internationally, but you sir are the exception rather than the rule.
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..... there are a few of us down here ;) I would suggest that the group of people I know here in Aus via BF all conduct themselves in just the same manner.
 
I don't mind shipping out of the States.

Sure, the po form and standing in line for 20 mins is a pain, but the sale is worth it. I just state cleary I am not responsible after shipment etc etc in the thread. Ive even jumped in on sales to offer to ship for someone if they only have "conus" as a term of sale and someone out of the States wants to buy. Ive never had a problem.

Now, "net to me" & "gift only" sales are :thumbdn: Just sell it for a base price and move on. That is another topic for another thead though. :D
 
KELAMA said:
Thank you, BW380- I appreciate your opinion.

The fact that we're dealing with a Country, like Australia, I'm not really too worried about it...however had this important fact been disclosed prior to shipping; I would've requested that I be absolved of all responsibility, once my package leaves U.S. soil.
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You sent the package to the address specified so you upheld your end of the deal. You don't have any further responsibilities (and I daresay the buyer wouldn't expect you to ). It looks like the buyer probably just wants to save on shipping costs (which can sting a bit).
 
Rhinoknives1 said:
I don't sell much through here. But do a number of mailed returns of sharpened and my custom knives.

I state in All of my sales. Will ship to all 50 states and most of WESTERN EUROPE.

THE 4 times I'VE HAD ISSUES, HAVE BEEN TO RUSSIA OR FORMER SOVIET UNION COUNTRIES and once to Australia to someone with a Russian name. That was only once out of well over 50 sales to Australia.

I'll ship to Down Under but a big no to the former EB.

Don't mean to pile on the good former Eastern Bloc folks. Unfortunately these has been my experiences

I will no longer ship anything to these places and haven't for a few years now.
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This is pretty much what I would expect.

I don't know if this is still the case, but I do know of a major Russian retailer of miniature models that unfortunately had to resort to a foreign based Paypal account because Paypal would not allow sending funds to Russia...: Paypal, at that time, allowed sending funds OUT of Russia, but not INTO Russia... They were perfectly honest folks, but it does underline there is a serious issue...

Other than the Soviet Block exception, I don't buy for a minute that there is any more issues with International sales than with US sales (except occasional slowness), knowing people who have done thousands of transactions. I wish more US sellers would realize how parochial it looks when they specify US sales only: There is no other country with its sellers doing this... Treat others like you would wish to be treated...

Gaston

P.S. One major US retailer, Knifeworks, did a similar thing to me recently, refusing to use my CC payment, because with their foreign customers they need two successful Paypal or Western Union transactions before using a foreigner's CC... No real obvious warning of this either, and my money was tied up for at least one week for a dud transaction... I've never seen this from any other non-knife US retailer, it seems a peculiarity to knives that sellers are so cautious (a reflection of the market mid-price knives is?). They have lost my business forever: Treat foreigners like you would like to be treated yourself, it's that simple...
 
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Gaston444 said:
This is pretty much what I would expect.

I don't know if this is still the case, but I do know of a major Russian retailer of miniature models that unfortunately had to resort to a foreign based Paypal account because Paypal would not allow sending funds to Russia...: Paypal, at that time, allowed sending funds OUT of Russia, but not INTO Russia... They were perfectly honest folks, but it does underline there is a serious issue...

Other than the Soviet Block exception, I don't buy for a minute that there is any more issues with International sales than with US sales (except occasional slowness), knowing people who have done thousands of transactions. I wish more US sellers would realize how parochial it looks when they specify US sales only: There is no other country with its sellers doing this... Treat others like you would wish to be treated...

Gaston

P.S. One major US retailer, Knifeworks, did a similar thing to me recently, refusing to use my CC payment, because with their foreign customers they need two successful Paypal or Western Union transactions before using a foreigner's CC... No real obvious warning of this either, and my money was tied up for at least one week for a dud transaction... I've never seen this from any other non-knife US retailer, it seems a peculiarity to knives that sellers are so cautious (a reflection of the market mid-price knives is?). They have lost my business forever: Treat foreigners like you would like to be treated yourself, it's that simple...
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It clearly states that on their website
 
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