Why do so many of the US Guys don't sell to Europe?

Yep, this shipping thing is quite frustrating,
but according to my experience with US post offices,
I can understand private sellers who won’t go through this.

Can’t understand the commercial shop owners though.
It part of their business to offer appropriate shipping conditions.
Actually many of them do, so it can’t be all that difficult.

However, never begged anyone to take my money, never will.
 
I shipped a leather sheath overseas last year to one of the guys on the forum here. It took a while to arrive and was a little beat up when it arrived. I felt bad about the condition of the sheath because that was not of course the way it was when it was shipped. I shipped it USPS. I guess I want items to arrive quick and in good condition for the buyer.

Most of the time when I attempt to sell an item I add the note "shipped ConUS" but I often sell items including shipping. It's not that I wouldn't ship the item overseas but that for the price I have listed it is shipped within the ConUS.

I know there are a few bad stories about fedex, UPS and the USPS but generally they seem to do a real good job with ConUS shipping for me with no real complaints.
 
As a rule of thumb I won’t ship outside the US. I have before and I’ve been burned. I decided that as much as I want to sell to people over sea’s its just not worth the extra hassle, cost and risk.

That being said on BFC I’m willing to deal with it if the member is someone I know and he’s willing to work with me.
 
I have shipped hawks and a few knives to quite a few countries inc. Aus.,Belguim,France,the Netherlands and more.I have had very few problems,but of course you worry about the package getting there:o:).As far as standing in line at the PO,you don't have to do that.All you need is the plastic envelopes for the customs papers,which you can pick up at the PO all you need.You can print out all your custom papers from Paypal shipping or register on the USPS website fill out there are 4 copies one to keep and 3 to go in the envelope,sign and put #1 on top then 2 &3 ,you can even schedule a pickup if you like,but I just drop mine off....not hard at all---:)Best Regards Butch
 
philwar said:
You seem to contradict yourself here.
As for reaching private arrangements with sellers, that's a risk you and they wish to take. Fact is, there are rigid knife laws in effect in the UK, and they cause Ebay sellers to elect not to sell to UK buyers.

Don't worry though, the Dutch government is working hard to surpass the British one in this respect. :barf: :mad:
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Only knife sales on e-bay have been restricted. Not knife sales in the UK as whole or knife sales to the UK from any where else.

These rigid knife laws are silly but generally cover people carrying knives for self defence more than anything. I don't like being told what I can carry any more than the next guy, but for the most part the laws don't effect me any way. When I work I carry a fixed blade or good folder (legaly), when I'm walking or hiking I carry a folder or small fixed blade (again legaly) and when I'm just out and about I carry a small slip joint (once again legally). So luckily for me I haven't even needed to change my habbits to fit in with the law, I just carry on as I always did. :):thumbup:

I don't want to sound like I don't give a monkeys because I do care about how the UK is going/has gone. But the knife laws in the UK are touted as being the worst when infact they are not and do allow more freedom than people would have you believe.

Any hoo, we were talking about CONUS only shipping IIRC .............:p
 
Haze said:
Only knife sales on e-bay have been restricted. Not knife sales in the UK as whole or knife sales to the UK from any where else.
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Ah, ok. So it's Ebay that's doing the restricting?

Any hoo, we were talking about CONUS only shipping IIRC .............:p
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True. Back on-topic please. ;)
 
philwar said:
Ah, ok. So it's Ebay that's doing the restricting?


True. Back on-topic please. ;)
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Ebay, has a large warning that pops up whenever a US seller tries to list a knife for international sale; often, the US Postal Service will also share the same warning, and I have had to pursuade the clerk that it was lawful to ship that specific item to the UK, Europe, etc. Remember the item is listed on the customs form, so some of the clerks take it upon themselves to make it a point.

Basically, everyone is washing their hands of it and leaving the US seller feeling exposed. That plus the large cost and hassle, means it is preferable to do business within CONUS.

n2s
 
philwar said:
Ah, ok. So it's Ebay that's doing the restricting?
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Yup, but only because they were told to. I'm sure they would be more than happy to have keep on getting the pennies and pounds they were getting from those sales. :rolleyes:
 
The handful of times I did ship abroad,I almost always had problems.Taking a looooong time to arrive(sometimes 2-3 weeks WTF?!),The custom forms,the long line at the PO,etc.

I just prefer to deal within the ConUs.
 
We learned our lessons early on about shipping to Europe with a non-insurable International Priority solution. At that time they neither had any tracking once it left the U.S. nor could you buy insurance on the package. This left sellers in a very bad position when problems arose. We had boxes delivered empty with customs tape on them, boxes delivered with only one of the knives removed and customs tape, and boxes not delivered at all.

During the time in which we decided not to ship outside the U.S. due to significant losses; we had many customers that vowed to assume all responsibility if we would waive our policy for them. But the first couple that got empty boxes with customs tape forgot all about that promise when they figured out that one of us was going to have to eat the price of the knife. And since there was never tracking or delivery confirmation (this may have changed since) they had a simple credit card or paypal dispute case.

Now we only ship International Express with full insurance coverage and have yet to have an issue. Even foreign customs agents don't want nasty old inspectors nosing around for lost insured items....

Mike Latham
CollectorKnives.Net
 
I don't have trouble selling knives when my sale is marked "U.S. Only." If I can sell knives without trouble, why should I take on the extra hassle and risk shipping to overseas or to Canada? I gain nothing but the potential for future problems. It is an unfortunate reality.
 
"It's too much trouble", "it's too expensive", "the P.O. try to stop me posting stuff", "I don't want to take the risk"..............

It's nice to know were all in this together ! Thanks much for the support guys. :):thumbup:
 
To me, it is just one reason: European Customs.
I prefer shipping CONUS because, as someone said in an earlier post, it is a PITA to ship Intl., but depending on the buyer and the country of destination, I may do it.
But never to Europe, I lived there for many years and every single time I had something shipped to me from outside the E.U. I have had to pay import duties, VAT etc.
Once, French Customs even charged me import duties on some documents my lawyer sent me from the U.S. because his not-so-bright secretary had put a $30 value on the package (the shipping cost).
 
When I can ship internationally using USPS's "Click & Ship",print out my label,tape it to the box,& drop it in a blue collection box,with NO other steps,I'll gladly ship internationally.
My PO is always crowded.I avoid it like the plague.
 
Haze said:
"It's too much trouble", "it's too expensive", "the P.O. try to stop me posting stuff", "I don't want to take the risk"..............

It's nice to know were all in this together ! Thanks much for the support guys. :):thumbup:
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LOL, I empathize, and I really felt snubbed (again) when I was first on a Manix 2 XHP only to be rejected, but again, I do understand all the reasons. I have learned to live with it.
 
I have a slightly different attitude on this. If I have any reason to trust the buyer, I would definitely sell overseas -- OK, some countries are poison. :( Canada isn't even a question, no hesitation there, as annoying as their Customs can be.

But I'm retired US Postal Service, so I'm more comfortable with the system than many other guys. And my local station knows I'm one of the family, so to speak, so I get any help I need working out any regulations on strange and far-off places.

Besides, 10 minutes is a long wait for my small local post office, so even that isn't a problem.

I do wish more people would consider cutting our overseas members in on deals, but I understand that isn't easy, and with so many American buyers, people feel like they don't need to take the chance.

Keep this in mind, too! --

knifeswapper said:
Now we only ship International Express with full insurance coverage and have yet to have an issue. Even foreign customs agents don't want nasty old inspectors nosing around for lost insured items....

Mike Latham
CollectorKnives.Net
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Thx Esav, and I agree, it pays off to select the most expensive shipping option. No one can really lose if the worst happens - and it rarely does.
Esav said:
and with so many American buyers, people feel like they don't need to take the chance.
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Most Europeans would probably feel the same if most knife trading took place here and Americans were the foreigners. I can't really blame them. I just wish it was different. Oh well. :cool:
 
morrowj_98 said:
I don't have trouble selling knives when my sale is marked "U.S. Only." If I can sell knives without trouble, why should I take on the extra hassle and risk shipping to overseas or to Canada? I gain nothing but the potential for future problems. It is an unfortunate reality.
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About the same way I feel.


If I were a dealer it would be different, but I almost always sell at my cost or lose money. Its enough trouble just shipping US only...and yeah, I am a bit lazy when it comes to this type of stuff:p
 
I don't ship overseas because I had knife "disappear" once it reached customs. I received about 20 emails accusing me of being a thief, a liar, and an overall piece of garbage. Then the threats started about him telling anyone who was interested in my sales threads that I was a scammer, a liar, and a thief. This continued until I told the guy that I would refund his $425.00 back to him. So I was out the knife and the $425.00. I can't tell you how many times I apologized and even before I shipped it, how many times I told him that I wasn't responsible for the package once it left the US.

That's the last time I shipped overseas. It's just something I won't do anymore unless I've dealt with the person before. I will usually ship to Canada if the buyer pays the extra fees because I've never had an issue besides a couple things taking a little too long to get there.
 
No, it is different. I receive dozens of packages from all over the world and I have never had an issue with U.S. customs.
 
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