But me or David would have to bear the cost of return shipping and the hassle of getting VAT and duty refunded.
(In their former terms KEH explicitely excluded refunding of overseas return shipping costs in any case. In their new terms of last November they are vague on that.)
In case of non-defective return they still exclude refunding of all shipping costs.
Yes, as I said shipping to overseas locations is likely to be expensive but I didn't know of their former, and perhaps still ongoing rules regarding overseas return shipping costs. As for non defective returns, I wouldn't expect them to bear the costs of my deciding I just didn't want something I'd ordered. If its not their fault its coming back, I don't think they should have to pay the shipping.
Really though its all about location. For someone over here they can be a great store. For someone overseas shipping alone (and your VAT) make any US based supplier less than ideal. I wonder however if Ebay will make this change. More and more sellers offer free shipping, even international shipping. Its all about competition, and if your competing against a seller in Japan who had a decent price and free shipping you need to offer something to keep your customers. I recently ordered a flash unit from a seller in Japan. Free shipping, a very competitive cost on a hard to find item. They shipped it the day I made the purchase. 6 days later it was in my hands...
