why is it that ads selling items state U.S. only ?

spoolman · Jul 14, 2021

guangong said:
My rural post office is manned by one person. Very seldom a line. What I find strange is that a mailed package from China arrives faster than a mailed package from NYC, less than 75 miles away.
With PayPal backup, I don’t mind buying from abroad, since i’ll be refunded for non delivery. Years ago, I lost a set of valuable, hard to replace books, due to postal strike in UK, although promised that package would be delivered after strike. Somebody got a monetary windfall.

Where I live in Toronto there are 5 postal outlets in either variety(mom and pop) stores or in chain store pharmacies within walking distance. All I do for rate quotes is to go onto Canada Post website look for rates page input package size and weight and where it is going(zip or postal code and country).I then let the buyer know what the cost is and if they accept then I fill out customs forms that I get from postal outlet. I then take the package to the outlet present the package and the form, tell them what rate I'm sending the package with and in less than 5 minutes the process is done and I'm on my way home.

Doug

fdonadio · Jul 15, 2021

foc said:
So I post my small items and get some exercise into the bargain and maybe meet a few neighbours and have a chat.

Hey, do you have a house for rent there? Your neighborhood sounds like a great place to live.

fdonadio · Jul 15, 2021

laser said:
I have been very successful in shipping "Making KODAK Film" outside the US because the buyers think it is worth while to spend $70 for shipping and I am willing to spend the time to make sure the books are properly packages, documents are completed, and I track every shipment. For less expensive items it may not be worth the shipper's effort.

Yes, Mr. Shanebrook! Your book is worth the shipping price (and a lot more) and I thank you for caring to spend that extra effort and send it to us here in the 3rd world.

You and your books are GREAT!

foc · Jul 15, 2021

fdonadio said:
Hey, do you have a house for rent there? Your neighborhood sounds like a great place to live.

Yes it is BUT you must like rain or have webbed feet.

Chan Tran · Jul 15, 2021

spoolman said:
Thanks all for your responses.So what advice would you all have for someone in my position? Short of giving all of these items away,which I would prefer not to do as I need the money, and short of selling on ebay which is a bit of a pain but at this point it seems the only other choice other than tossing all of it into the trash.

Doug

If you're selling and you're willing to ship overseas I see no problem except for the shipping cost may be to high and the buyer would want to pay for it. If you're buying some sellers don't want to ship overseas myself included.

fdonadio · Jul 15, 2021

Chan Tran said:
If you're selling and you're willing to ship overseas I see no problem except for the shipping cost may be to high and the buyer would want to pay for it. If you're buying some sellers don't want to ship overseas myself included.

Most of the time, the buyer will pay the price for shipping, as the item may be hard to find locally. I have done that myself a handful of times.

Alan Edward Klein · Jul 15, 2021

What recourse do you have as a seller dealing with some guy in another country?

Alan Edward Klein · Jul 15, 2021

Kodachromeguy said:
What do you mean recourse? You have three choices (but you already know this):
1. Tell the potential buyer that you are sorry and cannot ship to another country.
2. Tell the buyer that you will check on shipping prices and let him know. Then you two re-evaluate.
3. Tell him up front fine as long as he covers the shipping fees, insurance, etc.

By recourse I meant if you actually sold something to a buyer in another country. Then, you have a problem with them or the shipping or whatever. What legal recourse do you have? It's too far away and complicated to deal with. I'm hesitant to sell stuff on line if the person is in another part of the USA, much less to another country.

BrianShaw · Jul 15, 2021

Alan Edward Klein said:
By recourse I meant if you actually sold something to a buyer in another country. Then, you have a problem with them or the shipping or whatever. What legal recourse do you have? It's too far away and complicated to deal with. I'm hesitant to sell stuff on line if the person is in another part of the USA, much less to another country.

Even in the US, for private party sales there is little reasonable recourse. Small claims court... but even that is often not worth the effort.

Sirius Glass · Jul 15, 2021

All my private party purchases on ~~APUG~~ Photrio went well in part because everyone does complete exposure and many good photographs.

Huss · Jul 15, 2021

mgb74 said:
A good point. But I couldn't do without a kitchen scale and my kitchen scale doesn't know the difference between flour and a camera.

I'm curious to see the photographs that scale takes.

Huss · Jul 15, 2021

So a few people abroad have asked to buy stuff from me. They want to use a shipping service i.e. I ship it to the service here in the US, and they do what they do to forward it to the buyer.
I am leery.... should I be?

MattKing · Jul 15, 2021

Huss said:
So a few people abroad have asked to buy stuff from me. They want to use a shipping service i.e. I ship it to the service here in the US, and they do what they do to forward it to the buyer.
I am leery.... should I be?

I have a shipping address in the USA - a for profit business provides it, and I can drive 16 blocks (crossing at a border crossing) and pick up my parcels.
I have had that address registered at PayPal for a long time, so as I understand it any PayPal protections available to sellers attach to shipments to that address. Sellers and I get the same PayPal protections when things come straight to my residential and billing address.
The main issue with any such service - including forwarding services - is whether shipments to them create problems with PayPal protections.
I expect that any PayPal protection would not cover anything past when the parcel arrives at the address of the shipping service - if then.
As to whether shipping services themselves are a cause for concern, I have no concerns with the service I deal with, other than a real concern whether they will actually survive the fallout from Covid 19 and the closure of the border - almost all their customers are in Canada, and cross the border to use them.
I would hate it if Darryl was forced to close his business - he is great to deal with.

removed account4 · Jul 15, 2021

Alan Edward Klein said:
What recourse do you have as a seller dealing with some guy in another country?

well,
I shipped a silver magnet to somebody in France ( I think it was France ). ... it was during covid and everything was a mess
the item never arrived, the only recourse I had was to mail another one and hope he got it. I had the same problem domestically .. shipped via
priority mail, said it was delivered, was never delivered, I had to send a 2nd one and hope it was delivered ...
in other words the only recourse is that you hope the buyer is honest and if you have the ability to send a 2nd one you eat the cost.
according to the post office ( US ) there is no tracking after it arrives outside the US .

the other bit of recourse is a complete refund, via PayPal.

BrianShaw · Jul 15, 2021

Tracking outside the US is “iffy”. Not long ago I was shocked when shipping a camera to New Zealand and it was tracked right to delivery. It wasn't inexpensive, though.

afriman · Jul 16, 2021

I have for several years now been using MyUS when ordering from the USA. (You can now also get a UK address.) On the whole, I have been very happy as it addresses all the problems mentioned in this thread very effectively:

For the seller, it's just like dealing with a local buyer.
The shipping rates are very reasonable and you are given a choice of various services provided by a number of couriers/postal services.
Shipments are packed very professionally and securely.
You can consolidate shipments. MyUS will keep your packages until you ask for them to be sent together in a single package. This can save a lot on shipping costs, especially when dealing with several small packages.
Insurance is provided.
They take care of the customs documentation.
Tracking is excellent right to your door.
Most of my orders have arrived within about a week.

There are several companies offering similar services. I recently signed up with Aramex Global Shopper. Their services are not as comprehensive (e.g. they don't offer consolidation) but for a single small payment you become a lifelong member and get addresses in several countries throughout the world.

International shipping is expensive, especially since the pandemic, but using one of these companies does take away a lot of the pain and risk. For many of us who don't live in the US, shopping internationally is really the only available option for many items.

beemermark · Jul 17, 2021

Arthurwg said:
I also think USPS insurance is useless on foreign shipments.

From experience, yes worthless.

beemermark · Jul 17, 2021

Chan Tran said:
If you're selling and you're willing to ship overseas I see no problem except for the shipping cost may be to high and the buyer would want to pay for it. If you're buying some sellers don't want to ship overseas myself included.

No the problem is every country has different rules. So tracking may disappear, the insurance the shipper paid for may not be covered in the country, and even when every thing goes right it might be a month or more while you wonder where that camera is. I've shipped overseas for years and the anxiety just become too nerve racking. Filling out the USPS forms is easy and you can do it online. Just don't see no reason to do it.

sfphoto · Aug 2, 2021

Huss said:
They want to use a shipping service i.e. I ship it to the service here in the US, and they do what they do to forward it to the buyer. I am leery.... should I be?

Has worked fine for us.
Have not had any lost or damaged parcels though, not sure how that would be.

A couple other points:
Paypal now (8/1/21) charges us 4.5 percent plus 50 cents for US transactions and I believe another 1 percent for international.

USPS insurance only covers the parcel while in their hands. i.e. porch theft is NOT covered.
One would think FedEx/UPS insurance for international would be covered as the parcel remains in their hands.

Lastly regarding messg. #66 in this thread perhaps the OP can use MyUS or what ever Matt uses (messg 63) at least for purchases.

Alan Edward Klein · Aug 2, 2021

sfphoto said:
Has worked fine for us.
Have not had any lost or damaged parcels though, not sure how that would be.

A couple other points:
Paypal now (8/1/21) charges us 4.5 percent plus 50 cents for US transactions and I believe another 1 percent for international.

USPS insurance only covers the parcel while in their hands. i.e. porch theft is NOT covered.
One would think FedEx/UPS insurance for international would be covered as the parcel remains in their hands.

Lastly regarding messg. #66 in this thread perhaps the OP can use MyUS or what ever Matt uses (messg 63) at least for purchases.

With USPS, I believe you could ask the sender to require a signature as it should be insured in any case requiring a recipient;s signature, They won't leave it at the door unsigned for unless subsequently requested by the recipient..

UPS and Fed Ex tend to just drop stuff at the door. I've gotten stuff from Japan left at my door. They also stick small packages in US mail boxes which I believe is illegal. Mail boxes are for the US Postal Service only although there might be some modification as they were delivering private carriers stuff. SO that might be the reason it's done.

why is it that ads selling items state U.S. only ?

Moderator

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency