Selling internationally, what are the negatives???

[17coyote]

Just wanted to know from people that have experience selling internationally what are the drawbacks? IE customs, mishandling of packages, breakage issues, insurance claims. Thanks

[TrueFaith]

I'm a buyer, not a seller. One thing I can tell you is that international buyers are much more prone to reneging on a sale because of "buyer's remorse". I can't tell you how many second chance offers I've received on auctions I've lost because the international winner was a deadbeat.

[cblakey1]

1. Very expensive to ship. For example an item that's over 4 pounds has to go priority mail via USPS. That means a $30.00 bust could cost $49.00 to ship to Europe.

2. Untrackable. Some countries can use the customs form number, but it is basically untrackable through USPS unless you do EMS and/or pay insurance.

3. UnInsurance. By that I mean you're wasting money paying for insurance because USPS doesn't honor claims on lost or non-received items. This is because they can't prove who lost it - US or the foreign country.

4. Some folks lie about not receiving their stuff. This has happened to me twice when I shipped to one country in particular. 'Course you can't prove whether they got it or not, so you have to give 'em back their dough.

For the most part I've been lucky shipping internationally, but it is definitely not one of my favorite things.

[Dan_Lebou]

I've both purchased and sold overseas (i'm in the UK).

From a buyers perspective there's the possibility of getting stung by customs.

From a sellers perspective there are the issues with insurance.

From both perspectives there's the cost of shipping abroad. I see a load of great bargains on books and statues that are in the US but once I factor in the cost of shipping (especially paper - it's heavy) I'm no better off and may as well just get it from over here. This also works the other way round where I'm sure that I could have gotten a sale except for the fact that the buyer would have had to pay out the same again for the shipping.

Having said all that however, I have never had any problems selling or buying from abroad. maybe I've just been lucky.

[17coyote]

Hey thanks to everyone for the input. I really appreciate it.

[Vracula]

I have traded with 2 folks on the forum both of them were stand up folk and both were from the states.

[Tetragrammaton]

That's the problem with the world.

Too many foreigners.

[Closetnerd]

Originally Posted by cblakey1

1. Very expensive to ship. For example an item that's over 4 pounds has to go priority mail via USPS. That means a $30.00 bust could cost $49.00 to ship to Europe.

2. Untrackable. Some countries can use the customs form number, but it is basically untrackable through USPS unless you do EMS and/or pay insurance.

3. UnInsurance. By that I mean you're wasting money paying for insurance because USPS doesn't honor claims on lost or non-received items. This is because they can't prove who lost it - US or the foreign country.

4. Some folks lie about not receiving their stuff. This has happened to me twice when I shipped to one country in particular. 'Course you can't prove whether they got it or not, so you have to give 'em back their dough.

For the most part I've been lucky shipping internationally, but it is definitely not one of my favorite things.

CB covered everything very well, IMO......

[vpw]

I bought a few items from SF, SS and ebay, so far the tracking number works...sort of, although items tend to get stuck in customs for a while overseas.
I personally don't mind paying the extra shipping cost for things that I really can't find over here.

[Sledge Hammer!]

Personally I think it's less about where you sell to, and more about who you sell to. Neither domestic nor foreign buyers have the market cornered as far as the potential for good, or bad, sales experiences go. A good buyer could be from anywhere, just the same as a bad buyer can be.