Why no international shipping?

[jaomul]

Just curious as to why on buy and sell forum a lot of items say "no international shipping". I do understand it costs more, but if a product has shipping cost as an extra, does it matter to the seller?

Note, I am in Ireland and have passed on a few things for sale due this reason, but maybe there is other reasons such as state law that makes it awkward to ship outside US

 

[pixmedic]

I don't know about anyone else, but I personally don't ship outside the US and Canada because I lose tracking as soon as the package leaves the US.

IE: I take payment via paypal, ship the item to some other country where it cant be tracked by the USPS, they say they never got it or its broken or whatever, paypal gives them a refund and im out the item and the money.

There's a healthy dose of paranoia on my part mixed in there, but that's the jist of it.

 

[jaomul]

That makes perfect sense to me. Probably most think like that. I wouldn't ship if that was likely to be the case either. Now I know. Thanks

 

[KmH]

I have shipped stuff I sold here on TPF to Canada, England, and Australia.
Every transaction went off smooth as silk.

 

[Don Kondra]

I've also shipped stuff from Canada to the US, Australia and Switzerland. No issues either....

But I do pay a small additional fee for tracking and delivery confirmation.

The only difference is the need to fill out a form at the post office. Perhaps the "no international shipping" people are just too lazy

Cheers, Don

 

[astroNikon]

I'd ship international to people that I know.
But normally only to CONUS

The last item I shipped international (a few months ago) to someone that I didn't know through eBay and eBay international shipment thing was to Japan.
The buyer's CreditCard pulled payment AFTER I shipped it to the eBay international center. Then the buyer paid for it again. Then the eBay international center shipped it off to Japan. Then the CC company pulled the payment for the eBay international shipment due to an overcharge/overdraft. But the package was already gone.
The buyer got the bike stuff and apparently stiffed eBay.
Luckily I got paid in full.

 

[bratkinson]

I've both bought and sold internationally on ebay. For an overseas purchaser, I'll dig out a couple of shipping methods/carriers/prices and let them choose...all via email before I ship. Once I'm paid for the item and shipping, off it goes. Note that if I had listed an item as free shipping, the free part is limited to US only. Although I sometimes deduct something from the international shipping price I quote them comparable to what I think the free shipping would have been stateside.

Except for the minor paperwork addition, selling to someone overseas is not a hassle. However, my overseas sales were limited to the under $100 items. Higher than $100 value, I'll put a US-only clause in the listing. The reason is two-fold. One, if I get ripped off somehow, my recourse for an overseas sale is likely so problematic that I'll simply take the loss. Number two is declared customs valuation. I always put the sale amount on the declaration. Some buyers want a lowball figure to avoid import duties, but for an item less than $100, it's a small enough duties charge that they won't have a problem.

Similarly, I don't have a problem buying from overseas shippers. Some years back, I bought a good number of computer hardware components from Canada and never had a problem. These days, I've had good luck buying genuine Epson printer ink from China...the prices are unbeatable. Again, I limit my overseas purchases to perhaps $50-60, in the event I never get it. The one exception was a used Canon 80-200 f2.8L lens I bought several years ago from what seems to be a Japanese camera store with an exceptionally good ebay rating. It arrived two days later!

I guess it's a matter of choice for some sellers to refuse overseas sales. Too much risk in their minds? Perhaps they're unwilling to add the extra 2-3 minutes of work to get it shipped? Who knows.

I guess my biggest problem buying from overseas is transit time. I've had ink from China consistently arrive in less than a week based on postmark. However, at the moment, it's going on 2 weeks since I bought an item on Amazon that I didn't realize was coming from Great Britain. Still waiting for that one.

 

[Braineack]

I ship international all the time. I'll be mailing something to Finland next week.

 

[480sparky]

I don't worry about getting ripped of by scammers using international shipping.

I don't have to worry because I just sent out $40,000 via Western Union so I can get my $16,000,000 prize money from a Nigerian diplomat from the UN.

 

[table1349]

For me it is quite simple. HAVE YOU SEEN THE WAY THEY ADDRESS THINGS IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD!!!!

I have read books shorter than some of the addresses they use. Especially the Germans. Yes I know, lived in Germany for two and a half years. Love the people, hate some of their street names. How would you like to live in Frankfurt on Carl-Philipp-Emanuel-Bach-Straße?

Try sending a package to Taumata New Zealand to Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu street.

The Welsh are just as bad with Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.

Of course we can be just as silly here in the US. However in our defense Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg is in Webster, Massachusetts. (That explains a lot)

I don't even know where 深港西部通道 is in China.

To the rest of the world, and Massachusetts, try using things like 1st Street, 2nd Street, etc. We have technology.