[12barblues]

Apologies if I'm in the wrong section, but I couldn't see anywhere else to ask this question.  Mods feel free to move elsewhere if necessary!
 
Question:  The vast majority of sellers are in the USA, no surprise there, but why won't they sell outside the US?  If the buyer pays the extra shipping costs and pays up front with a verified Paypal account where is the additional risk to the seller?
 
I must be missing something, but what?

 

[Anaxilus]

Only the added inconvenience of adding a customs form.  Doesn't bother me.  I list my prices w/ shipping for CONUS but will send anything anywhere if the buyer pays for it.

 

[12barblues]

That makes perfect sense to me.  However, I've just looked at one of the 'For Sale' forums and the results for the first 7* were:
 
4 CONUS only
1 CONUS preferred
1 not specified
1 worldwide
 
*  I know that the 'sample size police' will chasing me, if there are any statisticians out there.
 
I'm baffled and frustrated!

 

[Uncle Erik]

Because tracking overseas packages is harder, especially the kind of proof that PayPal demands if a buyer claims a package to be lost and demands a refund. If PayPal strengthened their seller protections for international transactions, more people would be willing to ship overseas.

I can't remember the name of the company, but there was a thread here awhile back about a company that provides a US shipping address for international buyers, then forwards the packages to you. If I recall, the prices were reasonable. That might be a good option.

 

[12barblues]

Thanks Uncle E, that begins to make sense. 
 
But.....in the last few days I've used Paypal to buy cd's from Japan, books from Belgium and  headphones from the USA without any problems. I just can't buy an amp and dac from Head-Fiers to use with the 'phones. It's very frustrating!
 
Maybe I'll have to get my daughter, who has just moved from the UK to San Jose, to buy stuff for me, and I'll just have to eat the excess shipping costs.

 

[MASantos]

I would say that most of times is just the sellers being lazy and not bothering to fill the customs form. 
 
I've tried to deal with people in the US, asking for full tracking on the shipping (thus giving the seller no problem with paypal claims) and paying for the extra shipping and still they didn't wan't to go through with the deal. So I still don't understand the whole thing and just gave up.

 

[rawrster]

I usually prefer ConUS but will ship international at buyer's expense which is laid out for the buy and they have to agree to assume all risk before even giving them any payment option. I do that for a couple of reasons
 
Shipping within ConUS is very cheap. It's usually under $10 total for shipping within 2-3 business days, tracking and some kind of insurance. There is a customs form that I don't like to fill out. The main factor for me in preferring to ship ConUS is tracking and shipping time. For a tracking option shipping is pretty expensive compared to regular first class. It also takes an upward of 2 weeks. That could be remedied by EMS but is more expensive.
 
I personally don't mind if a buyer wants to pay the difference and assume all risk in case of damage, loss or any problems with customs.

 

[El_Doug]

Perhaps I should reword my FS posts? 
 
I dont know about anyone else, but when I write "$X shipped CONUS" i simply mean that the price includes shipping conus, but international buyers would have to pay the difference.  It never occurred to me that this may be a misleading way of writing the price! 

 

[Asr]

International shipping (via USPS):
- Requires a customs form
- Filling out said customs form means waiting in a line (and not everyone has time to wait in line - lines at USPS offices are always long during lunch breaks and at the end of the day when people get out of work)
- Customs forms require a "declaration of value" of the contents and the amount entered affects the customs fees the buyer will have to pay (issue of seller-buyer ethics and potential legal & shipping consequences)
- Actual cost of international shipping may cause the buyer to flake (it can cost more than you think)
- Packages sent outside the USA have a higher chance of getting mis-tracked, lost, or stolen
- FedEx/UPS: brokerage fees assessed on the buyer at point of destination country's customs
 
USA domestic shipping:
- USPS: can pay for small packages via an automated machine 24/7 and put them into a drop-box (much shorter wait time at USPS office, if any at all)
- FedEx/UPS/USPS: more reliable and cheaper shipping options that will arrive at the destination sooner without a need for customs (plus FedEx and UPS include tracking on all domestic shipping methods)
- Higher chance of packages actually arriving at the destination

 

[fraseyboy]

Because they're lazy.

 

[MrFisherman]

It's because we're lazy.

 

[Uncle Erik]

There are some good arguments here... I wonder if I should loosen up with Head-Fi sales. I don't think it'd be safe to go international with eBay, since there's so much fraud there.

 

[Samgotit]

Because all you eurotrash  want us to ship USPS, which is a pain. I have a fedex account and there is no line there.... ever, but I have to hear endless wailing about your stupid tariffs if I want to ship fedex. Go dunk your head in bowl of bird's nest soup.
 
The only person who I will go to the post office for is Krmathis.

 

[krmathis]

I say it is mostly due to laziness.
But I sort of understand them. Those living in the US have a large national market, plus a postal system that seem to benefit national shipping over international one. Since they can easily sell the good national, and hence save the trip to and form filling at the postal office.
 

The only person who I will go to the post office for is Krmathis.

 
Aaah, thanks! **blushing** 
 

 

[Maxvla]

The biggest issue for me is tracking. I've sold some things internationally before and I was told on some occasions with a couple of the main shipping companies that tracking simply wasn't available. I still shipped the item but I had to pray that it made it. I don't like being at the mercy of the shipper, so I try not to ship internationally.
 
The second biggest issue is customs delays. When I have shipped an item internationally the customs wait usually makes the buyer suspicious of the seller. If there's no tracking available the buyer might not wait long enough and start filing paypal disputes and such.
 
I guess I don't look into it much because I really dislike shipping internationally, but people always say 'just ship it EMS' which is how I usually get stuff from China, but I don't know how to ship EMS. There's no EMS shipping store on the corner in my town. Is this done through USPS?
 
I once shipped something to Israel and the guy behind the counter gave me a look like he was seeing if I was a terrorist or something. Didn't appreciate that.