[kiertijai]

     I am from Thailand and would like to share my experience with the head-fi members.
     I have purchased several items directly from head-fi member websites, audiogon, ebay, amazon.com
amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca..   The head-fi websites include moon-audio, RWA, ALO, Eddiecurrent, the cablepro,
whiplashaudio, TTVJ, thecablepro, whiplash audio etc.   I also purchased from audiogon, ebay.
      The shipment that I preferred most is by USPS express international mail because it provide fast, reliable
delivery time with tracking with acceptable price.   I don't prefer Fex or DHL although it may be faster, more reliable
and this is not because it is more expensive.  The problem is with Thai custom which sometimes overcharged
the items sent by Fedex or DHL which may be up to 45% of the declared value (real value + shipment cost)
The shipment cost by other means is relatively slow and less reliable.  I really don't like purchasing items from
Canadapost because it is very slow for every items and sometimes they got lost or arrived later than the paypal
deadline.
     Another company that I like about shipment is the bluejeanscable.com , because they will send via Fedex
but not the express but they will deliver within 1 week and the most beautiful thing is that they will charge you 7%
for custom at their site and the items will go through Thai custom without extra custom pay because it has been
taking care of.
      I would like that kind of service, if not the USPS express internation is the second best option for us.
      We have to accept that there are some sellers who are not reliable or there are definitely some buyer
who  use fraud credit cards but I think that is less common in the head-fi communit .  It happens more
in the ebay because I encountered them myself , sadly to say that those sellers are from Thailand also.
So I don't buy things from Thai website, I will be very careful the websites in China or Hong Kong and I
prefer not to purchase items from Canda because Canadpost is very slow , if I have to purchase things
from Canada I will ask them to send by Fedex.   I also that purchasing things from amazon.co.uk or
jpc.de for CD's, SACD's are also reliable and faster that USPS express mail or amazon.com.
      

 

[punkfloyd]

I love Italy however I don't ship there. I have shipped more than 600 items on eBay to more than 40+ countries. I've lost only two packages ever.
 
Guess where?

 

[kiertijai]

I hope it's not Thailand.   Howeve it is I am not surprised.
But it should go by statistics that which countries you have sent most items too?  USA?

 

[Aynjell]

Quote:

I hope it's not Thailand.   Howeve it is I am not surprised.
But it should go by statistics that which countries you have sent most items too?  USA?

Since it's the only place he won't ship I'm assuming italy.

 

[Liver]

First I am using CONUS as a catch all for all 50 United States.  I know was CONUS means, but I am including Alaska and Hawaii for my reasoning.
 
I don't like shipping out of the CONUS because the buyer usually asks me to circumvent their country's tax system. 
 
I mean they want me to label it as a gift or want me to insure it for far less to reduce the taxes once picked up.  Its clearly wrong and if there is ever an issue, it certainly will not hold up to official inquiry.  In fact, I received an ugly response from a fellow Head-Fier who was so upset that I would not lie for him / her.
 
That is why I prefer CONUS.

 

[salannelson]

Quote:

First I am using CONUS as a catch all for all 50 United States.  I know was CONUS means, but I am including Alaska and Hawaii for my reasoning.
 
I don't like shipping out of the CONUS because the buyer usually asks me to circumvent their country's tax system. 
 
I mean they want me to label it as a gift or want me to insure it for far less to reduce the taxes once picked up.  Its clearly wrong and if there is ever an issue, it certainly will not hold up to official inquiry.  In fact, I received an ugly response from a fellow Head-Fier who was so upset that I would not lie for him / her.
 
That is why I prefer CONUS.

If you know what it means then you should be saying "US only" correct?

 

[Todd R]

Quote:

How exactly does selling internationally increase the risk of getting scammed?

Easy. I ship a package, but once it's out of the hands of USPS, they have no control over it or info on it once they hand it off to a another countries postal system.  IF that country happens to scan the package when it arrives, then there is at least proof that it got as far as the customs office. If they don't scan it, then hopefully it gets delivered to the buyer, but you never know if it really does unless they tell you.
 
For countries like that (I'm looking at you Russia) all the buyer has to do is claim it never arrived, then file a claim with PayPal. Since the seller has no real proof of what happened to the package, PayPal gives the money back to the buyer. So the buyer gets his money back AND the item he ordered for free (if it was delivered).
 
Yes, you can buy full tracking with Express mail, or UPS, or FedEx, but it's so expensive that no buyer is going to pay that much to get something shipped to him, especially if it's under $100.
 
FYI, I ship overseas several times a week, but I have been burned  a few times just as described above.
 
Quote:

 
But you still need to go to a post office to sell within CONUS, right?

No, You can print postage on line and then drop the package off or put it in your mailbox for pickup.

 

[kiertijai]

Dear Todd R, Liver
    I am a foreign customer.   I also understand the situation of the seller and the buyer
    I always asked the seller to send by usps express mail although it is expensive but not so much as Fedex or DHL
and it also provides tracking number.  In cases that the item have left USA and there is evidence that it has entered the
country of destination paypal will decide in your favour.
    Sometimes we have to ask you about the declaration as used items , not as a gift because you can not send gift
to the customer by a company name and we may ask you to declare the value lower.  Although we all know that it is
incorrect, but most of the seller understand that.  The buyer also understand that if the item got lost they can not get
the full money back. That's why they would like to use the usps express mail which is quite reliable with tracking .
     In my country Thailand the usual rate for tax of electronics is 7% but for high value item ordered on line they may
charge up to 45-50% increase from the real value (30% custom from the real value +S&H, after that they will add 7%
VAT  so the total += 45-50% increase).  So sometimes we may ask the declared value to be lower so that we
can pay 7% tax as it should be.  And I think it's your are right that you may deny that and they have no right at all to be
angry with you.  So If you stand by that and if they are really interested in having your product they will accept the
custom .   Can you do like Bluejeanscable.com ? that they will charge 7% tax as they calculated for the total cost
and the items will go through the custom without extra pay.  How to do that, Please ask bluejeanscablecom

 

[Liver]

I know the difference between US only and CONUS, I addressed that in my post.

 
To Kiertijai:   I have no problems sending by a mutually acceptable shipping company for a mutually acceptable cost.
 
I have no issues declaring the item as used, if it is used.  
 
I'm an individual, not a reseller, so what an established reseller like Bluejeanscable does not help me as an individual.  Its not the same.  BJC mostly make money on their sales, I try to limit my loss.  
 
I understand that your country charges a hefty tax fee.  Putting misleading information on the shipping package is the one of the main reasons I don't ship out of the US.  Just answering the question of why sellers list "CONUS" only.
 
I remember it was a Canadian member that cursed me for having to pay legitimate taxes in his / her own country. 
 
Quote:

Dear Todd R, Liver
    I am a foreign customer.   I also understand the situation of the seller and the buyer
    I always asked the seller to send by usps express mail although it is expensive but not so much as Fedex or DHL
and it also provides tracking number.  In cases that the item have left USA and there is evidence that it has entered the
country of destination paypal will decide in your favour.
    Sometimes we have to ask you about the declaration as used items , not as a gift because you can not send gift
to the customer by a company name and we may ask you to declare the value lower.  Although we all know that it is
incorrect, but most of the seller understand that.  The buyer also understand that if the item got lost they can not get
the full money back. That's why they would like to use the usps express mail which is quite reliable with tracking .
     In my country Thailand the usual rate for tax of electronics is 7% but for high value item ordered on line they may
charge up to 45-50% increase from the real value (30% custom from the real value +S&H, after that they will add 7%
VAT  so the total += 45-50% increase).  So sometimes we may ask the declared value to be lower so that we
can pay 7% tax as it should be.  And I think it's your are right that you may deny that and they have no right at all to be
angry with you.  So If you stand by that and if they are really interested in having your product they will accept the
custom .   Can you do like Bluejeanscable.com ? that they will charge 7% tax as they calculated for the total cost
and the items will go through the custom without extra pay.  How to do that, Please ask bluejeanscablecom

 

[punkfloyd]

One buyer from the UK wasn't happy that he had to pay taxes for a used RS1. I sold it on eBay for $450 and marked it $40 as per his instructions. He paid taxes for that lower declared amount and was mad about it. If I mark it any lower, shipping would be higher than that declared amount. I'm sure customs would find this suspicious.
 
Quote:

First I am using CONUS as a catch all for all 50 United States.  I know was CONUS means, but I am including Alaska and Hawaii for my reasoning.
 
I don't like shipping out of the CONUS because the buyer usually asks me to circumvent their country's tax system. 
 
I mean they want me to label it as a gift or want me to insure it for far less to reduce the taxes once picked up.  Its clearly wrong and if there is ever an issue, it certainly will not hold up to official inquiry.  In fact, I received an ugly response from a fellow Head-Fier who was so upset that I would not lie for him / her.
 
That is why I prefer CONUS.

 

[punkfloyd]

Quote:

Since it's the only place he won't ship I'm assuming italy.

I think a private courier service is the only reliable method to Italy like FedEx, UPS etc.

 

[Deep Funk]

Luckily there are alternatives besides the U.S.A. and yes I know the stress of mailing/shipping abroad. This thread clarified things for me...

 

[thrillhaus]

Laziness would be incorrectly stereotyping.
 
Quote:

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.

Apparently, there's ignorance too.
 

 

[Astrozombie]

I am TIRED of all the shenanigans, but i always forget to put only CONUS and PAYPAL only on my auctions. Even then people can LIE and burn you and get their money back...........urghhh i need to check out craigslist to sell stuff in person.

 

[vid]

Quote:

I am TIRED of all the shenanigans, but i always forget to put only CONUS and PAYPAL only on my auctions. Even then people can LIE and burn you and get their money back...........urghhh i need to check out craigslist to sell stuff in person.

I once bought a pair of phones off Head-Fi from a US seller (me being in the EU). Gave him ample $ for shipping, yet the guy sent them cheap with absolutely no tracking. The phones arrived to me broken.
 
I could've filed a claim with PayPal, saying I never received the phones (no tracking) and possibly gotten all my money back. I didn't do that, though; I contacted the seller, told him what had happened, and eventually got some of my money back from him, but I still took a loss of some $100+. Even if I had known beforehand I'd take a loss, I still would've gone for the honest route.
 
People in this thread seem to commonly give up sending anything outside the US after one or two deals go bad, but having one or two bad guys doesn't mean every non-US resident is out to scam you.