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Post by Insane on Feb 15, 2015 7:02:00 GMT
Hello forum people,
In the classifieds you often see U.S residents only. And i wonder why? I life in Europe The Netherlands to be precise. I've ordered dozens of swords from the U.S. and Canada without problems. Shipping for an average blade sets me back around $45,-
So why are people reluctant to ship overseas? You have to bring it to the same postoffice so what's the problem with a sender abroad? What's the difference?
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Mikeeman
Member
Small Business Operator
Posts: 2,904
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Post by Mikeeman on Feb 15, 2015 7:15:34 GMT
A lot of overseas countries have ridiculous customs paperwork to fill out and a lot of people don't like going through all the hassle.
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Post by William Swiger on Feb 15, 2015 8:10:38 GMT
I have shipped many swords to other countries. The customs form only takes a couple minutes to fill out but the post office has to check their books to see if swords are allowed to be mailed to the country and have to check size and weight restrictions. Another problem is some people in the US have had bad experiences with packages not making it to their destination or lost. Trying to file the paperwork for a lost or damaged package is horrible.
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Post by randomnobody on Feb 15, 2015 8:13:10 GMT
Pretty much that. The one time I sent a sword overseas it was via a forwarding company that the buyer already had lined up. All I had to do was send it to an address in Florida, I think it was, and the folks there would handle the rest. International mail comes with more rules and regulations than I can be bothered to keep up with, it's hard enough to be sure of what I'm allowed to mail domestically.
This subject has come up before, and it's largely been agreed that it's the sellers choice where they're willing to ship to and buyers shouldn't expect them to go out of their way if they don't want to. Surely individual exceptions can be made if one simply asks and is willing to negotiate, but the biggest turn-off is usually the cost and associated risks of international mail. Then what happens if the item is damaged in shipping? It's a headache.
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Post by L Driggers (fallen) on Feb 15, 2015 8:20:43 GMT
As someone who has shipped overseas I can tell you the paper work to do it is very simple, takes me about 5 minutes max. to do it. Haven't ran into any problems yet. I only use USPS, very easy to deal with.
Think a lot of people are worry customs in the country it going to will seal the item, then they will be out the product and have to refund the money. The way I look at it, it's the person who order it problem no refund.
Some of my overseas friends have order things in the US had them shipped to me then I reship it to them.
Think most the people on here don't understand how easy it is to ship oversea. Can't remember if I never shipped something to you, think I have.
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Post by Insane on Feb 15, 2015 8:44:21 GMT
As someone who has shipped overseas I can tell you the paper work to do it is very simple, takes me about 5 minutes max. to do it. Haven't ran into any problems yet. I only use USPS, very easy to deal with. Think a lot of people are worry customs in the country it going to will seal the item, then they will be out the product and have to refund the money. The way I look at it, it's the person who order it problem no refund. Some of my overseas friends have order things in the US had them shipped to me then I reship it to them. Think most the people on here don't understand how easy it is to ship oversea. Can't remember if I never shipped something to you, think I have. Exactly my point, at least shipping to Holland shouldn't be an issue. Maybe there are countries with strict regulations that make it a bother for the seller. but the average country in Europe shouldn't be a problem. Didn't i buy a DSA Crecy from you?
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Post by L Driggers (fallen) on Feb 15, 2015 8:53:53 GMT
No not at home right now, think it was one of the $5.00 tomahawks when I was first starting out.
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Post by Insane on Feb 15, 2015 8:56:27 GMT
I just looked in PM and we have not done any business.
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Post by L Driggers (fallen) on Feb 15, 2015 8:59:29 GMT
You have PM's from 3 years ago, have a hard time keeping up with the things I sold. Don't keep very good records.
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Post by junon on Feb 15, 2015 12:18:22 GMT
You know... I had one interesting experience...
I bought from classified before and ask the seller to send the item to crusader monk... However my PayPal address is of course in my home country... It causes a lot of worry to the seller (afraid I would claim refund with paypal) so he asked me to wait until the money can be withdrawn safely to his account (a week delay I recall). When he knew the sword would be shipped overseas later on, he got alarmed as well.
Basically he was afraid (I think) I was an extremist terrorist who would behead people on YouTube using the sword I just bought :D
I gave him couple reference of people I had done sword business before... But he wasn't totally convinced.
I then had to provide link to my LinkedIn profile to show I'm not some random unknown crazy guy :)
If I had to ask him ship the sword internationally, he might have refund my money altogether since it's too much inconvenience for him probably... :D
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Post by LG Martial Arts on Feb 15, 2015 14:04:47 GMT
I've shipped items to many parts of the world and have sadly had to say no more than once to people who wanted a particular item(s) I had on the classifieds - while the customs forms might not take too long to fill out, there are a few things to contend with when shipping an item overseas: is the item legal in the country you're sending it to? Will it be seized and destroyed by customs if it is indeed not legal? How do you (or the person who bought the item from you) try to recover the loss? Some of our Aussie members can attest to the fact that knife and sword laws are ridiculously strict in the land down under, and probably know of someone (or themselves) who have had their items impounded/confiscated by customs, never to see them at all. The same can be said for other countries in the mid East, and elsewhere in the world as well. In the end, I think it comes down to the fact that as the seller, it gets really difficult to trust shipping companies to deliver the goods you just sold.
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Post by Suho on Feb 15, 2015 16:37:04 GMT
I've shipped things internationally numerous times, including large guitars. There, the size can create many problems due to limitations and ridiculous postage but with swords I feel any risk of customs problems is on the buyer. The reason I list a for sale price as US48 is simply because when I list a price it includes shipping and I can't do that if it includes international locations. Having said that, I have still sold at least one sword internationally. I figure if the buyer wants it bad enough he/she will at least pm me to inquire about it. They also have to understand they will pay more. The paperwork never bothered me.
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Post by Afoo on Feb 15, 2015 23:34:25 GMT
One other thing to keep in mind is that the customs fees can be expensive, and they can be a thorny issue when returning an item - you can't recover them from the government once you paid them (sometimes you can, but its usually a pain). As such, who is to pay for them?
For those in the US - whats the deal with the US48? I presume Alaska and Hawaii do not have the same issue with customs as us across the border.
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Post by randomnobody on Feb 15, 2015 23:45:33 GMT
I'm also baffled on the continental 48, I guess Hawaii and Alaska are subject to semi-international rules due to the former being a group of islands way out in the Pacific Ocean and the latter possibly having to pass through Canada (and thus, clear Canadian Customs) at some point. Perhaps a relic of older shipping methods (when we can just fly wherever, why drive through somewhere else?) but I honestly have no idea.
Heck, there are continental states US-based businesses won't ship to because they've had too many things seized or can't be sure if any given thing is actually legal to ship there. It's just a crazy mess, really.
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Post by Afoo on Feb 16, 2015 3:24:39 GMT
I figure most mail would be done by air anyways these days - especially if you are going to Alaska. I am in Canada, and even I would not want to drive to Alaska....
You may be right about the customs - though our rules here for goods from the US are pretty lax - especially if their end goal is also the US.
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Post by Suho on Feb 16, 2015 4:49:15 GMT
As I stated, for me, US48 is based on price (including shipping) because the USPS shipping is based on location from shipper. Hawaii and Alaska are that much farther away that the price will be a noticeable amount more. For me, it's not that I won't ship there but the price I am quoting is only for the US48- Alaska and Hawaii will be more $$$.
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Post by Svadilfari on Feb 16, 2015 6:58:09 GMT
Honestly - I don't see where the real problem is.? I live here in Australia..and nearly all my swords have been shipped here with no problems. OK. I deal mainly with folks like KOA. If THEY and other suppliers regularly ship overseas with few problems..why can't individuals ? Maybe what we need is a detailed quide for sellers shipping swords ?. Sure..the bulk of your customers may be in the USA, but there's a big world out there who may be willing to pay good money for what you're trying to sell. You have that rare, one-of a kind item - someone overseas may be more than willing to pay double what you're likely to get in the USA, but they won't even bother investigating because of "Sell only in Con USA" policy. Heck..what do you do with those folks who are US citizens but live in Hawaii ? Ignore them ?
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Post by L Driggers (fallen) on Feb 16, 2015 7:04:19 GMT
I've been shipping a lot to Australia lately.
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Post by Jussi Ekholm on Feb 16, 2015 13:30:40 GMT
I'm not sure how good the US post system website is. By quick look it seems great, just like the Finnish post has. For example you can find weights here: pe.usps.com/text/imm/immpg.htmProhibted items here: pe.usps.com/text/imm/ab_toc.htmCustoms forms here: www.usps.com/international/customs-forms.htmIn the modern world shipping internationally is quite easy. I've shipped to multiple countries without any problems (although size restrictions sometimes give a headache...). And sometimes you have to write some specific stuff on forms. I know I bought a bunch of 5$ axes from you L. Of course a bunch of them to divide the shipping costs. Few times when I've asked a shipping cost for one sword from US seller, I've gotten a quote like 200$'s. Usually the items I've asked on have been so cheap that it doesn't pay off to pay such large postage costs. Usually for a sword it should be under 100$ shipping cost to Finland, more regularily around 60-70$'s. Of course now that USD is ridiculously strong I won't buying much from US for a while...
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Post by ineffableone on Feb 16, 2015 17:57:56 GMT
Hello forum people, In the classifieds you often see U.S residents only. And i wonder why? I life in Europe The Netherlands to be precise. I've ordered dozens of swords from the U.S. and Canada without problems. Shipping for an average blade sets me back around $45,- So why are people reluctant to ship overseas? You have to bring it to the same postoffice so what's the problem with a sender abroad? What's the difference? Lack of experience doing it is generally the reason why people don't want to. They don't have any experience with it and don't want to learn. It is easier to just say CONUS only and not worry about international shipping.
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