What's the problem with international shipping?

[teufelhunden]

Well my main beef is the people that are LAZY and the ones that pad their pocket by overcharging on shipping.

Ex #1: I offer trader 'X' some cash for an item. I tell them that I am in Canada and that my offer includes shipping. They either say yes, or no. No biggie. The ones that bother me are the ones that don't bother to check to see what the actual shipping costs are and whine because they ended up paying more then expected for shipping. Don't whine to me cause if you would have checked it out yourself, we could have avoided the whole mess to begin with.

Ex#2: I purchased an complete autococker valve with IVG, spring, and some other small stuff. The jerk charges me $15.00 for shipping. Which I paid because I didn't know any better. I get the package and I can clearly see on the package that he paid $1.75 for shipping and MAYBE $.50 for the padded envelope. His excuse for charging so much shipping was that I bought the parts for dirt cheap. (This was on E-Bay). My thoughts are, he shoulda put a reserve on em if he wanted 'X' amount of dollars for the stuff and not started at a $1.00


I make offers which include shipping all the time. If something is worth 'X' dollars to me shipped thats what I'm willing to pay. Its up to the buyers to say yes or no. Its also up to me if the package gets here and there are customs fees due.


Don't tell me that shipping is going to run $40 minimum as I can clearly see on the USPS site that international flat rate boxes start at $23.00

First, you assume secondly that people's time is free and that they incur no expenses to get to the PO and deal with the added complexity of shipping internationally. For example, if I have to go to the post office during lunch [when it is the busiest] and spend half an hour to ship your thing when it would have taken me no time to ship it domestically, I expect compensation. My time is worth something [a lot, if you talk to the partners at my firm], so you will pay for my additional time and hassle.

Second, on the eBay thing, shipping is very clearly demarcated. You agreed to the charge when you hit bid/buy. You lambaste sellers for not checking shipping costs before shipping but you don't do the same? Due diligence, friend.

No such thing as a free lunch; you're coming online to find a deal, sorry if you don't get what you want. Hold out on finding that part... or shop one of the Canadian stores!

[Wicked_Silence]

First, you assume secondly that people's time is free and that they incur no expenses to get to the PO and deal with the added complexity of shipping internationally. For example, if I have to go to the post office during lunch [when it is the busiest] and spend half an hour to ship your thing when it would have taken me no time to ship it domestically, I expect compensation. My time is worth something [a lot, if you talk to the partners at my firm], so you will pay for my additional time and hassle.

Second, on the eBay thing, shipping is very clearly demarcated. You agreed to the charge when you hit bid/buy. You lambaste sellers for not checking shipping costs before shipping but you don't do the same? Due diligence, friend.

No such thing as a free lunch; you're coming online to find a deal, sorry if you don't get what you want. Hold out on finding that part... or shop one of the Canadian stores!

Firstly, I have no idea how or why shipping is sooooooo difficult down in the States. I can ship something internationally in less then 10 minutes.

Secondly, how do I know how someone is going to ship something and for that matter, I don't exactly have the items specs to input to get an accurate shipping quote. When I sell something myself, I actually go into the PO with the item(s) and find out exactly what shipping is going to run and get quotes, then give the seller a choice of how to ship with the respective prices. I feel that if someone is doing me the favour and buying my gear, the least I can do is give them the benefit of accurate shipping quotes and if that means I take some time from my schedule to get those quotes, so be it. Its the price of selling items online. I'm not going to be overly worried like some about a little time.

Lastly, I never expect a free lunch, but when I tell someone that I'm in Canada and make an offer which would include shipping and they say yes, I don't expect or need an email afterwards telling me that the price that they agreed to wasn't enough. I have been known to shoot people extra moeny to cover the excess shipping costs if they are reasonable and the seller has treated me the way I treat others when I deal with them.

[Redbeard the Pirate]

I ship out of the US all the time, I have a regular in Sweden who I am usually shipping to 2 to 3 times a month. I can understand people being weary of scammers, but I make it a point to validate everything before I ship :)

[Raven001]

Firstly, I have no idea how or why shipping is sooooooo difficult down in the States. I can ship something internationally in less then 10 minutes.

Secondly, how do I know how someone is going to ship something and for that matter, I don't exactly have the items specs to input to get an accurate shipping quote. When I sell something myself, I actually go into the PO with the item(s) and find out exactly what shipping is going to run and get quotes, then give the seller a choice of how to ship with the respective prices. I feel that if someone is doing me the favour and buying my gear, the least I can do is give them the benefit of accurate shipping quotes and if that means I take some time from my schedule to get those quotes, so be it. Its the price of selling items online. I'm not going to be overly worried like some about a little time.

Lastly, I never expect a free lunch, but when I tell someone that I'm in Canada and make an offer which would include shipping and they say yes, I don't expect or need an email afterwards telling me that the price that they agreed to wasn't enough. I have been known to shoot people extra money to cover the excess shipping costs if they are reasonable and the seller has treated me the way I treat others when I deal with them.

Your not the only one who has had issues with what would appear to be a standard go the post office give your package and be done with it deal. My understanding of it after talking to one of them is that they can ship from home by printing a lable but to do international they have to go to the post office and deal with a human. Since that requires movement, hence the added cost Of course you will realize that I am having fun with this but some will take offence.... what do you need, maybe I have....

[ikfube]

the post is very long lines and takes much of my time to send out packages overseas. it just is easy to ship only local. want me to work harder you can pay me more monies for this shipping.

[FiXeL]

Well i can't talk for every international buyer, but i'm always willing to compensate for the extra hassle that comes with international shipping. I've dealt with numerous people here and on MCB, and usually there's no problem whatsoever.

I've also shipped internationally, also to brazil, and for me it's the same as domestic shipping because i still have to go to the PO to ship something.

As for people that do not want to ship internationally - State this in your sale post and i won't be bothering/begging you to ship it to me.

[Lohman446]

Well i can't talk for every international buyer, but i'm always willing to compensate for the extra hassle that comes with international shipping. I've dealt with numerous people here and on MCB, and usually there's no problem whatsoever.

I've also shipped internationally, also to brazil, and for me it's the same as domestic shipping because i still have to go to the PO to ship something.

As for people that do not want to ship internationally - State this in your sale post and i won't be bothering/begging you to ship it to me.

That is the difference though. I've shipped to Canada, for me its not that big of a deal. However, I can leave work as needed and stand at the post office. Many people price shipping with the ability to print postage from home and simply hand it off with regular mail. I have no idea how much international shipping is... as long as the buyer is reasonable on paying whatever it is I have no problem with it, though I can see where it creates problems / delays for others. As others have stated the possibility for fraud is higher, so one has to be more careful about feedback, etc.

[ThePixelGuru]

I don't ship internationally as a rule because it's just too much hassle. However, I do make exceptions to that rule if someone asks and seems reasonable about it - I'll pretty much always make an exception for the upstanding international folks that have been around for a while.

As far as compensating people for their time at the post office, I don't agree. If you're too busy to ship stuff, maybe you shouldn't be selling it online. Radical theory, I know. I consider all prices including shipping, though, so if that also includes some ridiculous "handling" fee I'll probably just buy elsewhere for cheaper.

[mtaylor]

I still don't understand how shipping internationally is such a huge hassle. Sure, it costs a bit more and you have to fill out the form, and it might take a little bit longer to arrive, but with the economy the way it is, you're killing a fair portion of the market by saying you won't ship out of the US.

[Thotograph]

I have no beef with intl shipping but I do not like to mark things as a gift b/c I don't like that sinking feeling when it comes to lying on Federal forms. I don't know what penalty would come about from getting caught doing so but I just don't like to take a risk like that.

I'm sorry to hear that people turn you down on shipping because of where you are. If someone wants to buy something from me then I will do what I have to so that they get the item. If it takes a little extra effort I'm willing to give it, but thats just me. Expecting compensation for standing in line... get over yourself. We're all busy but we should respect that if someone is willing to pay extra for the shipping... they're doing us a service by buying our unwanted crap so we can take 30mins to stand in line and deal with a human and get the thing shipped. If you gotta wait a few days til you got the free time thats better than nothing and given the patience required for recieving intl shipments a few extra days couldn't hurt anything.

I wish I could ship myself internationally sometimes... I'd love to catch the Brazilian GP sometime in the coming years. Is that a good time of year to travel down there? You ever been mpsd?

[drg]

Bunch of reasons why I prefer strongly not to ship internationally:

1. It is very expensive. Since with most deals that I do, shipping is somehow included in the price, I end up eating some of that cost and invariably it cuts into the profit. I cannot really jack up the price by the full cost of international shipping because it is so expensive.

2. It requires more work. I have to fill out customs forms and go to the post office, I cannot do it entirely online and give the package to my mail carrier, which I do with most other shipments.

3. Paypal and USPS do not allow online payment and printing of the label for the type of international shipping that is most economical for most paintball items (International first class). There is additional cost for delivery confirmation, etc. as well.

4. Seller protections via Paypal only apply to the higher levels of international shipping, not International first class, so I have no protections when I deal internationally.

5. International customs can be a hassle, they can open up the package, potentially damaging it or losing something inside of it, or their regulations might be stricter than the US Postal regulations (I had a package returned once because I only had my return address on it, but not my name, which is fine with US postal).

6. It just takes a lot longer to finalize the deal, and would incur much greater expense to correct a problem with it.

THAT SAID, it never hurts to ask, I can always weigh the hassle against how badly I want to sell the item.

[mpsd]

Thanks guys for the great support you're showing here. I'm glad to see several people who have previously done businesses with me and some that haven't.

About coming during the GP, yes, that's a great time to come for sure. I'm saying that because the city has a lot of "specials" during that week, all over the GP thing. Unfortunatelly, I've never been there myself but I ALWAYS watch it over the TV. The problem of being there is that it costs over $1,000.00 to get a good spot to see the GP while it's free on the TV and, with a 40" LCD and a 1500W sund system, it can't get any better really. LOL.

Also, this is a time in the year that's preaty close to the Brazilian National Paintball Cup (which I've played in 2006) and so all the fields are crowded with lot's of people working hard to get there in good shape. My dream would be having a full AGD team playing that Cup but I guess it'll take some time untill I can get 4 other friends playing regularly with me, sporting Mags. Maybe if some of you guys come some day, we could arrange something. I assure you wouldn't be disapointed and I'd get you all around town during this time. Now the invitaton is done. Who's comming?

[Wicked_Silence]

If someone wants to buy something from me then I will do what I have to so that they get the item. If it takes a little extra effort I'm willing to give it, but thats just me. Expecting compensation for standing in line... get over yourself. We're all busy but we should respect that if someone is willing to pay extra for the shipping... they're doing us a service by buying our unwanted crap so we can take 30mins to stand in line and deal with a human and get the thing shipped.

My understanding of it after talking to one of them is that they can ship from home by printing a lable but to do international they have to go to the post office and deal with a human. Since that requires movement, hence the added cost Of course you will realize that I am having fun with this but some will take offence.... what do you need, maybe I have....

As far as compensating people for their time at the post office, I don't agree. If you're too busy to ship stuff, maybe you shouldn't be selling it online. Radical theory, I know. I consider all prices including shipping, though, so if that also includes some ridiculous "handling" fee I'll probably just buy elsewhere for cheaper.

Thanks for the support guys. I'm not saying that someone HAS to ship internationally if they don't want to. Post that condition in your sale and I'll gladly skip it completely.

Seriously though, I just bought a BUTTLOAD of stuff from the MCB forum and shipping is costing $58.00 That is it, $58 That lot also includes 9-10 markers, 5 air tanks and alot of other stuff. So when someone wants to try and charge me $15 for shipping a set of grips or something small because its "SOOOOOOOO Expensive". Well they need to get a life, period.

[going_home]

Just ask mag79 why shipping to Canada without tracking to destination is a bad idea.
Funny how Canadians will tell you standard USPS tracking doesnt stop at the border,
but the United States Postal Service says it does.
Global Express Guaranteed is the only way to get tracking to the international destination thru USPS and its starts at 39.99 US and goes up quickly with weight increases. I dont have a problem with international shipping as long as the buyer is willing to pay for Global Express Guaranteed, and as long as they know the full insured value will be declared. Inevitably buyers will attempt to get you to lie on the customs form about the items value (or can you please just call it a "gift"), or try to get you to ship it standard mail, which leaves you the seller open to getting the "mag79" treatment.


/end rant

[BenoitOWN]

Funny how Canadians will tell you standard USPS tracking doesnt stop at the border,
but the United States Postal Service says it does.

Hah the tracking will stop at the border from points to points BUT it will updated when it will be DELIVERED.

If that was not the case, tell me why a canada post tracking number work on both canada post and united state postal service and vice versa?