[sdiy] OT : Ebay

[rextanka at earthlink.net]

jbv at jbv.silences at wanadoo.fr wrote on 2/26/01 4:32 PM:

> (flame suit on)
> Just like most US citizens have difficulties getting used to the
> idea that civilized people live beyond USA borders...    ;-)
> (flame suit off)

Sure it is.  I'm not a US citizen (though I am a resident here) and I refuse
to sell to people outside of the US.  It really has nothing to do with
"where I'm from", doing business with people outside of the US is a pain in
the behind.  

For example: I sold something to someone in Canada (which is more or less a
US state, right :) for $12.95, they sent a money order for the payment in
USD.  So far so good.   My bank charged me $14.50 to process the money
order.  I was pretty annoyed since I could have cashed it at the post office
for free.  But that is just one of the things you face when doing business
with people outside of the US.  There's no problem free way to do this -
sure I can go paypal, but that adds costs (another percentage of the
transaction), and western union has proved to be a hassle too: most of the
outlets don't seem to have working terminals and there are times of the day
when they just can't seem to get a connection inside 15 minutes.  It took me
over an hour last time to get a payment of $100 for something sold on ebay
via western union.  Do I want to waste an hour just to accommodate someone
in Europe.  NO.  I don't.

Bottom line: it takes up to two weeks longer to receive payment.  Banks may
charge to process the payment unless it is in USD drawn on a US bank (and
even then they may charge).  Shipping costs more.  You have to fill out
customs forms.  Given all of this, it is a real hassle.

The fact of the matter is that the US has a population of 250,000,000
people, so it's likely that the 0.001% of those who'd be interested in the
somewhat esoteric musical things I've sold on ebay will be inside the US.
And it's easier for me to stipulate that I only want to sell within the
country.  

I think the bottom line is that most people use ebay to get rid of things
that are surplus to requirements, they don't make a living from it, and they
don't want hassle.  I think that more than anything explains why many
sellers don't want to deal with international shipping, money, and the grief
that goes along with it.  I think writing Americans off because of this is
kind of dumb.