Dear Chris,
This question just came up on AH and I attempted to answer it but for some
reason my message was not posted. Here is my reply:
As for shipping items only within the US (sometimes also Canada and Japan),
there are several reasons.
-Most importantly, I only ship through the post office because it is the
only convenient way for me at this time. As far as I know, US Mail only
accepts relatively small items for international shipment. Or, maybe they
do accept larger ones but only by BOAT (which takes way too long while the
other party worries that you've stolen their money!). Sure, it might be
possible to squeeze a relatively large and fragile item into a small package
but would it be properly protected when it gets mishandled? No.
-Past transactions I have had with people in countries other than US, Canada
and Japan have taken a lot more time and effort to complete. Payment is a
little trickier too. I have heard complaints about services like PayPal so
I do not use them. I agree with Daryl on this:
"I don't do paypal, nor will I give out a bank account number, both are
risky"
Picking up Western Union funds locally usually takes a VERY long time
because they have limited hours, limited cash and most supermarket clerks I
have encountered seem to even have limited knowledge of how WU works. Last
time, believe it or not, it took 3 hours to find a WU location which was
open, working and had the funds. It was then that I decided not to accept
WU payments anymore.
I won't consider checks because there are too many cases of fraud these
days.
I have also found that it takes a lot more time / communication to deal with
certain people overseas but, from my experience, more often results in no
transaction at all when they realize the time and expenses involved
(shipping, import duties, etc). I have been asked to falsely declare values
on customs forms in the past to save buyers money but this is something I do
not wish to do. An item can only be insured for the declared amount so what
happens when it gets lost or damaged in the mail?
There are other reasons as well, but it all comes down to the fact that,
although people from other countries will often pay more for the same items,
I cannot fit the extra legwork it into my schedule. I am sorry if this
disappoints anyone.
Chris, email me privately if you want to discuss the rack ears in more
detail. If supplies last, I might be willing to work something out.
Thanks.
_________________________________________________________________
MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos:
http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx
This question just came up on AH and I attempted to answer it but for some
reason my message was not posted. Here is my reply:
As for shipping items only within the US (sometimes also Canada and Japan),
there are several reasons.
-Most importantly, I only ship through the post office because it is the
only convenient way for me at this time. As far as I know, US Mail only
accepts relatively small items for international shipment. Or, maybe they
do accept larger ones but only by BOAT (which takes way too long while the
other party worries that you've stolen their money!). Sure, it might be
possible to squeeze a relatively large and fragile item into a small package
but would it be properly protected when it gets mishandled? No.
-Past transactions I have had with people in countries other than US, Canada
and Japan have taken a lot more time and effort to complete. Payment is a
little trickier too. I have heard complaints about services like PayPal so
I do not use them. I agree with Daryl on this:
"I don't do paypal, nor will I give out a bank account number, both are
risky"
Picking up Western Union funds locally usually takes a VERY long time
because they have limited hours, limited cash and most supermarket clerks I
have encountered seem to even have limited knowledge of how WU works. Last
time, believe it or not, it took 3 hours to find a WU location which was
open, working and had the funds. It was then that I decided not to accept
WU payments anymore.
I won't consider checks because there are too many cases of fraud these
days.
I have also found that it takes a lot more time / communication to deal with
certain people overseas but, from my experience, more often results in no
transaction at all when they realize the time and expenses involved
(shipping, import duties, etc). I have been asked to falsely declare values
on customs forms in the past to save buyers money but this is something I do
not wish to do. An item can only be insured for the declared amount so what
happens when it gets lost or damaged in the mail?
There are other reasons as well, but it all comes down to the fact that,
although people from other countries will often pay more for the same items,
I cannot fit the extra legwork it into my schedule. I am sorry if this
disappoints anyone.
Chris, email me privately if you want to discuss the rack ears in more
detail. If supplies last, I might be willing to work something out.
Thanks.
>From: Chris Whitten <cw.chris@...>99
>Reply-To: SergeModular@yahoogroups.com
>To: <SergeModular@yahoogroups.com>
>Subject: Re: [SergeModular] FS: Serge Rack Ears
>Date: Fri, 26 Jul 2002 18:43:11 +0100
>
> > Sorry to ruin your day, Tim, but this is NOT flimsy crap.
>I've been itching for months to ask why you exclude so many potential
>bidders from your auctions?
>Are we Europeans so disreputable for example.
>Maybe international postage is such a hassle, it doesn't take much to put
>rack ears in a bag and take them down the post office though.
>CW
>
_________________________________________________________________
MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos:
http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx