A question for our US cousins

[Owen]

Hi US people,

Sometimes I inflame my GAS by wandering across to Talkbass. I see something which would tickle my fancy, offer the asking price + any extra cost for shipping to the UK and make it clear that I am totally aware that I am responsible for all import duty etc. I have excellent feedback on TB from such transatlantic deals, but the answer comes back "sorry, I will not ship outside the US".

Why is this? I fully understand not shipping stuff to well know fraud areas, but I cannot get my head around not shipping to the UK. Surely once the money is in and the package has been dropped off with the courier it is the same as any other shipping for the seller.

TIA

[cetera]

I've found that many US sellers have inbuilt 'cold feet' when it comes to int'l transactions. Sadly it seems to be part of the inbuilt mistrust that they have for all things 'foreign' or un-American...
Obviously this doesn't apply to all US sellers but certainly a large number...

[steve-soar]

I've had one US transaction for hardware, which was an Ampeg SVT IIP Preamp.
It worked fine for the first two weeks, then died.
I bought it through the TB classifieds and got in touch with the seller and told him about the problems.
He said get it fixed and tell me how much it will cost and he will pay for it. It cost £100 to repair, $200 at the time.
He sent me the money the same day I payed the tech to repair it.
Outstanding.
Not all Americans are pinheads.

[Ancient Mariner]

I've had some great deals with guys in the US, even to the point of one storing a guitar for several months for me before shipping in order to tie together transportation. I did also get stiffed by one over a pickup, but that was an isolated incident. It often helps if they 'know' you from a forum.

[Shaggy]

Using that great leveller of the human race - ebay - as a measure, I've generally found US sellers more courteous and helpful than Brit ones, who frequently won't even ship within the UK. I've imported 4 top-end vintage basses and many bass parts - no problems, and way cheaper than here.

Shame about the VAT rise

Edited December 25, 2010 by Shaggy

[Owen]

I have had some great deals there. I have yet to meet an American I did not like. I just want access to ALL their kit as well!

[molan]

[quote name='Shaggy' post='1069084' date='Dec 24 2010, 10:56 PM']Using that great leveller of the human race - ebay - as a measure, I've generally found US buyers more courteous and helpful than Brit ones, who frequently won't even ship within the UK.[/quote]

I reckon an a percentage based calculation there's more Brits who won't ship to Europe than there are Americans who won't ship outside of the USA. . .

[Buzz]

There's more risk when shipping outside of your own country. I can't afford to take that risk so I never ship outside of the UK, not even mainland Europe.

IF I could afford to take the risk then I'd be quite happy to ship internationally.

I expect quite a few people are in similar situations.

Edited December 25, 2010 by Buzz

[Cat Burrito]

[quote name='Buzz' post='1069116' date='Dec 25 2010, 12:29 AM']I expect quite a few people are in similar situations.[/quote]
100% relate to this.

[Owen]

[quote name='Buzz' post='1069116' date='Dec 25 2010, 12:29 AM']There's more risk when shipping outside of your own country. I can't afford to take that risk so I never ship outside of the UK, not even mainland Europe.

IF I could afford to take the risk then I'd be quite happy to ship internationally.

I expect quite a few people are in similar situations.[/quote]

I am not making any argument here, but could you explain why? If you send it with fully tracked + insured service surely it is no riskier than the UK.

[Happy Jack]

Things "go missing", things get broken in transit, in some places things get searched VERY vigorously for various types of contraband.

I'm in the lucky position of being able to "take the risk" and I've routinely shipped to/from [i][b]For'n Parts[/b][/i] for years.

I once shipped a 1967 Selmer Treble'n'Bass to Croatia. On arrival, the local Customs guys (i.e. a bunch of gangsters who controlled the port) smashed the back off it looking for drugs. The buyer was delighted ... the damage was less than he'd expected when he asked me to ship, and he'd warned me to take the valves out and put them inside socks, which I'd done.

I'm not making this up, y'know.

A few years back, I bought [url="http://tinypic.com/a/pkz6/3"]http://tinypic.com/a/pkz6/3[/url] from a guy in Germany. He apologised for the lack of a hard case and said he'd wrap it carefully. It arrived in a custom-built box made of MDF, which had been tailored to fit around the bass, complete with neck rest. Astonishing thing. I love dealing with Germans.

[Vibrating G String]

[quote name='owen' post='1069858' date='Dec 26 2010, 02:58 PM']I am not making any argument here, but could you explain why? If you send it with fully tracked + insured service surely it is no riskier than the UK.[/quote]
When you send across countries there are often more couriers involved. The complexity makes resolving issues more difficult as one courier can blame the other for issues. Insurance becomes harder to claim when companies can blame each other.

Also there's the perception that the longer journey brings higher risk for damage in transit. If you've ever tried to make an insurance claim on a package you wouldn't feel comfortable relying on it. I believe UPS limits claims for musical instruments even if you purchase additional insurance.

I've sent a few eBay items across the globe but I insist the buyer leaves positive feedback before I ship it and therefore assumes all the shipping risk.

And then there's good old xenophobia

[molan]

I must admit that I've had far more problems shipping to people in the UK than overseas - maybe I've just been lucky

[JimBobTTD]

[quote name='Vibrating G String' post='1069870' date='Dec 27 2010, 12:12 AM']And then there's good old xenophobia [/quote]

I think that is the answer to owen's question. The perception that everyone foreign is out to rip you off. It shows poor upbringing and a lack of education and is a mindset to be pitied.

The courier thing is them messing you around. If I pay DHL to ship a package for me and it arrives broken, I call DHL. I don't care which company is [i]responsible[/i], DHL were paid and trusted to send a package and are therefore [i]liable[/i].

I have never understood the idea of not selling to people from other countries. I will gladly take anyone's money, and see this not as good business, but as business. Anything else is bad business!

[EdwardHimself]

I remember once I didn't want to ship a guitar to anyone outside of europe who had less than 5 feedback in case it was a scammer. Eventually after pretty much begging me to let him bid, I let a man in Austrailia with 0 feedback buy it, for over twice as much as i bought it for. Unfortunately I didn't quite calculate the shipping cost right and ended up paying about 20 quid more than I'd charged but i still made a good bit of money on it lol.

Edited December 27, 2010 by EdwardHimself