posted on May 13, 2004 05:10:10 PM new
do you have any idea how much business you cut yourself out of? i ship worldwide. never had a problem yet - shipped to the isle of skye, indonesia, australia, new zealand, france, england, a u.s. soldier in kuwait, spain, switzerland, japan, etc., etc. have french bidders right now on two items. if you don't ship worldwide, you also don't get _seen_ on ebay japan, england, germany, etc., etc. fine with me, less competition.
posted on May 13, 2004 05:24:42 PM new
here we go again...
____________________
We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people. -- John F. Kennedy
posted on May 13, 2004 05:51:47 PM new
AintRichYet, I'm in Canada so I have a tip for you. Say that you WILL ship to wherever, but put in what the added International "Handling Charges" will be... ie: $20.00 Handling to Canada, $35.00 Handling to Japan, etc. I told another person to do that and they said it works great. Good Luck!
posted on May 13, 2004 05:59:40 PM new
hi kraftdinner!!!! nice to hear your words back on these boards! ...
i like your idea ... it MIGHT be worth the extra aggravations that go with shipping internationally ...
between the criteria of what types of payment we can or cannot accept, AND the quite-a-few overseas nations that we can't purchase 'insurance' for, ergo more negs for what sellers can't control, maybe some extra pocket dough would make it 'worth it'...
Fluff, ah yes, furriners ... they really ARE more of a 'hiccup' in our wanted flow of things than we want to deal with, for the most part ....
y'all wanting int'l. bidders, be my guest. been selling on ebay for 7 years. in most cases, it's more trouble than it's worth.
occasional easy-to-ship and/or deemed more valuable to overseas, then we open up the boundaries on just those items ..... they're few and far between though.
posted on May 13, 2004 06:02:14 PM new
by the way, paypal just recently opened up big doors to Taiwan ... I've been getting emails all week from people in Taiwan wanting to bid on our WW II items!? ... i keep saying, 'so solly ... nope' ...
posted on May 13, 2004 06:52:45 PM new
Ever since I put an extra $10 on top of the additional shipping charges to ship internationally I don't have a single bidder outside the good old USA
They really can read!
I do ship my postcards anywhere, but no way with heavier stuff. So, if s&h is $5 inside the USA, I make it $10 to Canada and $25 everywhere else.
It really does work. I would get at least 1 bid a week from someone outside the states when I just stuck with "no shipping outside the USA". And, I put that in big red letters and in my location space. But, my new and improved shipping rates have stopped the bids 100%
posted on May 13, 2004 08:01:40 PM new
It's a moot point until eBay introduces regional bidding controls.
We ship worldwide since we often get significantly higher prices outside the US. Like many of our friends we understand a few Asian and European languages so communication isn't a problem and the currencies are certainly stronger.
We don't yet ship offworld as shipping is a bit erratic, and with US transports being built by the lowest bidder they are occasionally subject to loss...
The one and only international package I had that went missing was sent to Paris. Thankfully it did show up in a few weeks. I had a wonderful buyer who didn't get into a tizzy over it so all went well, albeit a little slow.
posted on May 15, 2004 07:02:09 PM new
"so solly," in the context of your potential Taiwanese bidders? how disgustingly racist. raising shipping rates to prohibitive levels for foreign bidders?
like i said once before, Americans are so provincial. i'm American but mercifully have citizenship elsewhere as well. can't wait to leave the states - and these sorts of provincial attitudes - behind me.
and people wonder why most of the rest of the world hates us. a microcosm of why is right here, in the threads about foreign bidders. how sad for you. off to do listings which will appear worldwide at all eBay sites, snicker. i'm outta here for good, the posts sicken me. you all are unreal. hope you are 100% native american, otherwise i hate to break it to you, but your ancestors were "furriners" too. jeez.
the threads ranting and raving about canucks are particularly humorous, given that they are the united states' biggest trading partner.
posted on May 15, 2004 08:40:19 PM new
I've recently had several bidders from overseas that have requested that their packages be shipped to addresses in the US. But I fully understand if someone doesn't want to ship outside of the US if that's the way they choose to do business and I wish eBay would set up a block for them so it saves everyone some grief.
I don't understand the disrespect for other countries and cultures though and I often wonder how many people from those countries may happen to read here.
I've been fortunate for many years to have a job where I can meet people from all over the world and there is beauty to be found in almost everyone from anywhere and so many things to learn from them. Personally I think it would be great if more people from other countries could add their input here at Vendio about how they do business or how they live their lives as it would make the board more interesting but somehow I doubt it will ever happen.
posted on May 15, 2004 08:55:52 PM new
If you want to see dramatic exits perhaps you should hang out at the RT for awhile. One recently lasted just a day or so.
posted on May 15, 2004 09:39:15 PM new
Kiara...Perhaps I should explain the earlier post I made about snails and English drivers was just a joke. I spent 40 years in the international transportation industry and have processed enough customs export declarations and other forms to fill an Olympic size pool. Consevatively, I have shipped well over 2 million pounds overseas. The one thing I learned was that there are only half a dozen countries that have a customs system that I would trust 100% to allow my customers to receive their property without repercussions, either financial or criminal. When I retired and started dabbling in Ebay, I made a firm decision that the less I have to do with international shipping and trusting a frequently corrupt government agency, the better I would like it. I decided to limit my auctions to US bidders only, and only occasionally open them up to international bidders when I know the item will attract the most interest in certain specific countries, such as the U.K., Canada, Australia or Japan. I personally have nothing but admiration for people in other countries and I have had the pleasure, in my hobby as an amateur radio operator (AKA ham) to spend many an enjoyable hour developing a close personal relationship with many people from all over the world, and a couple in outer space. The amateur radio community is probably a closer knit fraternal group than the United Nations. But in spite of that, I'm in total agreement with the original post in this thread. If a person will ignore one provision of a TOS, such as the US bidders only part, what's to keep them from ignoring other provisions, such as the payment details? My whole point is that a seller is free to conduct his business as he sees fit, within Ebay guidelines, and should not have to spend time dealing with people who prefer to ignore them. WOW! This is a damn good soap box I've been standing on. I think I'll take a picture of it and list it tomorrow night. .99 cent opening bid, no reserve. Free shipping in the US. $75.00 shipping and handling for international bidders
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on May 15, 2004 10:09:34 PM new
I understand what you're saying, sparkz.
Like I said, I have always agreed that everyone should run his own business as he sees fit, whether it's the rates he charges for shipping or the way he chooses to leave feedback or the countries he chooses to ship to.
Over the years I've seen sellers that have opened their auctions worldwide and have been happy with the results. Some sellers should be aware that many people from the US live and work in other countries and have their items shipped to a US address. Some have dual citizenship and live part of the year in the US and part of the year in Canada and own properties in both places.
My concern is that some from other countries that may read Vendio boards will never post here because of certain attitudes that are shown. Or worse yet, if they do post here they will be run off the board because they happen to be from a country that some had a bad experience with.
stonecold, I believe that Kraft is an American. Are you saying that Americans are hypocrites if they live or work outside of their country?
posted on May 15, 2004 10:23:20 PM newrun off the board
C'mon, Kiara. That's a bit of mushy thinking coming from a normally sensible person. No one can be run off this board who doesn't go of their own volition. There is no mandate to make anyone feel especially welcome. Certainly I have been called names and insulted a fair number of times but what of it? I'm not going to let scorn and derision keep me from saying what I came here to say.
If someone from another country came here to complain about the problems they were having with American bidders, odds are I would agree wholeheartedly. As would quite a few others, I think. We know 'em better than anyone else.
posted on May 15, 2004 10:28:17 PM new
Kiara..I don't think you have a lot to be concerned about as far as foreign buyers and sellers posting on these boards. Recognizing that there may be a poster narrow minded enough to harrass a foreign poster because of a personal vendetta, I would think that he/she would be the one at risk of being put on ignore and given the cold shoulder. The wealth of information that could be shared by a foreign poster would be absorbed by the rest of the group like a sponge. We have a few on here already, and I would personally like to see more. We can have our fun here, but the exchange of information translates into $$$ for all of us.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on May 16, 2004 05:45:32 AM new
It is not that foreigners cant read plain english,it is that foreigners do not bother to read all the terms .
There are too many sellers with too many terms,some devoted 2 sentences describing their product and rest of the page to their damn terms like they are not home on monday,tuesday,thursday,friday and sunday.
Their ME PAGE is about their life story starting from the time they were 2 years old -------- .
-sig file -------we eat to live,not live to eat.
Benjamin Franklin
posted on May 16, 2004 05:59:11 AM new
I've been selling international from day one and have had not one single problem (knock on wood). However, the same cannot be said about some of my winners here in the US. I love my bidders from Japan. They're the best. I have regular customers in Germany, the UK, France and the Netherlands. Never one single NPB, not one single complaint. All my international packages go Global Priority and no one has complained about the cost. I don't charge extra. There are some items I won't send such as antique or vintage pottery. It's the breakage factor, don't you know. All of my bidder problems are people from the US.
