posted on January 5, 2003 11:36:56 AM new
anyone know what countries we should not ship to ,i have had a problem w/ canada and will not ship there anymore.i do know that there are other problem areas. thanks
posted on January 5, 2003 04:15:38 PM new
I've never had a problem with Canada but Middle East countries are quite bad as are most of the countries in the eastern bloc of Europe.
posted on January 6, 2003 08:55:04 AM new
I had a problem with a Canadian so I won't ship to Canada. I had a problem with an American, so I won't ship to the USA. Judging from their economy, Mexico and most South American countries aren't trustworthy. And we all know about Indonesia, Romania, Russia, Nigeria. I guess I will only ship to Sri Lanka. Anyone else has to come to me and pick it up.
posted on January 6, 2003 10:09:23 AM new
I have to agree, deciding not to ship to a country of 30 million people because you have a problem with one of them seems foolish to me. That's like saying you had a problem with a Californian, and won't ship to California anymore...
posted on January 6, 2003 10:32:46 AM new
I can think of very few reasons NOT to ship and some very big ones to do so. I keep seeing posts from people whining that they can't compete with the big boys. Well, most of the big boys don't ship to Canada. I don't know why not. It's really not that expensive. As a matter of fact, I find that some things are cheaper to ship to Canada than to ship in the US. From Canadians I typically get money orders. I even have a friend in Canada who accepts Canadian money orders for me to make the process faster and easier for my customers. No fees to me and no chance of charge back. Why would a seller turn down business like this?
posted on January 6, 2003 10:45:20 AM new
Canada is the second biggest trading partner on ebay so of course if you sell internationally it stands to reason that if you have a problem it may very well be with a Canadian because that's the country you will likely ship to most often.
Same as Canadians, they most likely ship most of their packages to the U.S. so those are the customers they will have the most problems with.
Some sellers have a good enough business within their own country so don't have to sell internationally. But over the years I have seen many sellers here bash an entire country because they ran across one or two losers when they have most likely had more problems with deadbeats, etc. right in their own country.
I would worry a lot more about Indonesia and other countries before I would worry about Canada. I just heard that the Canadian economy is doing better than the U.S. one so maybe they will have more money to spend.
posted on January 6, 2003 10:59:54 AM new
I never ship to any country that starts with an 'I' (Iraq, Iran, Indonesia, Israel, India) or any country whose name I've heard on the news in the past 48 hours.
posted on January 6, 2003 11:09:04 AM new
I don't ship to states that have a north and south (Dakota, Carolina). Any state that couldn't get along with its own people and had to split into two is too argumentative to get involved with. As for selling to Alaska, that can also be a problem. When it used to be up in the northwest, the deliveries made it there. But when the mapmakers moved it down near Hawaii, lot of shipments got lost. I think we should protest until they put it back where it belongs.
posted on January 6, 2003 11:34:57 AM new
the reason not to ship to canada has nothing to do w/ canadians,items are getting hung up in customs with the wait being up to a month.it seems strange they let terrorist in ,but keep ebay pkg's out!!!!!!!!!
posted on January 6, 2003 12:29:07 PM new
Well, from my experience I have found It doesn't matter where you live, I will ship if the payment comes to me and it's correct.
On a few occasions there was problems with payment type, but now I have taken care of that problem..............If you are an International Buyer the only type of payment I accept is Bidpay.
I will ship anywhere and I also feel that when your exposing your merchandise to millions all over the world, You need to accommodate International also. But if this is a hobby for you, well then why do what you don't feel will work out for you.
But don't judge a Country by your problem with one seller. Because if that was the way to be safe there are a lot of US States that you will not be shipping to also...........lol
I have found that Canada is my biggest buyer then next is Japan, Spain, Germany, Italy, North Korea, in that order, but never any buyers from Mexico.
posted on January 6, 2003 12:42:57 PM new
Just in case you didn't know it, any post office will cash a Canadian postal money order in US funds. This is cheaper than making your customers use Bidpay or Payingfast. Payingfast is usually cheaper than bidpay.
I have not found any delay in shipping to Canada. Packages take about a week to get there. I have never had one get lost. Sometimes Customs does hit the customer with an extravagant surcharge but I warn the customer in advance that I have no control over this and it is their decision to go ahead.
Another thing I have noticed about Canadians is that once they find a seller they like, they share that information. Every week I get a few new Canadian orders from someone who was referred to me by a previous customer. Canadians are looking for U.S. sellers not too afraid or too lazy to ship there. The fewer of us there are, the more business we get. So the rest of you should just ignore this post.
Feel free to use this advice for 30 days at no charge after which you must send payment or return this post in its original packaging for full credit.
posted on January 6, 2003 01:09:18 PM new
yisgood.........Thank you for your information, but I do know that.....
It's my customers that dont know to send an International Money Order when I request it.
They still send a Money Order but not International....... so that has been my biggest problem.........and it becomes a mess when you have to keep emailing them asking for an International Money order. ....Time passes and no payment, except they say, I sent payment, .......well yes, true, but I cant cash it!...........
So, now there is a problem with understanding sometimes, I just about had it. So, the way Sellers say......they only accept Paypal .......well I only except Bidpay from International buyers..............Unless they request to pay me in another way that will work for the both of us, then thats fine too.........Like I say, the bottom line is.........Just complete the transaction, and keep peace.
posted on January 6, 2003 02:04:44 PM new
LOL Yisgood! . I guess we have just been "lucky?". I ship internationally all of the time. Some of my best customers live in Japan ,Canada, UK, France and Belgium. I can honestly say I have never had a problem with any international sales... they always pay quickly (in AMERICAN dollars of course), are extremely polite and they BID TOP DOLLAR! Shipping Global Priority or Air mail post costs only a few dollars and gets the package there fast. I have never had any item arrive damaged or not arrive at all. As far as "customs forms"? What? a little ,single index card that you have to fill a few lines out on? Never had a single buyer ask me to do anything unethical..such as lie on a customs form. If they did however, I would just tell them I would'nt do it. I love my international buyers, I think it's exciting to be able to do business in such a vast marketplace...why limit yourself because of a few bad apples?
posted on January 6, 2003 02:08:20 PM new
Hi folks!
I ship all over the world and have never had a negative transaction. UK, Australia, Korea, Taiwan, Germany, Israel, Russia, lots to Japan, all the time to Canada, to name a few. I check the winner's feedback and location FIRST and then send my confirmation with shipping options to that country and then ask for payment in US FUNDS by an International MO, Paypal or Bidpay. Don't understand what the deal is on international mo's. Some people ask for red, some for green...... my bank cashes them all.....never a problem. Some folks even send cash (in US $$) registered. Most savvy eBayer's realize that customs comes into play at some point, and are aware of duties to be paid (and GST - General Sales Tax....if Canadian). And if the person is new then I take the time to enlighten them so there are no surprises. Maybe I'm just really lucky or maybe it's my gift of gab. All of my international transactions have been a pleasure and at this point I wouldn't hesitate to ship anywhere.
Regards.....
posted on January 7, 2003 05:38:11 PM new
I occasionally get an order from Canada, and the first time I drove myself nuts trying to figure out how to ship it, what the customs form had to say etc, etc. I shipped it UPS and my poor buyer really got stung with the customs fees- UPS charges a percentage over, or some damn thing. Now I ship US postal, the form is a little thing witha few lines, and my customers have never complained since.
"And All Shall be Well, and All Shall be Well, and All Manner of Things Shall be Well"
posted on January 7, 2003 08:40:01 PM new
As a Canadian most of my sales are to US.
Most of my problem buyers are from US.
So guess I should never sell to US
US buyers think we are 'owned' by the US, or they never had geography in school, or flunked that course.
That I state based on the number of GREEN usps MO's I recieve!
There are good and bad buyers from all over.
99% of my purchases on EBay are from the USA.
Probably I would buy MUCH MORE if I could find sellers willing to do about 15 seconds of customs form and ship via USPS.
I have done over 750 Ebay transactions so I am a respectable buyer, but it seems only a few of you want my money.
I have a USA$ account and it is paid via Chasse Manhattan Bank (a USA bank) and often use BIDPAY.
As earlier mentioned I tend to repeat with same sellers because thay have been fair with me.
But I try to be fair also. One seller said she made an error in shipping fee and would eat it
On next sale I suggested she add in the error as it was a genuine error (She shipped for cost only)as I do. No Mark-ups, I'm not in shipping business and besides the buyer has prepaid shipping so I don't have to invest that amount.
I also am a believer in posting FB as soon as I get 'cleared' payement (MO or BIDPAY) as the buyer has fullfilled his part of the contract.
Next it's my turn to fullfill, meaning that I ship what and when I have sold. It is up to the seller to ACCURATELY describe the product and there should never be reason for negs.
posted on January 8, 2003 12:35:15 PM new
My international sales are almost 100% Canada and UK. I have had few problems with either (there was that one lady that refused to pay in US dollars. She bids on a US auction with a US seller on the Ebay USA website and does not understand why I want US$). I have never (knock on wood) had a customer complain about problems with customs or shipping. I give them Airmail Letter Post which is cheap, fast and reliable.
posted on January 8, 2003 06:33:18 PM new
I've shipped to 15 countries with no problems. But be VERY careful about buyers from Eastern Europe (Hungary, Ukraine, etc.). There's lot's of stolen credit card scams over there.
posted on January 9, 2003 02:09:27 AM new
I suggest we should stop shipping! Why ship to any country? - let customers come and pick up items at our place
posted on January 9, 2003 07:36:51 PM new
::But surprisingly, I get VERY FEW orders from Mexico, which is relatively close. Any guesses why? Is it just that they don't have much internet access?::
There are a number of reasons Mexico is not a big presence in buying on eBay, the biggest is their economy. The peso is worth nearly a little over a dime, work is very hard to find in a country whose manufacturing economy depends on strongly upon the US ecomony (when we don't buy, they don't get paid to make) and with the overwhelming number of "Swap Meets" (think 150 personal ebay stores in one large convienient, open every day 10-8, location) there is not a lot of things that they would need from us. Internet access is also a big issue, although the fact that their local ebay "Mercado LIbre" is a strangely confusing marketplace could explain it as well.
Once you do find a semi affluent english speaking Mexicano with internet access who does wish to buy, half the sellers would probabbly assume his PayPal account was fraudulent and 40% would decide that they don't ship to Mexico ; )
For those of you lucky enough to get one of the 3 successful Mexicano buyers.... be kind to him.... he's worked hard to get your item : )
On the flip side - I do know several successful sellers from Mexico.
. I guess we have just been "lucky?". I ship internationally all of the time. Some of my best customers live in Japan ,Canada, UK, France and Belgium. I can honestly say I have never had a problem with any international sales... they always pay quickly (in AMERICAN dollars of course), are extremely polite and they BID TOP DOLLAR! Shipping Global Priority or Air mail post costs only a few dollars and gets the package there fast. I have never had any item arrive damaged or not arrive at all. As far as "customs forms"? What? a little ,single index card that you have to fill a few lines out on? Never had a single buyer ask me to do anything unethical..such as lie on a customs form. If they did however, I would just tell them I would'nt do it. I love my international buyers, I think it's exciting to be able to do business in such a vast marketplace...why limit yourself because of a few bad apples?
