You would think so.
I just sold an amp on e-bay to an overseas buyer. When he found it would cost 250 US to ship he backed out and left me stuck. |
I have several things up for sale right now and I always check the USA only box. Not sure why, but if somebody from outside the U.S. were to inquire and the buyer seemed legit, and was willing to pay the shipping, I probably wouldn't hesitate to make the transaction.
-IMO |
I have sold a couple of things to overseas buyers. These were just cables and light enexpensive dig. gear (AA) I was never the money; just ther risk of damage and the buyer 1/2 way on the other side of the world. Many things are a risk just going coast to coast. Those I prefer to sell--or buy--- local. |
I've bought and sold several things to Cananda, Australia and Japan. Mostly cables, tubes, and asssories. All been pretty straitforward to me. As long as the other person pays in US$ and covers shipping..it's not that big of a deal. |
I've sold several things overseas, I'm always upfront with the buyers regarding shipping costs, which can be quite high. I sold an older Mcintosh pre to a guy in Japan who wanted it Express mail, and didn't bat an eye at the $275 US shipping.
Canada seems harder to ship to due to all the additional forms, and EVERYTHING seems to get tied up in customs, but otherwise it's not that bad. I personally will ship anywhere if they will cover the shipping. |
Agree that it is the shipping that is a deterrent.
I sold some speaker parts (Infinity EMIM's) to a fellow in Germany. The shipping for those small and light (2 lb.)parts was $90.00 He wasn't bothered by the cost, and I was happy to sell them for what I was asking.
The cost for electronics would be prohibitive. Imagine selling an amp for $1,000 and the shipping (by air) is $700. Very few folks would do it. So why offer to try?
The folks with buckets of money might, but they can buy locally too.
I don't think it is primarily the fear of being ripped off: mostly the shipping expenses. And a return would be unthinkable!! That alone would turn me off! Say you buy the preamp, and ship it and the buyer complains? Geez the return shipping with the original shipping and the buyer could have bought the item NEW, locally. |
Although I always leave the USA only box checked since I believe that is the default, I have sold several items and shipped overseas. The cost is normally a deterent for the buyer. There is a bit more paper work for the seller to fill out also. |
I have sold and shipped items to customers worldwide with a minimum of shipping problems. Small items are usually sent USPS Priority or Express Mail and larger items are sent via UPS or Airborne Insured. You can have just as many problems shipping locally as well as internationally so why limit your customer base.
Stu |
I'm pretty much with averageguy as far as what I i've sold overseas. I also mark USA/Canada boxes, but someone from France inquired anyway, the logistics were worked out and a few different sales were made. Overseas sales are not as cut and dried as domestic. |
I sold a pair of cables to a gentleman in France. It was a $99 sale that turned into a paperwork nightmare. I shipped them from my office for convenience, then UPS started demanding customs forms from my boss!!! Could have sold them in the US with no hassles. |
Shipping to other countries has been a nightmare. First, custom forms are a pain in the a__. Then, the package usually gets held in customes for a long time. Finally, sometimes buyers refuse to pay the duties. I've been stuck twice paying the duties. |
I sold a dac/transport combo to a gentleman in Taiwan and the deal went through practically flawlessly. I used Fedex, I think the service was called global economy and I don't remember the shipping costs being prohibitive, maybe a few hundred dollars on a $1500 sale. The only real hitch was that Fedex for some reason initially shipped the unit to Grenada and tried to deliver it there! This was a really odd and random mistake that was quickly corrected, it was just lucky that I religously track my shipments every day until they're delivered. But other than that no problems, except for a cd player coming from Canada that was held in customs for a few days, no big deal. |
I have sold a few things to people overseas. I have been fortunate enough that I have never had any problems. I personally will sell to any person, just about any where, as long as I recieve payment in full prior to shipping. |
From my experience and perspective it's too difficult to learn the process involded with shipping overseas. Since this is a hobby to me, I don't have the time to learn what's required for the process - it was too tough for me to deal with the paperwork, stress of getting it correct, etc. just to ship to Canada - call me stupid. I don't have any problems with the folks making an offer, it's all on my end. |
Sold a Transport last year to a Gon'er in Holland. Shipping was easy, just took the unit to a Mail for U location, had the unit double boxed and filled out a customs form with the regular shipping papers. Shipping was expensive ($100.00 on a $1,000.00 sale) and it may be that sellers here assume that buyers would not be willing to spend an additional 10-15% for shipping. Just a thought. |
For me, shipping is not an issue, except for the increased risk of equipment handling damage. But when selling/describing used equipment and negotiating back and forth, the langauage barriers you sometimes encounter can make things hard enough that it takes some of the fun out of the hobby. |
I purchased a couple of amps from a gent in Toronto Canada. I mailed out a postal money order priority mail which took 8 days to reach him. I live in Buffalo NY and can drive to Toronto in less than a hour and a half. The Amps shipped out the same day he recieved the money and it took 5 days for the amps to reach me. That was enough for me. USA only. |
For me, it isn't that I've had any terrible experiences, there's just a higher level of uncertainty, particularly around customs and duty issues, because there seems to be absolutely no consistency to how the regulations are enforced.
I've bought and sold several things between the U.S. and Canada, which you would think would be as straightforward as a 'foreign' transaction could be.
On the first, I was charged a 10% duty on used speakers coming into the U.S. On the second, the speakers came from Canada with no notice of any duty owed and then got a bill for 5% duty three months later. The third, a CD player, arrived from Canada with no duty ever charged. The fourth deal was killed when Canadian customs told their citizen, my buyer, that he would have to pay 15% on American gear being brought into Canada.
The shipping went fine in all three cases, except for a three week delay on the second set of speakers because the seller forgot to include a form and it had to catch up with the speakers sitting in a customs warehouse in Toronto.
None of that has scared me off. If the deal looks good I'll take the risk again, but it is a little scarier than going down to Fry Electronics and loading up the hand truck. |
The least expensive method to ship small items overseas I have found is with Express Mail. However,a postal clerk told me to forget about being able to track the package or verify delivery after it departs the USA. So, if the package did not arrive to the buyer...you can imagine the problems with insurance,etc... |
I shipped some floorstanders from Dallas for a nice guy in Trinidad. He had a pal in the shipping business in Florida who handled the rest from there. Maybe that was so easy it doesn't count. When I sold a Japanese CD player to a dude in Canada he lost his cool with me when he had to pay all kinds of Canadian taxes.
On business to business deals, overseas trade is no real sweat. Savvy overseas buyers know that if they arrange the shipping themselves a USA seller will be hard pressed to deny them the goods.
What spoils it with these one shot amateur deals are the getover specialists out there. You know who I mean. The cats who burn you on shipping or take it upon themselves to alter the terms of the sale once they've cleared the field of other ready buyers. One seller recently had the cajones to offer email notification of actual shipment for $1 extra!
Inside the USA tracking numbers or delivery confirmation is cheap insurance for peace of mind. One buyer claimed he never received his $350 priority mail item. Lucky for me I'd sprung the $0.45 for the confirmation. Once I laid it on him he suddenly remembered he'd forgotten to check his P.O. box for two weeks, the address he gave me!
Alas, there are no confirmations for overseas buyers. And sure there's tracking numbers, but how long's it going to take for the UPS guy in Ohio to pay a visit on the scam artist with the limited damage in gay Parie? Color me low anxiety -- USA only please! |
I live in Italy and I purchased the flaghship model of Thiels speakers(7.2)from Jboeyjus. Great price, service,packaging, communication and... good invoice ;-) Do the same, you will not regret ! |
I sold a center channel speaker from Pennsylvania to Korea. Bought tubes from Hong Kong & Italy. No problems on any deals. It's a small world for audiophiles.
Cheers, Spencer |
Thanks for your responce fellow audiogoners, I now understand the process from a sellers perspective, |
Hey Joe,I live in Australia too, I bought a MCintosh power amp from Clinton and the transaction was perfect. All you have to do is pay for the shipping, import duty and GST. But the thing is the cost in total's still much cheaper than buying new here in Aus. I don't know what the hell is going on over here... but evrything here's so expensive, enven second hand gear...and so cheap in US... you may have the same opinion with me 'bout that...if you need my help in import gears just e-mail me...Vincent |
I live in Chile and have bought a couple of time in A'gon and Ebay. I work for a shipping company so I have the items shipped to our agents office in Philly, he takes it on board the ship and 12 days later it's here, it's not quick but it's free...I've brought speakers, amps, receivers, etc with no problem.
When the unit is too big and doesn't fit in my jeep (sneak it out of the port...oops, don't tell anyone lol}, I have to pay an 18% VAT and 5% imports duty...it's way cheaper than buying local anyway.
Regards, |
