Drawbacks from selling overseas ?

I recently shipped a tubed product to France. There was a "shipping size" regulation (with USPS) that severely limited the amount of protection I could provide for this item. Fedx did not do ground to France. I'm assuming that I could have sent UPS, but did not check. So, keeping that in mind, I may not want to ship anywhere without knowing the
package size requirements. The other thing that bothers me about international USPS shipping is the lack of tracking available and insurance. These are knowns that the other party is usually willing to forgo, as they really do nothing
to get it there. So, I have successfully used the U.S. postal service to ship to Korea, France, and Switzerland.
It makes me nervous until they get it, but other than being a little more work in packing and filling out declaration forms, it has gone fine. They've actually been not too expensive, and fairly quick, too.

I've bought and sold abroad (from Australia, to Singapore). Albert accurately summed up the issues. In addition to wire transfer, Bidpay/Western Union is also available to send funds in US$. There are some hassles regarding shipping, but in general its not too bad. The biggest concern would be fees for wire transfer, customs, etc., and the language barrier. In both cases language was no problem, but I can see how it could become one if the person is not fluent in English. BTW, the DAC i bought from Australia was shipped directly to the manufacturer, who did the voltage conversion from 220-110,a nd checked out the whole unit for $50. And I did enjoy meeting folks from the other side of the world. But you will have to be persistent and thorough. I would also be very careful about credit cards and foreign bank checks, esp. if not in US$.

My last few sales have gone to Tokyo, Hungary, Soul and Tailand. In all cases the money was wired in US dollars to my bank. Once the moneis were received I sent the products out via Fed. Ex. In all cases the transaction went smoothly and took maybe an extra day or two. I have met some great people in parts of the world I would never have a chance to visit and have learned a great deal in the process. (imagine ten years ago selling to Hungary)
The only warning is shipping costs are extremely high, so be sure to understand the costs ahead of time. Also have an agreement as to how the customs costs are handled. In half the cases the value was disclosed as under $10 US to avoid aditional costs. (no insurance and agreed to by both parties)In any case be sure to have a written agreement as to how to handle this, and who is paying.