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Shipping to Austria?

Started by LarryInMichigan, October 17, 2013, 07:52:29 PM

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LarryInMichigan

I received an inquiry this evening from an ebay buyer asking if I would ship the WE 1500D that I have listed to Austria.  I am not sure how to answer.  I have seen that ebay now offers international shipping and only charges a fee for the fee to ship to their USA location, but I am still concerned about safety, customs, etc.  Also, this buyer currently has no feedback.  What do you think?

Thank You

Larry

WesternElectricBen

Well, I have never shipped out of the US. So I wouldn't know.

But, when I was a new user and bought something for the first time, I was glad nobody suspected me. Though, this doesn't seem fishy, but for a first time buyer, who doesn't even live anywhere near I don't think I would ship it. To me, it would be too risky.

Ben

AE_Collector

#2
I have to admit to being "Royally Ticked" on occasions at sellers with the "No shipping outside of the USA" comment in their auctions. Of course there are likely US Citizens even more ticked when they encounter the "Only ship to 48 states" comment!

In my case I always have US purchases shipped to my US address so there is absolutely no shipping hassles for the seller but I still get caught up in the "foreigner" net by these sellers. If discovered with enough time I have managed to get them to change their rule on occasion but I have also seen listings with no indication of this situation on occasions only to hear the "BIG BUZZER" when attempting to snipe an item in the last seconds.

A case that Dave and I discussed privately recently involves an AE Canada Service award (Wooden Plaque with an AE Dial and Engraved Brass Plate attached) issued an employee of the Brockville Ontario plant which is now for sale on ebaY listed in Maine USA. The listing also includes a "No Shipment Outside of the USA" notice. Personally I found this to be quite arrogant as well as stupid to eliminate likely half the potential interested parties, the people of Brockville Ontario. I went to contact them through ebaY to point out this ironic situation and found something I have never seen before on ebaY....No way to contact the seller other than an 800 number to phone. I didn't try but wondered if it would be one of the  800 numbers that are accesible within the USA only!

Sorry to derail the immediate conversation, I just saw it as an opportunity to vent.

I would be somewhat concerned with the Zero Feedback aspect of any buyer no matter where they were located. But as long as you have the payment in your bank account and insurance (?) on the item, you should be covered shouldn't you?

Terry

WesternElectricBen

I never ship out of the 48 states. Too risky. Only once..

I'm a worrier.

LarryInMichigan

I am concerned about various possible scenarios:

1)  The buyer claims that he never received it or that it is defective, and ebay takes back my payment.
2)  It disappears in the mail.
3)  Austrian customs demands a king's ransom for it, and the buyer doesn't want to pay it, so I am forced to pay $$$ to have it shipped back to me.
4)  The buyer accepts it, but I find myself slapped with insane fees by feebay for the international shipping.

I understand that it can be frustrating, especially for Canadians, when US sellers refuse to ship outside of the USA, but there are some concerns which may be well founded.  Ebay claims to have a new scheme for shipping to foreign buyers so that sellers are not slapped with huge fees based on the high international shipping charges, but I have not looked into it yet.  I would certainly never ship anything to a country which has a reputation for stolen packages and/or scams (like Nigeria).

I think that I will probably politely answer the buyer that I would prefer to decline his bid since he has no feedback.


Larry

twocvbloke

I'd be a bit wary of it myself being a new/no feedback user in another country, but that's just me... :)

I have a good way of getting round the "Ships to the 48 states only" thing (or at least did, before it became too pricey to ship stuff here), and that is to have a friend in the US that I send money to, then bids & buys with their ebay account, then forwards it on to me, does add a little more to the shipping cost, but does give me a feeling of satisfaction while mentally blowing raspberries at the sellers for not offering to sell to me directly... :D

LarryInMichigan

There is certainly nothing wrong with having a friend, relative, or agent buy an item in their own country and then send it to to the real buyer elsewhere.  I certainly don't care if someone in the USA buys an item from me and then ships it to their friend in Zimbabwe, Mongolia, or Pitcairn Island.  That is their business.

Larry

poplar1

When you say "that is their business," I know you mean "it's not my business" or "it doesn't concern me."

Perhaps there *should* be a business or individual person who would broker or ship internationally.

In this case, I'd be careful about selling to "anyone" with a 0 feedback, even if they lived 20 miles from you!

"C'est pas une restauration, c'est une rénovation."--François Martin.

Haf

#8
This is what makes collecting for me so hard, sellers not willing to ship abroad. Maybe they have reasons for it, I don't know. As a seller I ship internationally and never had any problems, expect one item to Hong Kong took about three month shipping as buyer asked for cheapest way to ship.
When buying I know about high shipping costs, customs fees etc and willing to pay for it but very very often I have to pass on items I really like just because the seller doesn't want to ship abroad. Very frustrating!
When you choose the new ebay international shipping option you have to ship it within the USA to the international carrier, mostly to Erlanger KY, he does the rest. There is no more risk than selling to someone within the USA. And we even do have PayPal here in Europe! Germany and Austria too (lived many years in Austria myself).
Selling to a buyer with no feedback is always a risk, of course, but the risk is same wherever he lives. Maybe you should just ask him if he knows about high shipping costs, taking care of customs himself etc. so if he is willing to do all this you can be sure that he knows about and if he says yes he means yes.

Remember there are phone collectors all over the world, like me, like dsk in Norway and all the other folks from Great Britain etc. That is one aspect what makes this hobby that interesting not only limited to your neighborhood. Maybe even a reason why many of us are here on that forum. But there must be a chance to get phones from abroad and always visiting the country of choice and picking there is way more expensive than shipping costs!

Haf
Telephone:
0049-030-55474418
1-415-449-4743
1-604-757-7474

dsk

Norway (here) are about as odd as Austria, I guess.
USPS parcels has always come true, and tracking numbers are easy to follow.
Parcels has to be signed for, and that is traceable.
I'am happy for all the sellers who ship internationally, even when I often have to pay more for the shipping than the item.

dsk


wds

#10
I don't sell much, but I have sold several items to overseas buyers and haven't had any trouble.  I block Asia and a couple other countries to be safe.  I also buy some from overseas and again have had pretty good success.  I just recently purchased a Tesla 320 gpo style phone from Poland and it arrived in 10 days.  On the other hand, I purchased a test set from overseas (can't remember the country) and the seller dropped the phone into one of those tyvec envelopes, no bubble wrap or padding.  Somehow it arrived undamaged - phone circled in red.  I wanted it mainly for that original BTMC dial.  I think the buyers and sellers overseas are no different than local buyers/sellers.  there's always one bad apple.  On overseas purchases I REALLY stress the packaging due to the distance.  Postage can be quite high, buying or selling, but I always factor that into the total cost of the item, just like I would do if I purchased locally.  
Dave