News:

"The phone is a remarkably complex, simple device,
and very rarely ever needs repairs, once you fix them." - Dan/Panther

Main Menu

"Do you mail items to the USA?"

Started by Buzby, December 31, 2015, 03:25:18 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Buzby

I buy stuff now and then from ebay in the UK, and while a lot of sellers may not say they mail to the USA, many of them do. and for those who dont, that's not too much of a problem for me as I can get stuff shipped to a relative for forwarding or brought over on a visit.

There are those who respond with a firm and polite "no", and then there are those who have their reasons, some of which are listed below.

This person just couldn't handle how PayPal works

No. I do not sell to other country's as I only take paypal in English pounds. Thankyou.

The payment will be made in GBP. PayPal converts the amount automatically.


British paypal only. I will loose money when they do the exchange rate. Please dont ask me any more questions.

And this one really didn't understand that I would be paying for shipping.

Sorry. Shipping it to America would be too expensive.

The price of shipping isn't a problem. Should cost around 15-20 quid, and I'm happy to pay that.

The answer is still no. I am not going to pay £20 for postage. Thank you for your interest.

Short and simple. Furriners!

I do not post items abroad as foreign postmen break things.

Then there's the made up rule.

We can not sell items to anyone who is not an eBay.co.uk member as per eBay rules and regulations. Have a good day.


And the honest.

Sorry bud, I don't like filling in forms.

The yes turning into a no.

Hi there! I have relisted the item you purchased and refunded your money. My boyfriend does not want me selling things overseas as there are a lot of scammers.Sorry! :)

Finally, the yes, but what's the point.

Thanks for your recent question on if I will post overseas. Yes I will and I think it should be no more than £25.00. If you win the auction I will invoice you for the correct postage.

I must warn you though that I will have to remove the internals of the telephone as it most likely contains lithium which is prohibited from being sent overseas.

Good luck with your bidding!


There's no need to remove anything. It's modern mobiles and cordless phones that contain Lithium Ion batteries. This will be no problem to send it as is.

Thanks for your response. I am not willing to take any chances as I am not an electrician and I am not going to pay for an inspection.

WEBellSystemChristian

Wow, those are some pretty nasty responses. The last one can't be true, as modern electronics (containing Lithium Ion batteries) are shipped to the US all the time from the UK, and vise-versa.
Christian Petterson

"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right" -Henry Ford

TelePlay

Quote from: WEBellSystemChristian on December 31, 2015, 04:41:14 PM
Wow, those are some pretty nasty responses. The last one can't be true, as modern electronics (containing Lithium Ion batteries) are shipped to the US all the time from the UK, and vise-versa.

And I buy 3.7 V 5000 maH Li batteries from China with no problem either, and the shipping is cheap if not free.

That was a very funny list of 11 excuses, some of which as was pointed out are wrong and most of which are going to cost the seller in sales by turning down buyers. And if the buyer in the US is paying the cost of shipping, what does it matter to the seller, as long as the seller has enough toes and fingers to calculate the cost. That was quite a list.

Phonesrfun

Maybe the UK GPO has restrictions on sending lithium batteries in the mail.  I know that every time I go to my local post office (US) they ask me if my package contains hazardous materials, including batteries, so thre must be some restrictions on at least sending them here at least.
-Bill G

twocvbloke

There are indeed restrictions on sending lithium batteries, but, I've yet to find a lithium battery inside a GPO telephone, and even then, if a lithium battery is contained within a device it is designed to be inside of, it's allowed to be sent through the post... :)

Buzby

#5
Quote from: twocvbloke on December 31, 2015, 05:01:45 PM
There are indeed restrictions on sending lithium batteries, but, I've yet to find a lithium battery inside a GPO telephone, and even then, if a lithium battery is contained within a device it is designed to be inside of, it's allowed to be sent through the post... :)

The only thing mildly dangerous about the phone in question, a Trimphone, is any leftover radiation from the glowing dial.  ::)

Needless to say, I didn't bid.

twocvbloke

I have a trimphone dial, its' tritium tube still barely glows, but being as weak a radiation as it is, only the most anal of customs lackeys would stop it going through, after all, you can buy tritium tubes online and have them delivered by post, internationally too... :)

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=8812.msg94803#msg94803

Buzby

I managed to find a Trimphone elsewhere, from a very nice seller who didn't normally ship outside the UK. They actually unlisted the auction, made it a BIN at the initial listing price so I could buy it from them.

I did try and find a remnant of glow, but there was none.

AE_Collector

#8
As a citizen of your larger but much less populous neighbour to the north I am obliged to report how often this same situation occurs for us as well. The law of averages dictates that in most instances it is US sellers who won't sell or ship to Canada. Likely because they have a large US audience so generally dont need our bids to sell their items. Usually the item description will state "shipping within the USA only". For me that isn't a problem as I too have a US address to ship to. However, occasionally the seller has explored ebaY enough to find that they can block bidding from other countries. So while their listing states shipping to the USA only, they have translated this to "no bids from anyone who is not registered with ebaY as being in the USA". Two entirely different things in my mind. This is particularly annoying to discover as you try to snipe an item only to be blocked from bidding!

I remember contacting a seller once where I was placing a bid several days before the auction would end but I was blocked from bidding. The seller replied that was their policy even though I had explained to them that I had a US shipping address. I watched the item sell for the opening price even though I would have been placing a bid substantially higher than the opening bid hoping to win the item. It just seemed so ridiculous that they didnt want to get as much $ for their item as possible.

I also remember talking with DavePEI about an ebay auction for a service award presented to an employee of AE Canada at Brockville Ontario. It had found its way south of the border and was listed on ebaY with no shipping outside of the USA allowed! I contacted the seller pointing out that this item was much more likely to have interest from people in Brockville than from anyone else yet they refuse to ship to Ontario. No reply. That just seemed wrong to me!

For the odd items that I sell whether on ebay or not, I ship to the USA and I even take it to the USA to ship saving the buyer quite a bit on the shipping costs.

We now return to the regularly scheduled ebaY "gripe"-ing!

Terry.

Phonesrfun

#9
I might add to Terry's comments about being North of the 49th parallel.  I have hosted the Seattle phone show for several years and Terry and several other Canadians are regular attenders.  I have heard some absolute horror stories of the harassment collectors get from trying to cross the border with a car load of phones....  Both directions.... Coming and going at both US and Canadian customs.  I am sure that if I were trying to take phones into Canada or bring some back, I would get equal treatment.  One collector got to the border and literally had to turn his car around and go back home and unload before he could cross over into the US.   


To me it is really amazing.  With so much in common between Canada and the US, I would think shipping eBay items or taking phones to a phone show would be a no-brainer. 
-Bill G

dsk

I feel about the same about getting things from USA/Canada to Norway.
Of course the shipping may be expensive but it is the buyer who pays! So please, next time you are selling something do not limit shipping to a restricted area.

Happy new year!
dsk