international shipping or lack of it!

[mpit7628]

Hello everyone!  I just recently read a question here on the answer centre from a buyer who was wondering why American sellers don't sell internationally.  I have  been kind of wondering the same thing.  It is not just some sellers in the U.S.  Yesterday I happened to be checking out the u.k. ebay site and there are sellers there that also won't sell internationally.  I would love to be able to keep my buying to ebay.ca  but as a collector of a certain items ebay.com has a much more extensive selection.  My concern in not so much with sellers that list " ships to the U.S., because I have contacted many American sellers who are totally agreeable to shipping here.  My concern is internationally sellers who state on their listing that their item is not available to Canada!   If they don't want to sell internationally why does it look as if  Canadians are being shut out from bidding?

[reallynicestamps · Accepted solution]

The usual reason for US sellers is that, with the largest economy in the world, they see no reason to go outside for customers. There are occasional panicked posts on dotCOM seller boards about getting sales to Hawai'i or Puerto Rico or (horrors!) Guam, all of which are part of the US empire and have US zipcodes.

There is also a certain amount of xenophobia involved.

These reasons may also be why UK sellers are avoiding international sales, combined with the knowledge that US buyers are antsy about "slow" shipping from overseas and the higher cost of shipping offshore.

Also the USPS will pickup domestic parcels at the sellers' homes, but insist that international parcels be brought to the Post Office. The reasoning behind this baffles me. It has something to do with the Unibomber.

You are doing the right thing by contacting sellers and asking permission to bid. Some will have you blocked, some will ignore you and some will realize they have never thought of selling to foreign destinations.

Some US sellers have had their first international experiences with Canadian buyers and it did not go well. The seller may just have panicked about customs documents (included in the Paypal label, but we are not talking about rationality here.) Or he may have sent UPS a sensible move domestically, since the prices are good, doorstep pickup is normal, and both insurance and tracking are included. However UPS (and other couriers) don't tell the seller about the $25 + customs brokerage charge they will charge the Canadian buyer before releasing the parcel. Furious buyers retaliate.

We are also infamous for demanding that items be underestimated to avoid duty, which messes up the seller's insurance or for demanding that the item be marked as a Gift, which really doesn't work anyway and is illegal.

The some mess it up for the many, in other words.

[scifan57 · Accepted solution]

In a few cases there are items that cannot be legally exported from the United States, such as generation 3 night vision systems or certain military surplus items.

[dmil8030 · Accepted solution]

Hello 'mpit',

It's not that Canadians are being shut out, it's that the seller does not ship to certain countries and you happen to be in Canada so you get the message about Canada.  The Japanese person will get the message that the item is not available to Japan.

Sellers can choose where they want to ship to, and there are a few countries to which many sellers will not ship at all.  Having such a small population, Canadians have always looked outside their borders, but for many nations the same economic need is not there.  The UK has a much larger population, as well as having all of Europe right next door.

When you find a seller not willing to ship across the water, it may be that the seller has had too many problems with items 'getting lost' through overseas post.  Those who do are increasingly reluctant to send without the 'signed for' option.  After a few chatty emails I can usually get the seller to drop that £5 option, so it's worth it to ask. 

It's not you the sellers are shunning, so if you see something you like, take a moment to make a friendly inquiry.  If you get a dialogue box block it just means the seller has considered shipping abroad but declined.  No choice then but to move on.

Anyway, to make buying as easy as possible for yourself, from the ebay Canada page, type your keywords in search, and from the left be sure to choose Worldwide from the Location offerings near the bottom.  (You may have to keep doing it with every new search).  Those who state a shipping fee appear first followed by those who ship internationally but you have to ask, or the fee may be stated in the description but not in the shipping tab. 

You might still want to shop overseas directly and ask ask ask, depending on your item.  But if you look at a seller's exclusions, you'll find it is anywhere overseas, not just us. 🙂  I find most sellers like Canada and Canadians, - it's those false 'not received' claims after only 2 weeks they don't like.

Happy hunting. 🙂

[ok_so_im_50]

Sellers want to guard themselves against item not received disputes. When it comes to shipping international packages, tracking can be very expensive and the buyers will not be willing to pay. If the item is sent without tracking, the buyer could claim they didn't get the item and there would be no way to prove they did get the item.

I think most if not all sellers want to open their listings up to everyone but when you are small scale, you cannot afford item not received disputes because you will have to return the money and you will be out the item.

I personally have had 2 buyers in a row from Canada say they did not get their items. One item was a camera (a very small, kids camera) and a pair of shorts. On the shorts, I originally blocked bidders outside the US and then a Canadian member emailed me because they wanted to bid on the item. I added them to my exemption list and they won the item only to file an item not received dispute later. Of course I had to refund their money.

Some sellers have lost a lot more money than I did on international sales in which they could not prove delivery.

If a seller refuses international selling, do not take it personally. They may have had a bad experience with an international transaction and decided to never do it again.

[nikki-t]

i agree, non paying buyers deserve to be accountable. i've had a few, internationally, and have recently limited my sales to national (Canada) only, until i devise a plan.