Thanks for all the responses, on and off line. I can only add that I have ordered many bicycle components and accessories to the US from abroad, usually the UK, and never been hassled by import regulations. I understand that US sellers may be exposed to foreign buyers claiming, honestly or not, that goods didn't arrive. It seems that Paypal protects buyers better than it does sellers in that case, and that reasonably priced international shipping from the US does not allow delivery to be confirmed. That was news to me as I have always felt a bit exposed myself as a buyer and having to pay in advance.
FWIW, I can ship a package up to 2 lbs to anywhere in the US registered airmail for about $6 using my local post office. I do have to go there, wait in line and fill in a short form. But that is my hassle, not the buyer's. Happy buying and selling to everyone. And riding. Jay On Nov 5, 10:41 am, IanA <attew...@gmail.com> wrote: > I live in Canada and have bought a number of things on eBay and also this > list. Shipping is always a bit of an issue from the USA. It is much > easier here to deal with Canada Post/USPS than is to deal with the likes of > FedEx or perhaps worse still UPS. UPS, for example, has high brokerage > fees for individual consumers, as do all the courier companies. It's > generally easier for people inside the USA just to use UPS, as USPS doesn't > pick up. Also, there are customs forms to complete for export. These are > simple, but I notice people would prefer not to have to deal with these. > > Actually, it is often much easier for us in Canada to buy from Europe or > the UK. We can more easily arrange shipping through the Postal Service of > whichever country and avoid using couriers. The postal services from Europe > tend to be quite efficient. > > And interestingly, for new products by Shimano or even Schmidt, it's often > cheaper for us to buy from Europe. More choice too. Shipping is often > cheaper and the European suppliers are well prepared for export. > > However, the advances in randonneur or country-bike equipment seems to be > made mostly in the US. Places like Compass Cycles, Rivendell, Velo Orange > etc., seem to be fairly unique in this day and age, so for us non-CONUS > folks, it would be nice to have economical and straight-forward shipping > options. > > But, at the end of the day, it really is more hassle to ship/receive > outside of CONUS than within and so I think in these cases is there is no > prejudice against people from outside the USA. In the case of the sale that > you lost - the potential buyer was probably concerned about having to > arrange customs clearance/pay duties and tax on the items. I used to work > in the freight industry and can tell you that brokerage charges in the US > can be very high (even if the item is duty free). For the most part, it's > probably not worth the hassle except on low value items that would not > require customs clearance (like $20 items). > > On Sunday, November 4, 2012 2:16:54 PM UTC-7, Jay in Tel Aviv wrote: > > > > > > > I have been fairly active on this list since I got my Sam last summer. > > I have participated in discussions, bought and sold a few things > > (including my Sam, thanks Forrest) and generally tried to be helpful > > when I have something to add. I find the people here generally quite > > knowledgable and friendly. It is a good groupvand I'm happy to be part > > of it. > > > Once in a while, though, I have experienced something which to be > > seems very strange and a bit insulting. A few times people have > > refused to complete a transaction with me when they find out I live > > overseas. Shipping costs have not been the issue, it seems more loke a > > lack of willingness to trust a random foriegner on the internet. > > > I just lost a sale on another group in circumstances like those. The > > buyer got the answeres he was looking for to his questions and then > > balked when he saw thay my email wasn't from the US. > > > I feel like I'm missing something here. > > > Jay -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
