OT: Ebay for people overseas?

How do people get around getting stuff from Ebay when sellers won't post overseas? I can understand why they won't, with international scams, the hassle of postage, payment, etc, but it doesn't make it any easier for me... (and I have the risk of being ripped off as well) In this particular case, I have been searching the world (Ebay US, UK, germany, Australia) for a BMW bike ABS computer - and my model is rarer than some RCMers admitting that the Chinese make some good tools... I will be rather pissed off if I find one and the seller won't post it. i looked at fowarding services, etc, but they are expensive and have some big fees. For a one off, I can probably call on some favours from friends in the various countries (Hi Dan :-) but it is hardly a long term solution. There are lots of goodies (and cheaper parts) if I can solve this problem. Geoff New Zealand

Reply to
geoff m
Loading thread data ...

I just bought some optics from Germany, listed on the German ebay. He did eventually send it by regular mail, but I was ready to have a friend or forwarding service handle it. I believe you can have DHL do a pick up in another country, the driver brings the waybill with him. Alan

Reply to
Alan Black

I have asked several why they only sell to a small part of the world, the USA, but have had only one reply. Perhaps I asked the question in the wrong way as most Americans seem to think that the USA is the world.

The one that replied talked about getting paid. I have had no trouble with PayPal and am continuing to buy from those who will sell to me. It worked for the best once,I was bidding on a 1-2 micrometer and was told to cease as the seller would not sell outside USA. I searched and found another better one.

My son buys motorcycles and parts for them on E-bay. He has befriended a guy in the USA to whom he has the items sent and gets them freighted to NZ. His 'agent' bids and pays for him as well if that is necessary. Doug Also from New Zealand

Reply to
Doug

As an Ebay buyer and seller, as well as an owner of a company that sometimes ships products to customers in various countries, perhaps I can shed some light on why Americans only ship to America.

Once an individual has discovered the amount of paperwork involved in UPS or similar shipping documentation, it's just not worth the trouble. If the item can go by mail, then there is only a single page to fill out. So that is not so bad.

I once sold an item on Ebay to a Canadian and I think there were 5-6 pages required by UPS, including a copy of a sales invoice.

Guess it's our Government trying to help us!!!

Paul in Oregon

Reply to
Paul

Well ... I can mention some possible problems:

1) Some things (mostly computer related) have software which is export controlled -- especially anything with encryption which is considered "munitions" thanks to a strange combination of the State Department and the DOD.

This even applies to software which was written outside the US, and was brought in via any means. While at the same time, books printing the source code for the very same algorithms was exempt from the controls.

A friend had some bare printed-circuit boards made for an early Heathkit computer -- the floppy disk controller. As he worked (his day job) for a DOD (Department Of Defense) contractor, he had to play by *all* of the rules, and someone in Sweden (I think it was) wanted to purchase these boards to build floppy controllers for his computers. (This was pre eBay, BTW.)

He was unable, with several months of trying, to find *anyone* willing to sign off on these being legal to export.

2) My wife has sold a couple of things which went to out-of-country bidders, in spite of the "USA bidders only" which was plainly visible in the auctions. The second of those, a collector's-item book, appears to have vanished between here and Italy. The purchaser has never seen it, and we have seen no sign of what happened to it. This is one of about four things that she has sold.
3) Ideally, there should be a surcharge for sales out of country, simply because of the costs of currency conversion. I have bought things form England and from Australia. England was fairly easy. Australia, there was no agreement in place to allow international money orders, so I had to get the bank to get an international check in AU dollars. This cost me quite a bit extra (on top of a $1200 purchase). If I had shipped payment in US dollars, the seller would have had to go through the process of conversion, and *he* would have had to foot the bill for the conversion. It is not fair, in either case.

Some do not like PayPal, as it likes to have its fingers in your bank account and/or your credit card, and it makes it rather difficult to recover disputed funds.

4) Shipping can take so long that I will have forgotten that something was coming by the time I got it. :-)

That is a good arrangement. Your son and his friend have a mutual trust, and that allows them to be sure that the item was shipped.

Just some thoughts on the subject.

Good Luck, DoN.

Reply to
DoN. Nichols

Thank you all for these comments. I understand and can forgive. A paper war is not my idea of fun either.

Good luck, Doug

Reply to
Doug

PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.