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Are your foreign ebay sales on the rise? - Page 3

post #31 of 44
10/19/07 at 3:41pm
As a Canadian purchaser, both SF and ebay, my purchasing power vis-a-vis exchange rates has increased ~20% in the past year and closer to 40% over a 3 year time frame. Obviously, US retailers and ebay vendors dont adjust prices because the Canadian dollar is having its twice-per-century moment of strength. Canadian retailers have not passed on noticeable savings so the US is a very attractive place to shop.

Anything vendors can do to accomodate Canadian purchasers is more attractive. USPS is better than Fedex or UPS in terms of customs clearance. Lower declared values reduce the likelihood of having to pay taxes/duties or at least lowering them.

Many of you offer lines that just are not available in Canada so I would recommend you encourage non-US sales as much as possible. Most of us are willing to pay a bit more for shipping (as long as it is "fair") recognizing the added expense and hassle you incur.

just my two cents...
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post #32 of 44
10/19/07 at 6:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rkw5000 View Post
As a Canadian purchaser, both SF and ebay, my purchasing power vis-a-vis exchange rates has increased ~20% in the past year and closer to 40% over a 3 year time frame. Obviously, US retailers and ebay vendors dont adjust prices because the Canadian dollar is having its twice-per-century moment of strength. Canadian retailers have not passed on noticeable savings so the US is a very attractive place to shop.

Quote:
Originally Posted by lakewolf View Post
The dollar is so weak these times, that I can buy things not only from ebay but from other online shops at full retail price, get them shipped here express, pay the taxes and still save money compared with what I would have to pay here discounted...

Wow, didn't know that!
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post #33 of 44
10/19/07 at 9:32pm
In many many years buying and selling on the internet, never has one package got lost, and having had items shipped to and from the 5 corners in the globe...
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post #34 of 44
10/30/07 at 12:58pm
Okay, another question for sellers. An Italian buyer received an item I sold him but got hit with a big bill:

Quote:
this morning i picked up the sweater at the courier . i had a very bad surprise. for the custom i had to add 100 euro what means nearly 145 dollars . won't accepted this . ... i wait for your proposal

Have you faced as situation like this? Obviously, Italian customs is not my responsibility, and I'm not too worried about a negative feedback to be honest.
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post #35 of 44
10/30/07 at 1:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by chorse123 View Post
Okay, another question for sellers. An Italian buyer received an item I sold him but got hit with a big bill:



Have you faced as situation like this? Obviously, Italian customs is not my responsibility, and I'm not too worried about a negative feedback to be honest.

JS,

I stopped shipping to Italy due to customs and more packages being stolen then delivered. When I do ship to that part of the world and almost all the buyers want a low value declared I simply tell them "I'll take the tags off, declare a $15-20 value and mark it as a gift and used, but after it leaves my hands here in the US, you are fully responsible for whatever happens". The tax bill is his responsibility, unless he specifically asked you to declare a low value, you agreed and then declared a very high value.
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post #36 of 44
10/30/07 at 1:15pm
Thread Starter 
I've seen a lot of sellers lately say "Sorry I cannot ship to Italy" specifically singling out that one country in Europe. I guess this is why
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post #37 of 44
10/30/07 at 1:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by chorse123 View Post
Okay, another question for sellers. An Italian buyer received an item I sold him but got hit with a big bill:



Have you faced as situation like this? Obviously, Italian customs is not my responsibility, and I'm not too worried about a negative feedback to be honest.

Hi J, i've been on both ends of the customs line. I'm not sure what you said to the Buyer, but I've seen some ebayer sellers make their own declaration about Customs charges.

I've specifically asked for my customs declarations to be marked with a lower value. But I understand that it's at my risk that I do so.

The last two times i've had to pay customs (into the UK) was $150 on a $400 declared amount (they include shipping charges here) and $70 on a $130 declared amount.

I don't think you have ANY obligation to the Buyer. Unfortunately, it's the law and that's it. If he doesn't agree with it, he shouldn't import.

Clint
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post #38 of 44
10/30/07 at 1:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lakewolf
Thanks America for your weak economy !

+1

I am certainly buying as much as I can from American sellers, both ebay and full-retail online sellers, as is everyone I know. I'm more than happy to pay customs on these items, as they're still absurdly cheap thanks to the pathetic dollar. All import duties are clearly the buyer's responsibility and anyone who claims otherwise is being a weasel.
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post #39 of 44
10/30/07 at 1:40pm
Thanks, guys. I trust SF buyers, so it's not really an issue there, but random Italians on ebay are different. He never requested a lower mark, and the item received a lot of bids.
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post #40 of 44
10/30/07 at 2:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by chorse123 View Post
Thanks, guys. I trust SF buyers, so it's not really an issue there, but random Italians on ebay are different. He never requested a lower mark, and the item received a lot of bids.
Yeah, it's completely his fault. You can't bid on an international item and then get mad when you have to pay custom duties. Even though most sellers do it (myself included), undervaluing an item on the customs forms is illegal and he can't expect you to do that. The only problems I have had with international buyers have been from Italy. I state in my auctions that I do not ship to Italy because it is against customs regulations, but I still get a fair number of items won by Italians who then proceed to send me hilarious insulting emails in broken English when I tell them I can't ship to Italy.
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post #41 of 44
10/30/07 at 2:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by chorse123 View Post
Have you faced as situation like this? Obviously, Italian customs is not my responsibility, and I'm not too worried about a negative feedback to be honest.

Customs is not your responsibility, as long as you have proof of postage/tracking numbers the worst the buyer can do is refuse the package and have it bounced back to you, at which point you can refund them the amount they paid minus any paypal or shipping fees.

I've not had any problems with Italian buyers but the Italian postal service's ground shipping service is a different matter - shipped a pair of jeans there and they took the best part of 3 months to arrive.
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post #42 of 44
10/30/07 at 4:45pm
As a buyer the only thing I've ever asked is that the declared value not include shipping. Also, from a Canadian perspective it seems that in the past few years taxes and the brokerage fee are being applied much less frequently, especially when the item is coming from the US via USPS (but also on my tailorstore shirts from Sweden). Rumour is that this is because Customs is concentrating more on security than generating revenue and obviously this may vary and could change without warning.
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post #43 of 44
10/30/07 at 7:27pm
Quote:
I simply tell buyers that if they want to save custom fees and have me declare a $10 value or whatever, there is no way I can insure the package so once I prove it was shipped, whatever happens at that point is their issue. unfortunately, they cannot have their cake and eat it too.

You are bearing 100% of the risk then. 99% of the time international addresses are unconfirmed, so if the item gets lost they will get their money back without question, and you will not have any insurance so you will be out the item and the money.

Customs duties are the responsibility of the buyer. You have no obligation to the Italian customer, that is between him and his government. I'm geting close to refusing to ship to Italy. 75% of my transactions with Italian buyers have been nightmares.
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post #44 of 44
11/2/07 at 12:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by chorse123 View Post
A question for international sellers: have you been able to declare one value for the item you are sending internationally (say $25) and insure for a much larger ammount (like $300)? I did this with two packages earlier this week, but then when I tried to do it this morning, the post office clerk rejected it and said the values had to match.

I think this is ridiculous. The value of the insurance (replacement for me) versus the value of the item are not necessarily the same. Also, now my international buyers are going to be stuck with very large customs bills. Any thoughts?

I believe you can take separate (non-USPS) insurance for the full value and declare a lower value in customs forms. Auctionsniper has one such separate insurance services.

From their terms and conditions: "Claims for items on the list below will NOT be honored.

Loss, damage, or non-arrival of any parcel of its contents which (... ) (b) bears a descriptive label or packaging which tends to describe nature of contents. (Customs forms do not negate coverage. Item ‘b’ primarily refers to manufacturer’s packaging.)



Whether this is legal or whether you are willing to do this is up to you.
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