shipping internationally

[fishblimp]

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Hello,

 

I wonder if someone might have some advice. I'm not sure if it's the New Yorker in me or what, but I tend to be very cautious about doing transactions on the internet. I prefer eBay because you can view people's tendencies/histories there as well as can take advantage of some of their protection services. I've posted an ad for my M8.2 here on the classifieds but I seem to be getting a lot of interest in it from people outside the USA. I tend to prefer doing this sort of transaction with people in the USA, because of a bad experience on eBay in the past.

 

Does anyone have any advice about doing such a transaction with someone overseas? Is there a holding company that services one-off transactions like mine? Is there a better method of shipping than FedEx (or is FedEx even good in the first place)? Is PayPal the way to go? etc...

 

Thanks everyone.

[Overgaard]

The interest might be the weak dollar.

 

In any case, ask for a bank transfer, and as soon as it has arrived, ship of the camera with insurance with UPS, DHL or similar.

 

I've done transactions like that in the past, though where I was the paying and receiving part. Nothing strange in that, and if one can't trust each other on that, let somebody else buy it.

 

The holding company service is to complex and a "guarantee" used by people who do scams. So avoid that. Keep it simple.

 

You can also ship COD (cash on delivery) but that would imply costs for you in case the receiver fails to pick up (for whatever reason).

[jaapv]

Fedex and Paypal. I don't see any problems for you. As long as you get your money and then ship what you promised. The buyer will have to fight the customs, pay tax etc. Not your problem. Fedex is in my experience the best, USPS the worst and the rest, UPS,DHL etc. in between. If you advertised here it should be easy to judge the character of the persons showing interest. In my experience this forum is a rather safe environment for transactions. I do not think that non-USA residents are more criminal than Americans in general But beware of Nigeria

[artears]

I sold a few things to buyers overseas. I do not see any problems if you use Paypal and withdraw the money to your bank after you receive it. I always used insured shipping, which should not be a problem, since you will be charging extra for shipping anyway. Insured shipping will also force you to declare the value of the item correctly. I used UPS and USPS before, no complaints so far. I am pretty sure it would not matter if you choose Fedex instead. Hey, everything is insured anyway.

[Ecar]

Paypal and insurance. Most xpress carriers provide the same service in my experience (never had an issue, touch wood) although USPS is typically less predictable. And indeed, as long as it's insured, you should be fine.

If you use eBay and Paypal, transactions are "protected", which is good for both sides although there's a cost attached to it.

I, for one, would not make a direct bank transfer for a substantial amount without some form of guarantee, irrespective of the country in which the seller resides.

[stunsworth]

Always have a delivery that has to be signed for. That prevents someone receiving the item and saying it's never arrived. Always insure - unless it's a low cost item.

 

I always insist on Paypal for non-UK bidders and move the money into my account once an item's been paid for.

 

I've had problems in the past with bidders from SE Asia, maybe I've been unlucky, but I'm reluctant to ship there unless the bidder has good feedback.

[fishblimp]

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thanks for the help everyone. you can understand my nervousness about this. the most interested buyer resides in Switzerland. Thankfully the Swiss have a good reputation lol.

[peter_n]

PayPal and insured shipping with tracking. Anything over $250 absolutely require a signature. I use USPS for within the US, usually FedEx for Europe. A couple of weeks ago I sold a lens to a guy in Italy and because I required full tracking I shipped USPS and FedEx took over at the airport in Boston. So hybrid shipping arrangements are possible.

[Overgaard]

Oh yes, customs is one thing the buyer should be aware of and which they might not have thought about (as the camera originates from EU it's quite strange to have to pay VAT and TAX of it as it enters back).

 

I know of one forum member who had the unpleasant experience receiving 10,000$ worth of gear and had it hanging in customs till he made up his mind.

 

If the buyer is a company they/he can import with tax and vat deducted.

 

A route, by the way, can be to ship to Solms for whatever cleaning and adjusting, then let them ship it within EU to the buyer. If can be done it's a nice way to do it.

[Ecar]

thanks for the help everyone. you can understand my nervousness about this. the most interested buyer resides in Switzerland. Thankfully the Swiss have a good reputation lol.

 

I live in Switzerland. People tend to be very honest here, but you never know...

Indeed, the buyer must be made aware that he'll be paying VAT (7.6% + custom handling fees).

[leicanut2]

UPS Shipped out a lens to japan insured for 3,800 by way of UPS guy got it in 3 days it should have cost 197.00. But there mistake cost me 218.00 Again refund should be comming soon I hope. Three days from the great lakes USA to Japan not bad insured.

 

Jan

[iShutterbug]

Hello,

 

I wonder if someone might have some advice. I'm not sure if it's the New Yorker in me or what, but I tend to be very cautious about doing transactions on the internet. I prefer eBay because you can view people's tendencies/histories there as well as can take advantage of some of their protection services. I've posted an ad for my M8.2 here on the classifieds but I seem to be getting a lot of interest in it from people outside the USA. I tend to prefer doing this sort of transaction with people in the USA, because of a bad experience on eBay in the past.

 

Does anyone have any advice about doing such a transaction with someone overseas? Is there a holding company that services one-off transactions like mine? Is there a better method of shipping than FedEx (or is FedEx even good in the first place)? Is PayPal the way to go? etc...

 

Thanks everyone.

 

This is a very important subject for anyone selling something, especially a high-priced item, over the internet through an auction like eBay or Amazon, both of which I have stores and 100% favorable feedback.

 

I had rare books and CDs on my Amazon store and often had parents buying things and then wanting me to send the items directly to their kids in college, as a case in point. On these auction sites to purchase something you have to be signed up and registered with Amazon or PayPal. Well, as an old entrepreneur I always followed the rule that the customer is always right and do everything they want you to do, so I would comply and send the item to their kid in so and so college--even though the Amazon or PayPal address was the parent's and was different from where I was sending it.

 

I just did that without thinking and--to make a long story short--one time I sold several thousand dollars' worth of camera equipment to a party with a Texas credit card address, but who wanted to ship the camera equipment to their "business partner" in Indonesia.

 

Well, I got in some trouble for that because I fell for the scam because it was a stolen credit card, Amazon would not cover the charges because I did not ship to the credit card address as their guarantee stipulated. I had to make up the several thousand dollars and was out a Canon digital and three "L" lenses and a flash to boot.

 

Lessons:

• I don't sell to Indonesia at all and try to avoid China, except Hong Kong

• Only ship to the address that buyer has registered with Amazon or eBay/PayPal

• If you do that, then any PayPal transaction should be guaranteed

• Ship nationally USPS Priority Mail with Confirmation and Insurance if over $100 value

• Ship internationally USPS Express Mail International Guaranteed, with insurance, which has internet confirmation

 

Representative USPS Express Mail International Guaranteed charge is around $45 for 4 lbs, $50 for 5 lbs. You will, of course, need to fill out long custom form (which is not a problem and can be gotten at post office).

 

I agree it's easiest to try to sell solely in the US (if you live in US) but it does narrow down your chances of a sale. If it's a high-end item and the dollar is weak vis a vis other currencies, then like one forum member said above, it will be attractive to foreign buyers and so in your interest to know how to safely sell, and ship, to them. Hope this helps.

[stunsworth]

I just did that without thinking and--to make a long story short--one time I sold several thousand dollars' worth of camera equipment to a party with a Texas credit card address, but who wanted to ship the camera equipment to their "business partner" in Indonesia

 

I had something very similar recently. A potential bidder wanted the item shipping directly to his 'client' in SE Asia. I politely refused. A week or two later I had an email from eBay out of the blue explaining that the apparent bidder was in fact someone who had had their details stolen.

 

I'll ship to SE Asia, but only to the registered address, and provided the bidder has decent feedback and has bought similar items in the past.

 

I always build the 'sign for' and insurance fees into the P&P, and I try to remember to state clearly that these costs are included in the shipping costs.

[tommaso_tabet]

I do like this post, so appropriate indeed! I am not sure if I get the PayPal thing correctly. I am on the buyer side, and I simply want to make sure that once I make the payment, I will actually receive the good I've paid for. What will PayPal do more than track the transaction and shipment and give good/bas points?

 

Any options more than the good old trust out there?

 

Cheers,

Tom

[Sandokan]

I believe PayPal will refund money (upto a max).

 

FedEx and Paypal are the way to go. I dont buy anything that has "wire transfer only". Then again I am not bidding for your item :-)

[peter_n]

I do like this post, so appropriate indeed! I am not sure if I get the PayPal thing correctly. I am on the buyer side, and I simply want to make sure that once I make the payment, I will actually receive the good I've paid for. What will PayPal do more than track the transaction and shipment and give good/bas points?

 

Any options more than the good old trust out there?

 

Cheers,

Tom

Not much, and PayPal are not to be trusted. Register your credit card with PayPal and pay with that card and not your bank account. If you buy through eBay, you're in the driver's seat, eBay seems to be doing its best to drive occasional sellers (like me) away. If you buy through a private transaction it is another matter.

 

If you want to read about PayPal woes, do a search on RFF as a new PayPal moan thread seems to surface regularly there. I use PayPal myself, it's really the only game in town and incredibly convenient for international transactions. If I'm selling, I insist on shipping with tracking throughout the route, full replacement insurance, and a signature on receipt by the buyer for items over $250. If I'm being paid by PayPal, then the shipment must go to the buyer's address in the payment email. I believe that the PayPal terms for these attributes are that the buyer is "Verified" and "Confirmed". Very, very occasionally I've shipped to another address, a case in point being when I had a Canadian buyer ask me to ship to a P.O. address in a US border town.

 

Essentially you're on your own. Caveat emptor.

[BobPS]

I'm from Indonesia. And as a buyer I prefer paypal if I buy from individuals or credit card when I buy from retailers. I think paypal is the safest way for doing international transaction.

 

For shipping, again as a buyer, I prefer FedEx or DHL, insured. No UPS for me, they charged hefty fee, last time I used them they charged me a custom duty of $40 or $50 for $150 books that I bought. I had never been charged for custom duty when I bought books before or after that.

 

As for shipping to a different address as Steve and iShutterbug mentioned, I do that a couple of times when I bought stuffs from the US, I had the stuffs shipped to my friend's address in Florida. He then send it to me in Indonesia.

 

It is a fact that there are scrupulous people here in my country, and AFAIK they're not indivdual who just steal someone's credit card number and use it, they're more like organized crime.

 

Bob

[peter_n]

No UPS for me, they charged hefty fee, last time I used them they charged me a custom duty of $40 or $50 for $150 books that I bought. I had never been charged for custom duty when I bought books before or after that.

That was either fully or partially a fee for UPS to "clear" your goods through customs.

 

UPS once charged me $28 on a $500 purchase from the UK, once again to "clear" the package through customs. The item was not dutiable (sp?), but still had to be "cleared". No more UPS for me either.

[fishblimp]

Peter, it seems as though you have experience shipping internationally.

 

My situation is this:

Potential buyer currently lives away from his usual address in Switzerland (where his credit card address and verified PayPal address is). He is going to pick up the camera at that usual address in Switzerland next month.

 

My question is this:

Does this seem fishy at all to you? If I receive payment into my PayPal account and I ship to the verified PayPal address via an insured/trackable carrier, then that's safe right?

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[peter_n]

Well, not that much experience, but a bit. Also I'm not going to claim safety will result from my comments, this is the internet remember... With respect to sending the package I would ship with tracking throughout the route, have full replacement insurance, and require a signature on receipt at the shipping address. Signature can be either a signed card that is be returned to you or electronic that you can retrieve and print from an internet page. I'm beginning to think that an electronic signature is more reliable as USPS has on occasion not returned signed cards. The USPS receipt card for international shipping is pink in color. Most courier services record an electronic signature. To minimize problems, you absolutely need proper tracking, full replacement insurance, and a recorded signature at the shipping address.

 

With respect to the fishyness or otherwise of your buyer, it is unfortunate but there is a certain amount of trust involved. Your buyer could fund the transaction through a credit card then reverse charges claiming that your M8 was damaged on arrival, just as one example. You're selling through the classifieds here so it is likely that you can check by looking up their profile in the members list to see if they've been a member for a day, a year, five years etc. I'm selling a 24mm lens in the classifieds at the moment and one of the interested parties asked if I would ship to Canada. So I replied and said yes, of course. Then when I looked up their profile it turns out they live in Germany. So I won't be shipping to Canada...

 

Another thing you can do is get the PayPal email address of your potential buyer. Go to PayPal, click on the Send Money tab, enter $0.50 in the amount field and your buyer's email address into the sendto field and click on the Continue button. On the confirmation page you'll see a link under your buyers email address. Click on it and the popup page will show you some information (but not much) about your buyer - how long they've had their account, etc., etc. Ignore the seller reputation info - PayPal haven't maintained that for years. The info there isn't much but it's better than nothing. If your buyer has had the account for a week or something steer clear. When you're done reading the popup window close it and back out of the transaction using the Back button on your browser.

 

One other thing you might want to try is coordination on timing of receipt. Is there someone at the shipping address for a signature while buyer is away? If not arrange to be paid/send item to roughly coincide with buyer being at premises. These are restrictive ideas but the principle is to reduce risk as much as possible. If your buyer balks at your questions or requirements, apologize but point out that you are working for both his/her protection as well as your own. Hope this helps a bit.