A plea to US sellers on CPF

[NoNotAgain]

The last overseas shipment I made was to Ven in the UK.
Simple enough form, the CN22 is. Not enough room for full address.

Ven and I were trading battery extension tubes for TK75 light.

It cost me $25 to ship to him. As mentioned, once it leaves the US tracking is worthless.

The rub is that shipments from the UK to the US are cheaper than from the US the UK.

 

[ven]

The last overseas shipment I made was to Ven in the UK.
Simple enough form, the CN22 is. Not enough room for full address.

Ven and I were trading battery extension tubes for TK75 light.

It cost me $25 to ship to him. As mentioned, once it leaves the US tracking is worthless.

The rub is that shipments from the UK to the US are cheaper than from the US the UK.

and a pleasure to deal with
I have sent a few things to the states, crazy bit for us here in the UK the actual postage cost is not much more than shipping local!! All i had to do was state on the package the value and a description. So maybe its a good bit easier this side of the pond. We make up for it though when it comes into the UK! Precision works, VOB,gunga,,Vinh,SOYCD, to name just a few USA /Canada side , are all a pleasure to deal with and if i want to buy something and it gets lost etc, then its my problem and i know the risks all be them very unlikely . I appreciate those who have sent me stuff of past greatly..................many are treasured and will continue to be!

My only advice P would be pm the seller at the time(nothing to loose), tell them you accept responsibility and of course pay the extra shipping. If they are happy with that then happy days, your well known and liked...........i think, sometimes that goes a good way towards trust.

If you dont ask................you dont get I hope i can help some of you guys out in the future, we are all a family here and appreciate those who go the extra mile for us guys this side

HP sauce P, thats the answer to everything :laughing: Send a bottle with every transaction

 

[peter yetman]

HP sauce P, thats the answer to everything :laughing: Send a bottle with every transaction

You'll probably find it's on the "Prohibited Items List".
I have managed to get a few people to send stuff over, but feel a bit guilty asking as I've been wondering if there was a reason to not want to send overseas.
I'll try the no responsibility angle next time. I've only had one person refuse me in a couple of years, just wondered why.
Nice to have stirred up a good hearted discussion, thanks all.
P #668

 

[nfetterly]

HP sauce P, thats the answer to everything :laughing: Send a bottle with every transaction

I buy my HP sauce in Canada (just like crunchie bars), or I can actually buy them locally in "Jungle Jim's" (albeit at increased prices).

 

[ven]

:laughing: its something i read or might have been told many years back that there is a bit of a demand for HP sauce,dont know how true it is. Never knew it was prohibited either!

mmmmmm crunchie bars

Maybe Kendal mint cake is the answer then P

 

[Exeter354]

My only advice P would be pm the seller at the time(nothing to loose), tell them you accept responsibility and of course pay the extra shipping. If they are happy with that then happy days, your well known and liked...........i think, sometimes that goes a good way towards trust.

If you dont ask................you dont get I hope i can help some of you guys out in the future, we are all a family here and appreciate those who go the extra mile for us guys this side

I would totally ship overseas if I was pm'd along the lines of the above.

 

[ven]

Thats great to hear Exeter, thank you

 

[peter yetman]

That's reassuring, thank you.
P

 

[leon2245]

I have, but won't any more, just because I want one service responsible for insurance and tracking, which isn't seamless like it is when shipping to and from here.

i get it though. Happens to me all the time, super frustrating seeing awesome stuff you want, but from overseas and no insurance available. Just part of the game, everyone gets to decide for themselves who and where they want to do business, for whatever reason they want. I wouldn't want to twist someone's arm into selling something to me, if they don't want to, I wouldn't want to.

 

[vestureofblood]

Here are a few solutions if anyone is interested

1. Customs Forms:
This being one of the hurdles I have found an one way to do it that is much easier. Using shipping software like Endicia Dazzle this all becomes one single label. Cut and paste the address from Paypal. Type package contents. Print ONE SINGLE LABEL.

This is not an idea solution for all because Endicia does cost like $8 per month or something, but if you ship more than twice or so a month its made up for by the discounted shipping rates.

2. No Insurance option: Also offered by Dazzle is private insurance for most overseas packages, I think its about $1-2 per hundred.

3. Lost packages: This being the most serious problem of the 3 IMO. Having the above insurance option does help, but that's not an option for everyone. Sadly going outside the US does create a spike in post office losses. About one out of 500 inside the US has been my experience. Outside the US more like one out 50.

The only additional solution I know of besides the private insurance is to jump to Priority mail. Flat rate padded envelope can be had for around $30. I have not used this a ton of times, but I will say I have used this and the Priority Express envelopes about 30 times in the past few years, and NEVER had a single one of those lost. Most of those were to Malaysia.

Hope this helps

 

[MX421]

Maybe it's the lost in transit thing.

I wouldn't do it because of the tracking and risk receiving a paypal claim with no way to prove it. That being said, i don't know enough about the other country postal services either. Its not often, but I do travel to Europe occasionally for business and have considered trying to arrange a trade/buy while over there, but i know nothing of shipping between countries over there. I've been wanting to be an Exporter/importer like George claimed to be on Senfeld

Read post 28 here.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?414389-New-Mag-C-cell-incandescent-twisties-M25IT

That shipping service sounds like the solution

 

[KBobAries]

...I can actually buy them locally in "Jungle Jim's"...

My younger sister lived in Fairfield many years ago and took me to Jungle Jim's. I wrinkled my nose at the idea of a grocery store being a tourist stop. That thought lasted all of 2 seconds after going inside. lol. Very cool place!

 

[recDNA]

I'm back to selling CERTAIN items OCONUS these days after a couple years of limiting my locations. I will only sell HIGH dollar items to known CPF'ers providing the buyer accepts the possible risks. I had to change my shipping strategy after several buyer issues but that was on the bay, not here. These days I just make sure that both of us communicate well as to not leave an avenue for failure. And sometimes a language barrier doesn't help. Communication is very important since I am simply astounded by the shipping costs! I can get a tube of Fujik for $6 USD to my door from China. It just cost me (customer actually) $55 in shipping costs alone for a 4lb box of flashlight parts to Germany! I sent my BIL a 2lb box of 18650 cells, a charger and a light. That son of a gun was $32! Probably for another 8 or 10 bux he could have bought all those goodies brand new from China. What a world we live in.

Most of the time I just don't want to fill out the declaration form. It's not bad as long as it's the short version. But anything over 4 lbs needs the long form and that sucker takes twice the amount of time. But I hear what the OP is saying. As long as the overseas buyer accepts the risks and is willing to pay rather high shipping costs I'm OK with shipping international.

It's one thing to "say" you'll accept the risk but if the package doesn't arrive most will cancel payment or ruin your rep on CPF announcing how item never arrived. Sorry guys but I don't need the hassle. Then overseas buyers often ask you to list the item at less than they paid. Sorry boys but I won't commit a federal crime just to sell a flashlight. Even a short customs form is still a pita and I don't need it. Heck, I haven't sold much of anything since CPFMP went down. Paying to list an item that may never sell isn't worth the aggravation to me. I'd be more inclined to trade now and consistently I would only do that in USA. BTW, I avoid buying overseas too.

 

[seery]

I've shipped way more than a dozen lights to fellow CPF members around the world and always ask them to "Please send me a PM when it arrives so I know it made it safely".

Most times I never hear back.

My personality is such that it weighs on me not knowing for certain if it arrived and they are happy.

After a few weeks I'd try to forget about it and assume it arrived safely because if it hadn't they would have contacted me.

Not worth it anymore for me. It would take a special circumstance for me to do it again.

 

[bykfixer]

^^ That's just good manners. And it gives the chance for the buyer to say "woohoo! thanks" or that sorta thing. Shame folks didn't spend a whole 1.5 minutes replying to a likely already started pm.

 

[peter yetman]

I've shipped way more than a dozen lights to fellow CPF members around the world and always ask them to "Please send me a PM when it arrives so I know it made it safely".

Most times I never hear back.

That's just rude, but a lot of people are. It's just common politeness to "Thanks, what a nice light" and takes two seconds.
P

 

[ven]

That's just rude, but a lot of people are. It's just common politeness to "Thanks, what a nice light" and takes two seconds.
P

+1

I am the same seery, no matter if i post UK or USA, i am on pins a little bit and always communicate along the way if i sell something. Until i hear its received, i can not rest!

 

[gunga]

Yep. Me too. I keep a running list so want confirmation before I can remove items from the list. I used to sell a lot.

 

[Kestrel]

We usually have shipping-related threads in the Café. Sort of a toss-up with this thread, but it's been in /General/ for a while now so I thought I'd change things around a little.

 

[ven]

Hope there was no import fee for posting it in the cafe