Kein Versand Nach Amerika

[allen]

I've begun noticing more and more BW items on ebay.de carry the disappointing disclaimer "No shipping to USA." Is there something going on now that I've missed? There was a time when German ebayers were glad to ship here. Was ist los?

[Collectinsteve]

Unfortunately it isn't uncommon. I'm dealing with a UK eBay seller who won't ship outside of the UK. Not even to the EU. So I'm having the items sent to a friend in the UK and he'll ship them to me. I'm in the US and I buy tons of stuff for friends in other countries for the same reason. And not just eBay sellers but regular website based shops.

If you were in Germany trying to purchase from eBay you'd quickly discover how many US sellers don't ship internationally.

There are four primary reasons:

1. Risk of a deal gone bad. More options are available to the seller if the buyer is in the same country.

2. Pain in the butt. International shipping is far more labor and bother than domestic.

3. eBay fees. In the old days eBay didn't charge fees based on total price, including shipping. Humans being Humans, many sellers figured out a way to avoid eBay fees was to charge $1 for the item and $75 for the shipping, even though actual shipping was $5. eBay grew tired of combating this, apparently, and simply assessed a fee on the total price. Which means when I send a package to Germany for $45 and the same package to someone in the US for $12 I'm paying 4x the fees for the German one.

4. Lack of bank transfer. This is more particular to Europe. Interbank transfers are cheap and quick compared to PayPal. Many German sellers only accept interbank transfers and that, by definition, rules out international bidding for the most part.

There's also special circumstances such as items that the seller believes to be potentially illegal to export. Body armor, weapons parts, knives, etc. So sellers that deal with a lot of that stuff just won't ship outside of the US to be on the safe side. I've run into this with firearms parts dealers.

The best way around this is to have friends in the country that can help you out with both the purchase and with the shipping. Just make sure to keep your friends happy

OK, so what about your observation that this is on the increase? I don't know that it is, but if true I'd guess it's the eBay fees. I know I grumble when I send a box of stuff to Australia for $150!

Steve

[allen]

Well, that pretty much settles it then. i haven't sold anything on ebay in so long i'd forgotten about the fees. Thanks Steve.

[Simon1988]

Good morning folks,

I live in Germany and often sell things on ebay.
In fact I can confirm the reasons Steve mentioned:
- German ebay in most cases allows shipping to the USA when you are registrated at Paypal and do accept Paying with Paypal. I think many private Sellers are not registrated to sell with Paypal.
- Another reason is that you have to declare packages for the customs duty. Maybe this is to much effort for many German sellers.
- In fact shipping costs to the USA are very expensive. I already sold things which prices were approx. half of the shipping costs.

I always write in the ebay descriptions: potential buyers may contact me if they are interested in shipping outside the EU. I also send things to Switzerland. It's the same effort as shipping to the USA, but not that expensive.

Kind regards

[uscob]

I never understood why it should be a pain in the A.. to fill out the Customs Slip.
The only reason why many, especially german Sellers don't want to ship outside EU is just the reason that paypal charges fees and they don't want to covewr them.
I have about 10 Shipments per week outside of Germany and I must say, it's as easy as buying a Hot Dog next Corner, even with Shipments to New Zealand, Australia or the US or Canada.
BTW to all Customers: I'm in Kassel next week, so after the Show I star to shipp out Stuff again.

[CWP]

DHL/Deutsche Post shipping is very expensive and can be slow and unreliable, the tracking is useless. A buyer has to file a PayPal claim within 45 days for an item that was not received, but DHL can take 6 weeks to the USA. PayPal will side with the buyer in a dispute. I appreciate German sellers who are willing to take the risks but I understand those who won't.