Shipping UK only

[bebek]

Hi all,

I see many threads with shipping UK only. I understand if it is a big case or monitor and there is a problem with packaging but can not understand small cards and boards etc. I have not seen threads Germany only, Italy only France only etc. I do not think it is fair. There is no excuse, the procedure is the same in Post Office only cost more and it is paid by buyer anyway. Custom's forms are a laugh - 30 seconds additional work. I have sent parcels to Russia, Israel, Chile, Canada, States and many of them not even insured only with proof of postage - no problem - good will applies. Also received A4000 tower, A3000D from US - no problem.

What I am afraid of is that people from outside UK will start the threads:

'I will ship everywhere - except UK'

and we do not want it, do we?

 

[Laudrup]

I have one exception with my stuff. There are some problems with the US customs and old computer parts, so i decided to except the US, but all other folks, even in the UK, are welcome

 

[mjnurney]

Don't forget value and the delay in delivery times, I've had things take over a month to arrive and it created a problem with PayPal claims...

Mike

 

[cugar124]

Got to agree I live in Northern Ireland as part of the UK and I have had people get really concerned about the price to send here.

NI is serviced by Royal mail and does not pay import tax for Items from its fellow UK countries despite what some couriers would like to tell you.

as with other EU countries the postage to other member states is not crazy its only places like the US where it gets insane.

I have posted A4000 and A3000 to other EU countries and it was not bad at all to post.

thats my penny worth

AL

 

[bebek]

I have one exception with my stuff. There are some problems with the US customs and old computer parts, so i decided to except the US, but all other folks, even in the UK, are welcome

I always mark my parcels old computer parts and never had any problems with US customs, nor other side. Something I am not aware of.

---------- Post added at 18:08 ---------- Previous post was at 18:07 ----------

Don't forget value and the delay in delivery times, I've had things take over a month to arrive and it created a problem with PayPal claims...

Mike

That something that buyer has to be aware of, if he accepts a risk I see no problem.

 

[fitzsteve]

Only problem with sending abroad is a bigger risk due to Royal Mail's claims procedures.

They take 90 days to investigate the claim if an item was sent overseas and then find an excuse to reject it (claiming it was delivered for example)

PayPal will take your money before the 90 days and if your claim is rejected you have no money & no item.

In my experience items sent to South America for example can take several months to arrive so even after you have refunded the item it can still arrive.

Also Royal Mail's international services are not fully tracked like other countries, once outside the UK you have to cross your fingers and hope for the best. 'Signed for' means just that, you get a Signature at the other end. Airsure is only available to some countries (a list is available on RM's site), but even that can take weeks to arrive if you are unlucky and again, no tracking only 'delivery confirmation.'

Now, I send all my items outside the UK, I accept this risk but one day I'm going to have a big loss. So far only three packages I sent have gone missing, one eventually arrived and the buyer paid me again (nice of him)

The other two have never arrived (as long as the buyers are telling the truth) and both claims were rejected. The last item sent 6 months ago I have raised the claim again. (RM say it was delivered but the buyer is amendment it didn't arrive and I trust him)

In the UK we can send by Next Day Courier, or Special Delivery and know for sure our items will arrive the next day, have full peace of mind and better claims support should an item go missing.

So I can understand why some people say UK only, especially if they have had problems in the past.

However being a nice community like Amibay the risk is probably less than say with eBay, but still more.

There are some more secure ways to ship outside the UK, FedEx (book via Parcel2go best prices) is fully tracked and you can add full insurance, I'm not familiar with their claims procedures as till now I've not had any issues and they always deliver within a few days, even by Economy service to USA!

If the buyer is happy to pay for that service maybe this would give those worries a little more security and change their minds.

Steve.

 

[AndyLandy]

That choice is entirely down to the seller. Sending things abroad involves getting shipping quotes, possibly from a range of places, potentially booking a courier, potentially filling in customs forms and potentially dealing with extended times for items to arrive.

By and large, I encourage all AmiBayers to offer their items to the widest cross-section of the community they can. If you are prepared to accept buyers anywhere in the world, you're more likely to get a sale. But it's not fair to force anyone into something they don't want to do.

 

[LjL]

I'm not entirely sure how PayPal works outside of eBay, but on eBay, PayPal only requires a proof of postage from the seller.
So I never quite understood why many sellers won't ship at least EU-wide (where no customs declaration is even required).
A funnier thing (though this one really is eBay-specific) is that many sellers won't list the item as available outside their country, but on inquiry, they will happily reply it is and provide a shipping quote. I don't think that helps them, because only sellers who are searching hard enough to try on several eBay TLDs will find their item...

 

[clueless]

I'm pretty sure Paypal requires proof of delivery, not proof of post. If an item doesn't turn up, the sender is the only one who can open the claim with the post office. Paypal will refund the buyer and leave the seller to sort out the claim.

I have offered UK only in the past, particularly on recycle bin items, and its been for financial reasons. I don't want to have to spend more money up front to post them, then wait 3 days for the money to appear in my bank account.
Paypal now transfers instantly so its not a problem.

 

[r0jaws]

I'm not entirely sure how PayPal works outside of eBay, but on eBay, PayPal only requires a proof of postage from the seller....

I'm afraid that's not quite correct. PayPal requires that you have an "Internet Trackable" method of posting in order to protect yourself as a seller.

I will offer the best possible postage deal I can find for anyone who buys from me. I know that Royal Mail will allow me to claim for items upto a certain amount, and beyond that I will, as a seller, need more insurance.
What I do, for higher value items is, quote a fully insured, trackable postage method, but in recognition of the extra cost I will, of course, accept the PayPal fees that protect the buyer.
This way, should the item go missing I can issue an instant refund, and then pursue the loss through the carrier's insurance. No one, except the carrier loses.
However, If they ask for a cheaper quote I will find the cheapest possible methods, but explain that it is not trackable, or insured and take pains to make sure that they understand the risk that they are taking.
If they chose to ship cheaply, and to take the risk that their item may not arrive then that is upto them, as long as I am confident they understand the risk.
I will ask that the payment is made as a Gift, so that I am not faced with a possible loss because of their choice. I will also provide a proof of posting, but that is all. If the item subsequently does not turn up or turns up damaged, I will of course offer any help I can, but I will not issue a refund.
Personally, having seen many trades myself, and in my role on here as a moderator having seen how easy it is for things to go wrong I try and make sure that all possible bases are covered, or if that someone is taking a risk to save a few quid, at least they understand that is they who are taking the risk, and the possible consequences of their decision.

 

[80sFREAK]

I'm not entirely sure how PayPal works outside of eBay, but on eBay, PayPal only requires a proof of postage from the seller.
So I never quite understood why many sellers won't ship at least EU-wide (where no customs declaration is even required).
A funnier thing (though this one really is eBay-specific) is that many sellers won't list the item as available outside their country, but on inquiry, they will happily reply it is and provide a shipping quote. I don't think that helps them, because only sellers who are searching hard enough to try on several eBay TLDs will find their item...

Now(recently) paypal will refund even personal payments if it was done for goods. There is list on paypal's website, which categories can not be refunded. However, any international parcel between customs not trackable.

About topic. As buyer i understand, that international airmail takes about 2weeks and surface mail about 2 months, so i wouldn't expect my parcel next day. I also don't mind to ask someones recomendations, references about certain trader to ensure deal.
As seller, i don't mind to ship anywhere in the world, but will secure payment first by not using paypal. And, if buyer reject other way to pay(exchange paypal to another electronic currency is just few clicks), i can say there is very high possibility of claim on secondhand "as is" item, when parcel arrived. Sad, but true, these days lots of people use their "ebay behaviour" outside of ebay to get something(looks like doesn't really matter what) for free.

 

[BamberO]

Its not a case of it being fair or not, its personal choice.

I don't post outside the UK on eBay so I'm not really going to post outside the UK on here either. It can cause real headaches for both parties if something goes wrong.