What’s with all the US ONLY selling threads? 4 4

[vaillant]

On 3/12/2022 at 11:49 PM, Kromak said:

I never was able to sell anything on this board, but I would easily ship any item to Antarctica in case the buyer lives there.

Out of curiosity, how much would cost to ship to Europe from Brazil?

[Kromak]

  

On 3/12/2022 at 10:54 PM, vaillant said:

Out of curiosity, how much would cost to ship to Europe from Brazil?

 

 

From $2, if the package goes on economic shipping and weight less than 100 grams, to possibly more than $100, if using some premium, ultra fast shipping option and it is a big, heavy package.

For the "usual" situation of one,two, perhaps three mildly cheap comic books shipped, a normal package that weights between 100 and 250 grams and has tracking added,  it would probably cost around $8. Insurance in this case is limited to 30R$ (about $6 currently).

For an expensive package, so I could have full insurance on it, I would probably use a $35 to $40 option ( plus 1.5 to 2% fee over the total cost to cover the insurance cost).

Brazil tax exchange rate varies by up to 2-3x over long time periods, so all these values could became obsolete, especially the cheaper ones.

I added pay-pal cost to these values, which is about 11% on Brazil. (6.5% fee +  4.5%, mainly due to the bellow than normal tax exchange rate used to pay the seller)

Edited March 12, 2022 by Kromak

[vaillant]

On 3/13/2022 at 12:32 AM, Kromak said:

From $2, if the package goes on economic shipping and weight less than 100 grams, to possibly more than $100, if using some premium, ultra fast shipping option and it is a big, heavy package.

For the "usual" situation of one,two, perhaps three mildly cheap comic books shipped, a normal package that weights between 100 and 250 grams and has tracking added,  it would probably cost around $8. Insurance in this case is limited to 30R$ (about $6 currently).

For an expensive package, so I could have full insurance on it, I would probably use a $35 to $40 option ( plus 1.5 to 2% fee over the total cost to cover the insurance cost).

Brazil tax exchange rate varies by up to 2-3x over long time periods, so all these values could became obsolete, especially the cheaper ones.

I added pay-pal cost to these values, which is about 11% on Brazil. (6.5% fee +  4.5%, mainly due to the bellow than normal tax exchange rate used to pay the seller)

Well, on average it looks cheaper than what we have here in Italy. Up to 2-3 books (up to 350g) I have to charge $20. :-(
Of course, for more expensive packages I tend to use courrier shipping (DHL) which starts at 39 Euro, but I try to offer a $30-35 flat rate to meet the buyer halfway.
For us, to foreign customers, PayPal charges about a 5.5-5.6% regardless, be it the cost of the object or postage, it does not make any difference.

[Artboy99]

On 3/8/2022 at 5:08 PM, THE_BEYONDER said:

As a Canadian, I’m kinda offended.

I just wish there was a way to indicate it is USA only in the title so I dont waste my time looking at the listing.

[Paul © ® ⚽️💙™]

On 3/9/2022 at 2:10 AM, Point Five said:

I've sold internationally on the boards since 2006...took a break due to heightened covid risk in 2020, but resumed in 2021... and will continue as long as I am able. I do get why it feels crappy to see so many US-only threads. Like a slap in the face to part of our community here.

The 'waiting in long lines' thing is a very real factor though. US post offices are besieged on a number of fronts. I've moved to a small town with a surprisingly good USPS location and the lines are less of a big deal for me now. Back in NYC they were off-the-charts horrible.

I've stopped shipping internationally on ebay, and sadly don't see returning to it unless I enroll in that Global Shipping program which everyone here has warned us against. I'm not confident ebay would protect me if an overseas buyer claimed non-receipt. 

I don't have any real data to back this up, but anecdotally it does feel like it is "riskier" to ship internationally today (postal delays, weather delays, covid staffing issues, you name it) than it did five or ten years ago.  

 

Jon.

First off, don't believe everything you read here.The ebay GSP is the safest thing for both sellers and buyers. I don't like buying from sellers that don't use it.

Second, it is a huge slap in the face when Boardies won't ship to the UK. I've sold absolutely hundreds of books here and 99.9% of them I have shipped from the UK to the USA and Canada. I see people who I have sold to, who have been delighted with their purchase, start threads of their own and refuse to sell to the UK.

Where's the sense of community?

Shipping Internationally is not a risk if you know what you are doing. I'm sure you do, and I sure as hell do.

Pack the book securely, track it and insure it.

It's not rocket science. Shame on the people here who can't be arsed to do it.

[Mercury Man]

On 3/8/2022 at 7:08 PM, THE_BEYONDER said:

As a Canadian, I’m kinda offended.

Punishment for giving us Justin Bieber

[Bird]

On 3/12/2022 at 11:11 PM, G-G © ® ™ said:

I see people who I have sold to, who have been delighted with their purchase, start threads of their own and refuse to sell to the UK.

that ain't right

[alexgross.com]

On 3/12/2022 at 2:49 PM, Kromak said:

I never was able to sell anything on this board, but I would easily ship any item to Antarctica in case the buyer lives there.

i ship all over the world with DHL. they are pricey but very reliable. canada is super easy. 

brazil on the other hand is one place i will no longer attempt. i sent an art print there a few years ago, brazil customs opened it up, creased it all over, possibly used it as a placemat, and then after 6 months in limbo it was returned to me in that sorry state. 

[Bird]

on ebay I only sell international using gps, but here...c'mon now! If you can pack a book for shipping it shouldn't matter where it is going. Paypal ship now has gotten cumbersome recently but still, help a boardie out people. Imagine seeing a book you have been looking for, for sale here, but not to you. ugh

 

[fastballspecial]

On 3/8/2022 at 7:34 PM, thehumantorch said:

On 3/8/2022 at 7:01 PM, THE_BEYONDER said:

Good on him 

I missed that somehow

How did it go?

 

 

He did okay.  Think I bought an ASM 15 from that thread.  Gotta support the rebels.

In Canada we don't have much choice but to sell to the US and line up to ship.  There's just too many collectors there to ignore.  US sellers can avoid selling internationally and will probably do pretty well for the same reason although I always think it could affect their sales.

Honestly my international sales have dropped off a cliff the last few years. I ship Flat Legal and don't shipping gouge, but 
in my experience Canadians have dramatically lowered their purchases from US. I thought maybe including the GSP
would help and it really didn't. 

[fastballspecial]

On 3/8/2022 at 8:51 PM, Point Five said:

Yes, you can print international postage through Paypal, which is great for sure! (I'm not sure I could do it any other way at this point.) Honestly, that stage no longer takes any more time than printing postage within the US, which is surprising.

*But* if it's an international package, you can't drop it in a USPS drop box from there. You have to wait in line for them to accept it by hand, which (to Andy's points above) is admittedly frustrating and time-consuming.

 

Really depends if you want a receipt. Some my smaller local Post offices don't even have the ability to show me
tracking until goes to the major hub. Smaller Canadian packages I will just drop in my mailbox like other packages.

 

Edited March 13, 2022 by fastballspecial

[fastballspecial]

On 3/9/2022 at 3:16 PM, 1Cool said:

E-Bay will almost always side with the buyer in terms of forcing the seller to pay for the return shipping.  I'd have no problem selling to a bunch of the International guys on the boards since they are cool but the average guy on E-Bay is not as cool.  I've not had too many issues with Canadian buyers even on E-Bay so I still sell to them. 

I am one bad experience away from the same. I am paranoid when shipping to Canada so I slide so much cardboard in it almost
bursts open the package.

 

[jimjum12]

On 3/13/2022 at 1:40 PM, fastballspecial said:

Honestly my international sales have dropped off a cliff the last few years. I ship Flat Legal and don't shipping gouge, but 
in my experience Canadians have dramatically lowered their purchases from US. I thought maybe including the GSP
would help and it really didn't. 

I think it's the exchange rate more than anything. My sales to Canada used to be 30-40% of my total sales... now it's just a few good friends on here, and most of them get their items shipped to a US address. GOD BLESS....

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[BuscemasAvengers]

On 3/13/2022 at 9:53 PM, jimjum12 said:

I think it's the exchange rate more than anything. My sales to Canada used to be 30-40% of my total sales... now it's just a few good friends on here, and most of them get their items shipped to a US address. GOD BLESS....

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

One of the main reasons for sure, Jimbo. A $1000.00 USD book is over $1300.00 Canuckles by the time you factor shipping in.

[Kramerica]

On 3/8/2022 at 6:37 PM, Raze said:

Can sellers not pay for postage via paypal? I have sent books to Canada and the buyer paid with paypal, so I just paid for postage on there.

Even if they don't pay via Paypal you can still log in and use Paypal Shipping. Paypal shipping saves a ton of time otherwise spent standing in line doing the Customs thing and I've been using it for almost 5 years now. You can even have your mail carrier take it at your door and scan it right there. I use mostly 1st Class Air Mail up to 4 pounds and Priority anything after that.

[Kramerica]

On 3/9/2022 at 7:43 AM, F For Fake said:

But yes, for my fellow boardies, on the rare occasion I sell here, I'm more than happy to ship to Canada, the great land which gave us SCTV, Kids in the Hall, and to a lesser extent, Anne Murray.

Don't forget Rush, Triumph and April Wine. Keanu Reeves, Emily VanCamp, Seth Rogen and Ryan Reynolds. Anna Paquin, bacon, potatoes and extreme politeness also come from Canada. Oh, and Hayden Christiansen, Justin Beeber and Anne Murray come from there too.

[Kramerica]

On 3/9/2022 at 4:55 PM, Gaard said:

It's ok to ask sellers to help buyers keep costs down, until it crosses a line. To ask a seller to do something shady is crossing the line, imo.

And to some, lying is shady.

[jimjum12]

On 3/13/2022 at 10:36 PM, Kramerica said:

Don't forget Rush, Triumph and April Wine. Keanu Reeves, Emily VanCamp, Seth Rogen and Ryan Reynolds. Anna Paquin, bacon, potatoes and extreme politeness also come from Canada. Oh, and Hayden Christiansen, Justin Beeber and Anne Murray come from there too.

... and The Trailer Park Boys  GOD BLESS...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[thehumantorch]

On 3/13/2022 at 11:40 AM, fastballspecial said:

Honestly my international sales have dropped off a cliff the last few years. I ship Flat Legal and don't shipping gouge, but 
in my experience Canadians have dramatically lowered their purchases from US. I thought maybe including the GSP
would help and it really didn't. 

The exchange rate, shipping cost, and customs fees really add up.  Heritage Auctions now charges me $75 usd or about $100 cnd just to ship me one book and they fully declare value on the duty form.  A $400 usd buy from Heritage can cost me more than $600 cnd.  I still buy from the US and international but now tend to hang onto my money and buy locally.

[revat]

I'll bite, although I think my volume of books (sheer number and $$$$) pales compared to many of you.

1.  I'm lazy.  In most (but not all cases) international shipping results in a trip physically to the post office.  Which as many have stated can be full of people in covid, full of novices who have never mailed something before, people who speak any number of languages (nothing wrong with that, but for this specific issue it does tend to slow things down, also thumbs up to the post office for generally trying to staff people with relevant local bi-lingual skills), and greatly vary in size and operating hours.  

2.  I'm lazy.  So I'm not so interested in looking up the price of shipping, and how it might change if you buy more.  This also takes time.  And spending more time to fill out the form.

3.  I'm lazy.  So I'm not nearly as interested in wondering about fees that might get attached later in the process (that I previously did not know about in my initial quote), or making sure I've mentioned all the fees previously. 

4.  I'm lazy, I don't feel like dealing with the extra risk of return, fraud, customs damage, etc.  Even if the buyer is paying.

5.  So if the money is big enough, I'm actually ok with the above,  BUT I feel like an A-hole with a different minimum buying limit for internationals.  But if people pm me privately I'm usually open to talking about it.

6.  From a practical perspective, the US market is typically big enough for me personally.  I'm not looking to eat from comic book sales, just make a little extra money a couple times a year.  If I make 20% more or less sales, nothing about my lifestyle or comic collecting changes.  

 

I will note that Canada is typically easier to ship to from the US than most other countries, so I may go back to that after the pandemic is super gone.