This is a constant problem and irritation for many of us 'furrriners.' If I
see an auction where the seller clearly states 'no overseas bidders please'
I curse quietly to myself about bloody insular yanks and don't bid. But 'US
only' is a default option on the listing and many sellers simply don't
bother to change it - they're happy to sell to me, especially for small
items when I tell them they'll get US funds up front. Sellers who refuse to
sell OS often get fewer, lower bids and that's some consolation. I'll bid
first and ask questions later, having missed a couple of good BIN's while
waiting. It is very easy for a non-US bidder to pay - many countries like
mine have post offices where you can buy a Western Union money order in US
dollars and WU wire transfer is expensive but effective. That avoids bank
fees altogether. In fact, it's a damn sight more difficult to get money out
of the States than into it (but that's another conspiracy theory
altogether).
Postage is also a problem. Generally speaking, for private sales, pack just
as you would for domestic and all you have to worry about is the extra cost
and filling out a green slip. For more expensive, insured items, a slightly
larger form is required. I pack and weigh an item before starting the
auction - that way I can quote a shipping price immediately from my trusty
little AusPost rate book. I've run auctions with a 'no more than $20 to any
destination, less to most' tag and that works well. Some commercial sellers
gouge you a bit on shipping by insisting on FedEx or similar tracked
systems because it's really easy for them and the buyer bears all the
considerable costs. I find that a bit user unfriendly for private sales.
In essence, selling outside the US is very little extra work and that's
balanced by perhaps doubling your potential bidders.
AndrewF
>It turns out that the buyer is indeed in France, but he has a brother in
>the U.S. So everything is all right.
>
>It does seem that shipping and getting paid internationally is not as hard
>as I'd thought. So I should be open to it. Though, as a fairly small-time
>seller, I don't want to end up with several "middleman" accounts that have
>to be maintained, so I do prefer dealing directly with the buyer and
>getting a cashier's check.
>
>--Peter Klein
>Seattle, WA
>
>on 11/19/01 12:37 PM, I wrote:
> > I just made my first Ebay sale, and already there's a problem. My ad
> > clearly specified, "U.S. and Canada bidders only, please," cashier's check
> > or money order, U.S. priority mail shipping. So of course the winning
> > bidder has a .fr at the end of his email address, indicating he is in
> > France. He has not contacted me yet. He has good feedback. There is a
> > U.S bidder one dollar lower who the French bidder "sniped" at the last
>minute.
>
>
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