[haimbarshem]

Since this is an international forum, there can be no "conus only" posts.
I ship worldwide and i think we all should do the same.
There are many members here from Asia, Europe,the midle east and others."Conus only" posts are just not fair for all of this forum members.

Haim

 

[Spencer PK]

Respectfully, I must disagree. Shipping limitations are at the call of the seller.


If I know for a fact that the country I am shipping to has a high theft/fraud rate (Russia and Italy for example) there's no way I'm going to ship to that place. In all of my auctions on El Bayo I have a long list of countries and some entire continents that I will not ship to. That's my right. I have to protect myself.

 

[JohnWN]

Haim,
you make valid points, but should we also force all buyers to use Paypal? Western Union? Wire transfers? Require all buyers to pay for registered insured mail?
We try and keep SCTP as "free" a market as possible, and that means not dictating to sellers where and to whom they sell. Buyers have that same "right." If a seller decides to limit their sales to the US, then they may be hurting themselves. But that is their choice and not something that SCTP dictates.
It is definitely frustrating, at times, for those outside the US. But there is no harm in asking the seller if they will make an exception based upon your reputation on the forum(s) and your willingness to pay for tracking, insurance, etc.
Do other trading forums have such a "international only" requirement?
best regards
JohnN

Since this is an international forum, there can be no "conus only" posts.
I ship worldwide and i think we all should do the same.
There are many members here from Asia, Europe,the midle east and others."Conus only" posts are just not fair for all of this forum members.

Haim

 

[rallydiver]

For me it is more of a time issue. This is a hobby and as a seller I print all my shipping labels from my computer. I also order my supplies online. I do all my shipping for my business in the same manner. I have no desire to wait in long lines at the US post office. If I were to start shipping out of conus that would mean trips to the post office to process the customs forms. As John said simply ask the seller if they will ship to you. I have made exceptions and I am sure others may do the same.

Derek

 

[The Tiger UK]

This subject has been through the mill many many times but without any argument or complaints it is and always will be the sellers descion.

Thats it as far as i am concerned were ever you live it is up to the seller to which country or individual he wants to sell too !!

Full stop.

ps: I am in the UK.

 

[TakesALickin]

I accept PayPal as payment for the watches I sell. PayPal stipulates that if I am to receive protection as a seller, I can only ship to PayPal confirmed addresses. Right now, that includes the US, and (AFAIK) some parts of Europe, and Australia. Therefore, I can't risk selling to some other part of the world - and, no, I won't be sending you my bank account info so you can wire me money. Additionally, some countries (Italy, for instance) have postal services that have a reputation for fraud and theft. I won't be shipping there, either.

Really, it's my choice where I choose to do business. If you don't like it, tough noogies!

 

[haimbarshem]

You are all very correct of course but each parcel can be insured no matter where you ship it too.
All needed for sellers protection is to insure the parcel and use shipping methods like EMS or FEDEX.
That is what i do any way.

Naming entire Italy as thieves or other countries (continents ???? ) as frauds smells not right to me.
but maybe it is just my Israeli sensitivity.

By the way other Forums do not force international sales only as well.That is true. Does this fact make it more correct? i am not sure.

Any how, friends, i will continue selling and buying from all only according to the other persons reputation and not according to he's homeland or the stigma it's carrying.

Thanks for all the replies.
I hope i didn't offend any one with my post.if i did, please accept my apologies. just wanted to raise the subject.

Shalom

Haim

 

[catflem]

It irks me as well, particularly as there is a nice Longines that I want on another forum but the seller wont ship outside the USA : .

But, it is the sellers perogative to set whatever rules he wishes, c'est la vie.

The only thing that I can suggest is that the next time you list a watch for sale, if you receive an offer to buy your watch - check their postings, and if they happen to be a "Conus only" seller.............

How many of the "Conus only" (or anywhere else for that matter !) sellers are guilty of having double standards by buying from abroad ?

Do unto others

 

[speedbird119]

Hi guys,


This is a common issue on many trade forums, not just the watch sites. I'm a pro scale modeler and ship model kits all the time around the world. So I'm just throwing this out there, because there is a lot of misinformation about shipping especially with USPS.


You can ship almost anything -- given a scale, printer and paper from the comfort of your home without ever having to set foot in a PO again. From the USPS website you can order (all for free) boxes, custom form clear sleeves, Priority Mail stickers (for brown boxes), and all the Priority/Express Mail boxes your heart desires including the new Flat Rate boxes.


To weigh an item with a normal bath scale, take your weight and minus it from the weight of you + package. USPS only requires the lb, as they use a simple 1-2lbs, 2-3lbs, etc. class system for pricing, so bath scales are close enough for anything over 1lb.


With the weight, box size and address you can then go online and have the label easily and quickly printed out which you then tape to the box. Now use their handy FREE pickup system and schedule a pickup. My postman will gladly take any package ready to go, so I don't even need a Pickup request, but as long as it is not on a Sunday they will pick up any Priority package at your request.


Now the one thing most people are not aware of is the Priority Mail is basically worldwide blanket coverage. So that means you do not anything special to send it overseas, as long as the buyer will pay for shipping the process is absolutely no different to shipping CONUS. As long as you have the clear sleeve in hand (form 2976 I believe), so order a set of 25 from the website and then you can ship to anywhere USPS ships. The customs form label will be completely filled out on the computer--including proper time stamped, and even add your name to the sig. box, so there really is no more need to go to the PO.


Here is the link to the Priority Mail supplies page, note all is sent to your home for No Charge.


https://shop.usps.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=10052&categoryId=10000033&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=10000002&top=&sort=&viewAll=Y


It is actually very simple and quite efficient service and there is no longer any requirement to physically go to the PO to ship overseas. Any mailman will then pick it up for free. If they say no, complain to your local PO, it is the rule that they pick up any Priority/Express mail package for free regardless of destination. Parcel Post is worthless and wouldn't waste my time, but as long as you have at least one Priority Mail package going out, they must take the Parcel Post package too.


I hope this helps to clear the mis-info on USPS shipping. I am almost certain UPS/FedEx/etc. will also provide a very similar free label and pickup service, so you have options.


I've shipped to the "bad" country lists under the new system and as long as it is fully insured, have no had any problems (knock on wood).


HTH,


Mike

 

[Spencer PK]

It irks me as well, particularly as there is a nice Longines that I want on another forum but the seller wont ship outside the USA : .

But, it is the sellers perogative to set whatever rules he wishes, c'est la vie.

The only thing that I can suggest is that the next time you list a watch for sale, if you receive an offer to buy your watch - check their postings, and if they happen to be a "Conus only" seller.............

How many of the "Conus only" (or anywhere else for that matter !) sellers are guilty of having double standards by buying from abroad ?

Do unto others

For me it's not a matter of being nice to someone - if the country has a theft reputation, I have to protect myself. I buy from overseas all the time, but the U.S. doesn't have a real theft/fraud problem. Ever since I shipped a rare rare WW2 helmet to someone in a questionable country, and that buyer claimed he never got the item, and I lost the money AND the helmet, I just will not ship to countries that I feel ooky about.

 

[nhoj]

Make the change you request and it won't solve your issue. Sellers will just go elsewhere to sell to whomever they wish.

 

[TakesALickin]

It's not just a matter of whether I can conceivably ship somewhere and insure a package against loss or theft. More often, with international transactions, I get a buyer who wants me to sell at the price I listed as "Shipping included, CONUS only". I can ship anywhere if the buyer is willing to bear the costs of shipping and insurance outside of the US. Often, however, these costs can be prohibitive. While $25 to $35USD in shipping and insurance may make sense on a $2000 watch, on a $200 watch it's just not feasable. I hate getting into a negotiation where a buyer wants me to ship an SKX diver to him in Romania, with tracking and insurance and do so at the same price I was listing as a "CONUS only" sale. I've had it happen. There's not enough Excederin in my bathroom cabinet to deal with those headaches.

 

[time]

Haim, Your subject line indicates a direct change and not a request to seek the consensus of the Members/Administrators/Moderators, next time please word it carefully.

This subject has been discussed many times and there is nothing that can be done about it. It is up to the Sellers to sell where they want, and up to the buyers to buy from where they want
It's a free market, and if some see a reason to limit their sales because it is less risky, well it is up to them (they are potentially losing buyers). This is NOT something that can be changed with a "Rule".

Hopefully as a community, a growing understanding can be reached as members get to know each other, and geographical location will no longer be a barrier in the future.

Until then, and with all due humor,

 

[SeikoPsycho2]

One man's pleasure is another man's hassle. Success for one seller may be misfortune for another seller.

My experience, although small in numbers, has been two watches bought overseas and two watches sold overseas. One watch bought arrived in good condition the other was DOA. On the sold side one watch arrived in good condition and one watch had problems.

So, with me it's been a 50/50 crap shoot and I'm not a gambler. All my dealings in the CONUS have never had any problems. Selling CONUS is nothing more then a personal decision based on one's personal experience. It's nothing personal against anyone or any country......if that makes sense.......lol.

 

[catflem]

For me it's not a matter of being nice to someone - if the country has a theft reputation, I have to protect myself. I buy from overseas all the time, but the U.S. doesn't have a real theft/fraud problem. Ever since I shipped a rare rare WW2 helmet to someone in a questionable country, and that buyer claimed he never got the item, and I lost the money AND the helmet, I just will not ship to countries that I feel ooky about.

That isn't a problem, there are certain countries that many sellers won't ship to (Italy, Russia and Nigeria for instance), and I don't blame them one iota.

The problem is the blanket refusal to send anything outside of the USA/Europe/Asia or wherever else the seller happens to live. As I've previously stated that is something that the seller dictates, and the seller is perfectly entitled to do that. You have to accept the sellers rules and move on.

But the double standards of "as a seller I won't ship outside my geographical area", but as a buyer I expect to be able to buy from anywhere in the world .......... well that isn't acceptable as far as I am concerned.

PS, I have sold to Italy without any problems, but I will not sell to Russia or Nigeria, neither would I buy from there.

 

[LUW]

Know your seller and/or buyer.
I think that is the only thing that makes things easier.

 

[Isthmus]

this tread again. I swear this comes up in every forum about once every month or so. as others have said, within reason it is a fairly open market and it really isn't our job to dictate to sellers who or where they should sell to. Instead we provide the medium to do so and facilitate sales with helpful information and communication. beyond that it really is up to individual sellers and buyers to work out what they are comfortable with. If you guys run a search here you can see that we have discussed this a number of times before and that the staff has stated their position on this in great detail before.

 

[Spencer PK]

But the double standards of "as a seller I won't ship outside my geographical area", but as a buyer I expect to be able to buy from anywhere in the world .......... well that isn't acceptable as far as I am concerned.

PS, I have sold to Italy without any problems, but I will not sell to Russia or Nigeria, neither would I buy from there.

This is all business. If I can get something I want, I'll get it. There are many countries that I won't buy from, many of them the same as the ones I won't sell to. If I am concerned about the theft of an item being sent out, I won't send it. There's no reason for me to do anything other than what works for me. This is not about fairness or balance. If you choose to restrict your buying locations based on your selling locations, that's your choice.

 

[rallydiver]

I find it odd that I have never seen a listing saying "will not ship to USA"..........just saying

 

[The Tiger UK]

I find it odd that I have never seen a listing saying "will not ship to USA"..........just saying

Perhaps because the rest of the World tends to be more adventurous and realize that our own country is just part of the Whole Wide World out there ??