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Post by Rapetou33 on Dec 10, 2013 3:14:24 GMT -5
As a French fan of Vectrex , I try to find items all around the world and namely on ebay.com. Shipping costs are getting higher and due to that, it is now difficult to make a bargain or find an item which has never been sold in Europe . Moreover, ebay has now found a new way to make money : "customs service and tracking provided" I do understand it is more comfortable for the US seller, but the selling price is finally 170 % at least for the non-US resident. personnally, I no more bid when there is this "service provided" and I prefer to take the risk to pay customs duties directly (if that would ever happen). But I miss a lot of wanted item...  So please Us sellers and Vectrex members, reconsider your auctions to make it possible for foreign buyers to bid in good conditions. Thank you. |
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Post by Mayhem on Dec 10, 2013 7:37:04 GMT -5
You're talking about the Global Shipping Program here, correct?
In theory, it's a nice idea. The seller hands off the package to a registered eBay location, and that place is responsible for shipping it out, collecting duty and the so forth. It's easier for the seller, and they don't have to worry about matters if the package doesn't turn up because it's eBay's responsibility now instead.
But as you say, it comes with drawbacks. Import duty and tax are enforced at source, so you can't avoid it. And more than one person I know has bought items through GSP on eBay and still been charged duty by HMRC here in the UK when the package arrives. So the service hasn't done its job to pass that payment along.
So currently, I actively avoid any seller that uses GSP, and a few folks I know are becoming a little more clued up about it, especially as they do a great deal of their business outside of the US. It really does put off foreign bidders trying to win their auctions, especially due to the enforced taxes.
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Post by Rapetou33 on Dec 10, 2013 8:18:29 GMT -5
Yes that's correct.
Thank you for explaining away how it works - or doesn't - Our american friends will certainly consider the situation with different eyes.
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Post by gliptitude on Dec 10, 2013 11:32:10 GMT -5
I think it's hard to convince us because we have a geographically vast domestic market, larger than all nations of Europe combined. There is rarely any money to be made shipping abroad that can't more easily and more quickly be made here, and with less risk. Many U.S. sellers won't even ship to Alaska/Hawaii.
After I took an interest in the broken Vectrex and games that the fellow in Australia is currently soliciting in these forums, I looked into shipping from Australia. It would cost at least $40 to ship even ONE Vectrex game to the U.S. BY SEA MAIL, which takes like 3 months.
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Post by Luitoine on Dec 10, 2013 18:08:26 GMT -5
I never understood how the shipping cost were calculated in different countries... Last month I bought a game from Canada: it cost me 9$ to ship it to France by Airmail and it took only a week to arrive. And 9$ converted to euro gives 6.5€, which is roughly the price you would pay to ship a small packet from France to France... And sometimes I see games on ebay where the shipping to France cost like 30$  |
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Post by Mayhem on Dec 11, 2013 6:37:58 GMT -5
How it's sent mostly. Bog standard untracked, uninsured airmail versus tracked and insurance and faster service.
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