oldcutlass

I was asked this question in another thread, but could not give an answer. Perhaps some of the folks that sell parts on here can explain.

jaunty75

I have never sold Oldsmobile parts, but I have sold many things on ebay over the years. I do not ship to non-U.S. addresses. I used to, but I ran into too many problems.

1. Shipments are not trackable once they leave the U.S., so you have no verification that the item was received by the buyer and are at his or her mercy to be honest in receiving the item. It they claim they didn't receive it and ask for a refund, ebay automatically gives it to them, and I as a seller have no recourse. I am out both the money and the item.

2. Items have arrived damaged or the package shows evidence of having been rifled.

3. It can take FOREVER for items to arrive. Weeks. Months. Depending on where you ship, and I don't like to deal with that. I don't know where the package is and cannot find out, so I have nothing to tell the buyer, who is anxiously awaiting the package.

4. Items never arrive. I can only presume they were lost, or, more likely, stolen.

5. These problems exist even in shipping from the U.S. to Canada, something you'd think would be simple. But there are duty forms and inspections and God knows what else that all slow the shipping process and lead to items being lost, damaged, or stolen.

I just don't need the hassle.

wr1970

I don't know why given what was stated in your post. What i do know is this. If the guy ever contacts me with those offers i would sell him my parts.

marxjunk

ive tried and its hard to sell out of the country...

everyone is impatient..no matter what they say..

it doubles the cost of the part out of the country..and most are good with it..but still complain...and want a better deal because of the costs...even if youre giving it away

using paypal and out of the country can be bad for a seller...they win..period..if they file a claim, they win..no doubt...

no tracking is huge..in canada..they use sub contractors..and no tracking..ive lost so much stuff to Canada..i'm done, and it kills the idea for me to ship out of country

every single time ive shipped to Germany..it gets lost..and i have to refund..and theres no way to make a claim..might as well just give it to them for free..ship it free too..because thats whats going to happen any way

i just started selling international on ebay...and already done...10 days to get paid..and they have total control of the product..the money and all the fees..

it just is horrible for us..believe me..ive tried..i'm old and grouchy..i dont want or need the hassles....the money just isnt worth it to me...1 or 2 out of 10 go smooth as glass...the rest...i cant use the words..i could be banned if i did

ive shipped to austrailia..and it went ok..i sent it to california and it went over in a container..so once it got to Cali..i was done with it..

CRUZN 66

I have only shipped to Canada on a few occasions and thankfully had no issues... I used UPS, and they did provide tracking and provided info when the item was delivered... I insisted on Postal International Money Order in USD and had no issues... Once I also accepted a Canadian Bank Check in USD, which was backed by JP Morgan Chase and again had no issues...
The big issue, as previously stated, is the high cost to ship... I just recently sent a CSM to Alberta and the shipping alone was $29, and if I recall, the buyer also had to pay a fee when it was delivered... This buyer knew what he wanted, was willing to pay the cost and subsequently there were no issues, and a satisfied customer...

Most people have complained about the shipping cost and don't go through with the sale, or ask me to lower my price on the item for sale... I list most all my items here and Craig's list and state US shipping only.. I occasionally still get people (mainly from Canada) asking about the item for sale and then I will usually discuss the high shipping cost before spending any time on preparing a shipping quote... This, for the most part, resolves the cost issues almost immediately...

66-3X2 442

I will not ship to Canada ever again. I sold a part to a guy,shipped it via FedEx and by the time it got to Nova Scotia,they added additional fees and tariffs. I did everything they wanted when I shipped it but still got an invoice for the additional fees. I told the guy about it and he paid the difference but if he hadn't, I would have been screwed.Nothing personnel but I refuse to sell/ship out of the US again.

CRUZN 66

Apparently FEDEX operates differently then UPS... UPS collected all the necessary fees from the buyer or would not leave the package... Someone had to be present at delivery point and pay the fees before the package would be released...

marxjunk

i think the ebay international seller thing is going to be good...if they get a few things fixed..and i am sure they will..or no one will use it.

i dont like the idea of loosing control of the product...it goes to a 3rd party liaison and they become your/seller agent.

i thought about this...the first thing i sold on ebay the guy kept telling me..i will pay shortly etc..then screwed me around for 10 days...after 5 i tried to cancel the transaction and he refused..i waited and he paid me..10 days...

i should have made it buy it now, with must pay instantly or its still running...but it slipped my mind..

it went to Iran...i got paid..i shipped it to Louisville KY...and i was done..the 3rd party took care of everything else...i got it to louisville in 3 days....and they collected all the other fees etc..once i was paid i shipped and off it went...i even have my fedex labels with them..so it had the reference numbers etc..really easy...

i did some how see a bill but it disappeared as soon as i exited the page...my stuff sold for 99 bux..i charged 14 to ship to louisville...and the 3rd part charged $115 to do the rest..that was shipping and tariffs etc...guy loved the part

so..if someone wanted to buy something from me out of the country...i think the ebay route is good...id set up a private auction for them (you can do that)..use international shipping program...and they handle everything else...all of it..i get paid and i worry about it going to Louisville..and i am done...i think thats a fantastic idea...hmm

gs72

X2 on it being a problem. I sold a vintage home stereo amp to someone in France. He begged me to allow the sale. The minute his money hit my paypal acct. he complained to PayPal that he had been scammed. This locked up the transaction for 5 days. After finally convincing him and PayPal that everything was on the up and up, I shipped the amp. Then he is sending me emails that it was damaged in shipping and what was I going to do about it. I reminded him that that is the reason I didn't want the inter
National sale in the first place. overall it was a very difficult and confusing transaction and I am not interested in doing it again.

quaddriver

yeah, what a lot of guys said - we stopped selling out of country, nay stopped using ebay all together for the antique biz and my restored stereos simply because once it leaves the US, there is no accountability....and while previously you could put language in the 'contract' to protect you, the unconditional 6 month money back guarantee that paypal (previous only way ebay could sell by) gives you ample oppty to be scammed - what were once marginal people are now criminals. its easier to use our store and the shows. sorry non-US people, but greedy us companies and the fact that no other citizens on this planet demand accountability via their postal servce....made it so.

banny

I have sold a couple of small things over seas. One was a rebuilt poa valve and a rebuilt hot gas valve. Both went fedex. I refuse to use the post office. these valves are really hard to damage in shipping, so ill risk them. But ive had people contact me about my restored ac and heater units. I wont do it, especially through ebay. The shipping is also easily hundreds of dollars as they go in very large shipping boxes. I shipped a couple of times to Canada without an issue but I tell you, anything going out of the country and you have to make sure all paper work is in order. That stuff can get complicated. That's why I'm on good terms with one of the fedex guys. He is really cool about helping me with the paper work.

Inline

Well, first thanks to oldcutlass for moving my wonderings to separate thread, and second, thanks to all participants.

I can see now more clearly why many of you dont want to deal with foreigners, it seems to get too complicated. Its just sad that few scammers can ruin the hobby for so many more. And i dont blame you for it.

About postal costs i dont "agree"; i know pretty well how darn much it costs to ship items from US, having been bought items numerous times from US-based companies. And they cost a lot, but you cant complain when they are the only option to get those items (Our biggest old US-car parts-dealer dont even sell spare-parts to Oldsmobiles, but pretty much to every other marque).
And seller has nothing to do with those costs, its the Freight companies deciding the rates. To someone it might be surprise if ordering first time from US of course.

Ive found DB Schenker to be worst of them, and UPS being best so far.

olds 307 and 403

I find it frustrating as well, along with certain parts like spark plugs and one intake gasket vs another intake gasket. Nearly indentical gaskets, one can be shipped and the other cannot be shipped from the States.

66-3X2 442

That's not what FedEx did,they charged my account for the excess fees. I did everything by the book and they knew where it was going and should have charged me on the original invoice so I could collect the fees from the buyer.

oldspackrat

I have sold parts to guys in several different countries over the last 15 years or so, Austraila, Canada, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Iceland & probably a few more. All of them went well with no problems but from what I've read here, maybe I need to reconsider...

Inline

Nononono dont do that!

By the way, to the another thing. Everyone mentions there how they got scammed via paypal suspending monies from fake complaints.

Whats up with Western Union / direct bank transfer to account?
Those would be alot safer/ bullet proof against aforementioned scammers taking their monies back via paypal with fake complaints.

Olds442redberet

I've been lucky so far as well. But every time I ship an item to either an address here in the states or an address overseas I cringe out of fear of what might happen. Dealing with lost or damaged items stateside is an issue. Overseas issues can end in a loss.

Another issue is figuring out actual shipping cost for the customer only to have the deal die because of the shipping cost. Heck, I lose deals to those on the west cost when I send them a shipping quote. Shipping is sometimes expensive and I have to find suitable boxes, and weigh the items in order to get the quote. And sometimes that can be quite time consuming.

rustyroger

There are horror stories from buyers outside the USA too. Tales of used junk sold as new or mint condition, wrong parts, damaged goods presumably in transit, and stuff simply not delivered.
I have made a few low price purchases from members of this forum, I simply put US dollars inside a greeting card and sent it via Royal Mail post, the people I dealt with honored their part of the bargain and I received my purchases in due course. I'm talking of less than $100 here, it would be foolhardy to send large amounts of cash via post, apart from anything else Homeland Security would take an interest.
I have dealt with Rock Auto as well, I have found they gave an efficient service, but I have to accept I will be paying two or three times the price I would if I simply went to an auto parts store in the USA. Mostly I buy parts when I'm on vacation in America, but sometimes I need stuff in a hurry, a good example is my Olds needed an ignition control module a couple of weeks ago. Either I paid up or didn't drive my car.
There are specialist shipping companies here who will bring stuff over for you, mostly complete cars but you can get a deal sharing a container. However it still works out expensive and we have little comeback for damaged goods, and it can take time too.
Owning an American car over here is not without problems, but the fun of driving one over here outweighs the downside for me and several thousands of other UK enthusiasts.
But I hear what you say as private sellers or a small scale operation. Too bad for me and Inline, I bet owning a car never officially exported to the USA would be a similar headache for you guys.

Roger.

70-442-W30

I've never had a problem with shipping internationally, but I just think many sellers don't like to deal with the hassle of it so they avoid if they have a choice. On the buying end of things, I've also bought things that aren't released in the US yet and that has made for some happy kids. Of course the seller there is Amazon...so no worries really.

Koda

The answer is simple. There's no benefit to sell outside of the country, and a lot of drawbacks.

oldcutlass

I sold cars directly to buyers all over the world, but I shipped through brokers (arranged by me or the customer) back when I was selling with 0 problems. With my Canadian sales I let the customers get their cars through customs all I did was overnight paperwork to them and customs.

Parts are a different story, my dealings were shipped to customer prearranged 3rd parties here in the states that handled the rest.

I shipped nothing without a bank xfer and verified funds. No checks, paypal, etc.

Inline

Well, there are many Finnish brokers based to US. Would you be more willing to sell in case if somebody ( like me) would use them, so you get an US address where to send them, and they who work at warehouse where they collect goods for waiting to ship, would check items there, at US? And it would be all over for you, and inside your boundaries.

marxjunk

YES...i would..

ive sold to Australia, those buyers use brokers, and i ship to California, they stick the stuff in sea containers..when the container is full..they ship it..my responsibility is done when the broker gets it...

and i will do that anytime they ask...if i cant do it that way, i wont do it

oldspackrat

I like that idea also. It sounds kind of like the ebay thing where you ship the parts to Erlanger Kentucky & they handle it from there to get it over seas.

67442nut

I've sold parts all over the world.
More often than not, it was a pain in the a$$,
but I did it anyhow only because I sympathized with the difficulty
those people have getting parts for a vintage Oldsmobile
in places like Turkey, Australia, Israel, Germany, etc.
Canada was one of the worst.

RetroRanger

Same here , I can only imagine how happy a buyer in Israel for example is to get a part for their hard to find parts for car or bike, I would guess it's about 2x as happy asi am when I get a part for my cars or bikes!

rand5204

Different hobby but I liquidated a life long collection of model railroad items over the last few years, Many of them went overseas to all corners of the globe. I can honestly say that I did not have a single problem with shipments or payments. In the US, shipping by USPS - a whole different story. I have multiple items that never arrived at their destination!

jaunty75

Many of the problems people have described, including me, are specific to using Paypal and Ebay. If you sell outside of ebay and directly to someone, and if you take payment in the form of an international money order or something similar, then the problem of Paypal and Ebay policies interfering goes away.

But there are STILL the problems of international shipping, including high cost, inordinate lengths of time, lack of tracking, excessive paperwork, and the possibility of damage, loss, or theft.

Sam Jelfs

As another person outside of the US, I have had this issue... Been a few times where I have been looking at rare parts (here / other non-olds forums, and ebay) only to have the seller refuse to ship.

Yes I know shipping will be expensive, yes I know it will take a long time and I will get stung an extra 30% when it lands, but when there is no alternative, what you going to do?

The only thing I would say, USPS are f'kin awful. Never ship with them, if you want something tracked all the way use a company that does delivery to the end point, so for most of europe you want fedex or UPS. Had stuff come in with both of them and its tracked to the point that I pay the fees and sign for it.