• The rules for The Exchange can be found here. Please read and follow them. Stop using Paypal Friends & Family and follow our best practices to prevent getting ripped off or having a bad deal.

CONUS only

I have made many purchases through the forum. I have yet to have any seller refuse to ship to me because I am international. (a few transactions have fallen through for other reasons)

Good communication with the seller, honesty on the customs declaration and prompt payment goes a long way to developing trust.

There are many excellent BF members who are happy to ship internationally and I thank them......:thumbup:
 
I don't personally mind whatever extra hassle it entails, but I am more comfortable shipping to someone I already know. I've taken a chance on strangers or newbies in the US, but I don't know if I would ship outside the country to someone I didn't know.
 
with flat rate usps priority box, hawaii shouldn't cost more. i don't mind paying a little more to get the knife i want though! all that being said, add insurance and sig. conf. and that's easy $17.60!:eek:

no regrets!
 
I bought a few things from here and only had one guy say he "couldnt" do international shipping.

Every one else was very helpfull and generally good to deal with :thumbup:
 
I hope my listings don't give internationals the wrong impression - I generally will include shipping to the USA in my prices, so I will generally write my prices as "$60 shipped to the CONUS" or something like that. This is not intended to shoo away international buyers - it is just intended to make it clear that I cannot afford to absorb the higher cost of international shipping.

I have to admit, I always sweat bullets until the package arrives safely. I don't like international shipping, but I am generally willing to work with folks overseas.

I would encourage sellers who work with international buyers to make sure they leave feedback when they have a good transaction. I don't consider overseas buyers to be less trustworthy than domestic buyers, but I always prefer to work with a member with positive feedback from other transactions.

I should add that the aggressive customs policies of certain countries give me pause - England and Canada come to mind. I always state that I cannot be responsible for goods seized or otherwise manhandled by customs, but I would hate to find myself in a position where I have been paid, but the buyer ended up with nothing. I'm not sure how to handle such a situation fairly - even if the buyer assumes all the risk, I would still feel like I was screwing them over - even if the problem was no fault of my own.
 
I'm not sure if this is the right place for this thread, but i didn't want to put it in whine and cheese in case it got out of hand.

I know some sellers can be quite specific about only shipping to CONUS, it does annoy me a bit but i'm not having a go, i just want to know what people reasons are for this? is patriotism? fears over lost packages? impost and export duties?

i would be interested to hear peoples opinions.

Nathan

Shipping to other countries is more expensive and a pain in the butt in terms of paperwork. There's also the risk of Customs seizure. It's that simple.
 
I've actually had success shipping to you aussies, it's the canuks that seize everything :grumpy: You would think they'd be a little nicer about it since we are neighbors :thumbdn:

If I ship anywhere international, it's with something that I can keep track of the package. I prefer USPS Express International, it's somewhere around $25-27 depending on the location, it has tracking, insurance, and I always slap on signature delivery. I also print the postage paid so that people know I'm not making anything off the shipping.

In the past (well recently) I started using tie-wraps to secure knife blades to make damn sure customs doesn't gripe about it.

I guess in the long run it's a lot less hassle to just keep things stateside. I always $hit bricks until the package makes it to it's destination and I have an email to prove it.

What makes international shipping easier is if I see you regularly on the forums and there's actually an email link on your name to contact you. No one likes shipping to a ghost.

Just my .02, J.
 
Yep, our Customs people are starting to be a real pain in the butt.

I don't blame people for deciding to ship CONUS only. It's a lot less hassle. Besides, it's totally up to the person making the sale what conditions are set.
 
Shipping to other countries is more expensive and a pain in the butt in terms of paperwork. There's also the risk of Customs seizure. It's that simple.

While I accept most of the other arguments I don't think the "more expensive to ship" argument has much value. When I buy from overseas I pay whatever the shipping charges are. The seller is not one single cent worse off than he would be shipping domestically.

Having said all that, people have the right to ship whatever, wherever they do or don't want.
 
I don't ship international because of the risks detailed by many posters above.
Besides, it's my item, I can sell it to whom I want to sell it.
If some guy posts a knife I want, and he says "EU only" or something like that, I don't complain. It's his to sell when and where he chooses.


--Mike L.
 
I'll ship anywhere as long as the buyer understands that out of country is untraceable. I don't care what goes on the customs form, either. It's all laid out in e-mail and it's never (knocks on wood) been a problem.

I'll keep documentation until I'm told it's been received and is acceptable.

Win
 
While I accept most of the other arguments I don't think the "more expensive to ship" argument has much value. When I buy from overseas I pay whatever the shipping charges are. The seller is not one single cent worse off than he would be shipping domestically.

In many cases they are better off. I have seen lots of for sale ads that state that the price includes CONUS shipping. With international shipping the buyer pays the whole shipping amount. That means the shipper is saving the amount that would have been spent to ship within the continental US.
 
I made the mistake once when I included shipping with the selling price. A guy from Canada bought it and it cost me $26 to ship it. I wasn't expecting that much. Plus he had me put down "GIFT" on the declaratation form (I guess to keep from paying import tax). I won't do that again. I feel that I'm responsible for the item to get to the buyer when in actuality, it's out of the buyer's hands once they drop it off for shipment. No tracking outside of the U.S. with USPS. Just easier to ship in the U.S. only and not have to deal with the hassles and expense.
 
When I purchase from a US resident I immediately let them know I am in Canada. I also tell them I will take 100% responsibility should it go missing or seized in Customs. However, I pay for USPS Expressmail with a tracking number that is tracked via Canadapost.ca or USPS.com. I won't take responsibility if they do not buy the level of shipping I pay for and tell them if its lost I will expect full renumeration. As far as I am concerned without a tracking number I have no idea if it was shipped or not.

I respect people's wishes if they say CONUS only and I do not bother asking.

I did offer to purchase a knife from someone who did not specify CONUS only and he refused because he did not want the responsibility if it were lost etc. Ironically, I was selling a knife a few weeks later and the same seller wanted to buy my knife. :rolleyes: I told him I would not sell to him based upon our previous contact.


ADD this too: Seems a lot of misinformation being shared here too. There is tracking outside of CONUS. I have a file folder full of old tracking numbers from US shippers to prove it. I know of a recent shipment that the Post Office told the shipper there is no tracking outside of CONUS.

Here is the USPS URL -

http://ircalc.usps.gov/IntlMailServices.aspx?Country=10054&M=2&P=1&O=0&sd=1
 
Last edited:
When I purchase from a US resident I immediately let them know I am in Canada. I also tell them I will take 100% responsibility should it go missing or seized in Customs. However, I pay for USPS Expressmail with a tracking number that is tracked via Canadapost.ca or USPS.com. I won't take responsibility if they do not buy the level of shipping I pay for and tell them if its lost I will expect full renumeration. As far as I am concerned without a tracking number I have no idea if it was shipped or not.

I respect people's wishes if they say CONUS only and I do not bother asking.

I did offer to purchase a knife from someone who did not specify CONUS only and he refused because he did not want the responsibility if it were lost etc. Ironically, I was selling a knife a few weeks later and the same seller wanted to buy my knife. :rolleyes: I told him I would not sell to him based upon our previous contact.


ADD this too: Seems a lot of misinformation being shared here too. There is tracking outside of CONUS. I have a file folder full of old tracking numbers from US shippers to prove it. I know of a recent shipment that the Post Office told the shipper there is no tracking outside of CONUS.

Here is the USPS URL -

[URL="http://ircalc.usps.gov/IntlMailServices.aspx?Country=10054&M=2&P=1&O=0&sd=1"]http://ircalc.usps.gov/IntlMailServices.aspx?Country=10054&M=2&P=1&O=0&sd=1[/URL]

Quoted and enlarged because this is an important summary of truths others don't seem to realize. :)
 
There is definitely USPS tracking outside the US. I have tracked packages from city to city, across the border into Canada, known when it was in Customs, when it cleared Customs and when it arrived in my city. I have no idea why so many people think that there is no tracking of international packages.
 
At this point the seller has to accept me on my word and the bit that can upset me is that by not trading with me it implies that my word isn't worth the same as that of someone in the US.

I can't speak for anyone else, but from my end as someone who only ships to the USA - it really is not personal and it is not about thinking you are somehow less trustworthy because of where you live. I can understand how you may feel that way and if I were in your shoes I might well share in it. However, the chances of loss and or seizure of a knife sent overseas are just not something I want to have to worry about. Like jimmer_5 said, you can still potentially end up in an uncomfortable situation despite all of the best intentions and assurances from both parties. I dread something like that.

There were two times in the past where I sent a knife overseas, and while everything worked out fine it still caused me worry from the moment I mailed the package to the moment I got confirmation from the recipient. After the second deal I decided to go with USA only as boilerplate language when dealing a knife. Am I too worried? I'm sure some may think so, but if it's a choice between that or a knife that never gets to its buyer with no recourse to be had, I'll take the former every time.
 
i will ship outside CONUS sometimes,especially if i know ya, and its understood i will do whatever i can (ie tighten pivot, mark as tool, whatever) but if customs seizes it its your problem not mine, and while i will try and help ya with insurance and such if the thing gets lost/etc, but again, in the end its your problem, not mine, once i take it to the post office and mail it i have -0- responsibility as far as refunds and such, i have shipped to taiwan, singapore and canada and to be honest i have never had any problems whatsoever, but i have heard of enough problems that i would usually prefer not to, but if i know ya and trust ya i can usually be talked into doing it.

and imho it is more hassle on this end, more paperwork, more trouble, i almost consider it kinda a favor to a bud just to deal with it,
 
Back
Top