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CONUS only

If only people would understand that

CONUS DOES NOT EQUAL USA

If you want to ship only to domestic USA addresses (ie. to the 48 contiguous states, AK, HI and PR) please say so. Don't say CONUS, because I will understand that to mean what it says CONtinental United States only and I will not bid/buy from you.

:)
 
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Some people do use the acronym CONUS to mean CONtinental United States. Others use it to mean CONtiguous United States, excluding Alaska as well as Hawaii. It's an ambiguous acronym.
 
Sharp Phil said:
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.
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With all due respect, you make it sound like your doing tons of paperwork. More like 30 seconds. Communicate with your buyer, get them to do the homework on what is likely to be seized. Most paying members on this forum are a decent lot, that pull together to help each other out. So no, it is not that simple, lazy maybe, but simple, no.
 
I always thought that people who ship "CONUS only" actually do not think/know there are other countries besides USA ;-)

The papaerwork is almost the same, cost of shipping is on buyer mostly, tracking, delivery confirmation + insurance available, international shipments are in many cases handled more carefully than domestic ones - so what is the excuse?

David
 
tendy said:
With all due respect, you make it sound like your doing tons of paperwork. More like 30 seconds. Communicate with your buyer, get them to do the homework on what is likely to be seized. Most paying members on this forum are a decent lot, that pull together to help each other out. So no, it is not that simple, lazy maybe, but simple, no.
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Or you can just ship ConUS only and be done with it. Frankly I don't need any foreigners telling me I'm "lazy" because I don't wish to deal with shipping an item across the border. I'm the one voluntarily reducing the potential pool of buyers, so I'm the one out the money for constraining my sales in that manner.

My time (and the corresponding reduction in my stress level) is valuable to me, no matter how marginal it may be to you.
 
Sharp Phil said:
Or you can just ship ConUS only and be done with it. Frankly I don't need any foreigners telling me I'm "lazy" because I don't wish to deal with shipping an item across the border. I'm the one voluntarily reducing the potential pool of buyers, so I'm the one out the money for constraining my sales in that manner.

My time (and the corresponding reduction in my stress level) is valuable to me, no matter how marginal it may be to you.
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A wee bit touchy:rolleyes: This "foreigner" never said you were lazy, I merely suggested that could be one of the reasons someone may not wish to fill out 30 seconds of paperwork. I do not believe name calling, nor a poor attitude were called for. This is a public forum, on the internet, and which the last time I checked is a worldwide phenomona. I also do not recall my "foreign" money being turned away when I purchased my BF membership. We all pay the same amount which makes us all equal members.
 
i have shipped all over the world when i made knives back in the 90's and i never had any problems luckily. i only had one item not make it and that was a cd that i sent a friend. it cost me less than $3. so it wasnt too much of a loss. i sent a member in norway a knife without insurance but it made it there no problem. i have to ship a knife and some other items to japan soon. luckily they are telling me how to ship which is ok with me.
 
It is definitely the Sellers prerogative to sell to whoever and wherever they wish, for whatever reasons they have.

On several occasions, I have purchased items that have been stipulated in bold “CONUS ONLY”.

I courteously ask them to consider this sale condition by giving them 3 conditions to consider.

1. They despatch the “for sale” item upon receiving and clearing the agreed total sale value - by the sellers preferred payment method.

2. All additional costs associated with international postage, packaging, handling and PITA factor, will be paid in full prior to despatch.

3. The most important stipulation: The buyer ( Me ) will take full liability for the item once it has been posted. No comeback, claim, whinge or whine whatsoever from me to the seller or any other third party, if the item does not arrive. ie. lost in transit, stolen, confiscated by customs etc.

If the seller is still adamant about their CONUS only clause, I fully understand and accept their position, end of story.

On a side note, have purchased and traded more than a dozen knives from forum members here, and have never had a parcel go missing.
 
i specify USA only...because...it means i dont have to take a trip to the post office on my time & wait in line,fill out the custom forms & pay additional shipping charges & risk the fact that not all international packages are delivered in the manner i shipped them.


IMHO...not worth it to me



sorry


but im 100% on here & would like to keep it that way...


not to say i havent shipped to canada before ...but it took almost 3 weeks to get there....the buyer wasnt worried but i was
 
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I'm one of the ones that sell to CONUS ONLY. And the reasons have already been stated. With me, I did lose an item that I sold to a forum member from Canada. I filled out all forms, just the way he asked, and it never arrived. Don't know if it went missing this side of the border or the other but it was gone anyway. I ended up finding a manufacture that would ship to him in Canada, bought a new one and had it shipped to him. That one arrived fine. I was out the cost. Lesson learned.

I know we all tell the buyer that if we do sell to him that “once it leaves our borders it's HIS responsibility". Sounds good but I for one still feel that until it reaches him AND he’s satisfied with the deal, it’s my responsibility. I think that most of the people on this forum feel the same way. Some even state “if you’re not happy, I’m not happy”. Good words to live by. Thankfully, in all my transactions. I have had a great track record with buying & selling. That just speaks to the quality of the people here and there integrity.

I know I lose deals by the CONUS ONLY rule. I also lose deals by my NO PAYPAL rule. That’s my choice so I live with it.

Just my 2 cents

Mark T.

"
 
mongomondo said:
USPS doesn't offer tracking or confirmation.
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every USPS parcel i have received form the USA has had a tracking number and confirmation.

here is a little tip for BOTH Canada & US shippers shipping to each other:

Canada to USA: Canada Post has a tracking number, trackable on the Canada Post website.....once the parcel is in the US you can CONTINUE to track that number on the USPS website.

USA to Canada: USPS has a tracking number, trackable on the USPS website. Once the parcel is OUT of the USA and into canada, you can continue to track it on Canada Post website

Canada Post works closely with USPS to streamline tracking.
--------------
 
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I have personally bought several knives from sellers who specify CONUS ONLY.I have had 1 delay and no knives ever seized.
For me it's been a non issue.I ask if they're willing to sell to me and no one's said no yet.When the day comes I understand for some it's not worth the risk.
 
Why is it that so many countries screw their citizens with excessive customs fees?

I have shipped outside the US before, but only in rare instances, and I have to know the person to some degree. There are many "foreigners" I would have no problem shipping to on this forum, and plenty of unknowns I would think twice about selling to. It is much easier to ship only to the US, and since most prospective buyers are also in the US, it doesn't really hurt sales either.
 
Rat Finkenstein said:
Why is it that so many countries screw their citizens with excessive customs fees?
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The world isn't quite the open market it's sometimes presented to be. For example, with the whole EU inner market thing, I have to consider and calculate carefully if I'd like to order something from the United States. Prices there are much cheaper and as a currency the Euro is strong but then there's the damned customs and tax barrier. Moving stuff across borders always has and always will involve payments to the tax man, be it fair or not.

E.g. in Finland and for knives, the customs tariff isn't actually too bad, 8.5 %. The real deal-killer is the 22 % VAT that you have to pay if an item arrives from outside the European Union. The customs tariff is payed only for the item, but VAT is added to the combined "(product+tariff) + shipping" price. There is a small exception, if the sum to be collected is under 10 EUR then they won't bother with it.

So, one has to carefully crunch some numbers before buying and then see if not the same product could be had within the EU at a comparable price. Of course, if it's something rare and hard to get, you'll just have to suck it up and pay the taxes and tariffs.

Of course there's the option of being "creative" on the customs form about value, but that's fraud and let's not go there.
 
I won't ship outside the US becuase i don't like the fact that there is no way to PROVE that i shipped the package to anyone not in the USPS. And, i'm not excited about being involved with customs problems or filling out extra paperwork. Lazy? Maybe. But i'm not a dealer, so i can live without shipping all over the world.

The idea that a quality knife i sell overseas *could* be used against American soldiers also occurs to me, becuase i am a veteran. But it isn't the main reason i don't do it. Cost and the lack of paper trail are the main reasons.
 
Frankki said:
The world isn't quite the open market it's sometimes presented to be. For example, with the whole EU inner market thing, I have to consider and calculate carefully if I'd like to order something from the United States. Prices there are much cheaper and as a currency the Euro is strong but then there's the damned customs and tax barrier. Moving stuff across borders always has and always will involve payments to the tax man, be it fair or not.

E.g. in Finland and for knives, the customs tariff isn't actually too bad, 8.5 %. The real deal-killer is the 22 % VAT that you have to pay if an item arrives from outside the European Union. The customs tariff is payed only for the item, but VAT is added to the combined "(product+tariff) + shipping" price. There is a small exception, if the sum to be collected is under 10 EUR then they won't bother with it.

So, one has to carefully crunch some numbers before buying and then see if not the same product could be had within the EU at a comparable price. Of course, if it's something rare and hard to get, you'll just have to suck it up and pay the taxes and tariffs.

Of course there's the option of being "creative" on the customs form about value, but that's fraud and let's not go there.
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But none of that addresses why they feel the need to rape their citizen's wallets. Simple greed? I ordered a knife from Finland and did not have to pay my government anything. But in reverse, Finland will flat out rob you, despite already having taxed your money when you earned it.
 
Rat Finkenstein said:
But none of that addresses why they feel the need to rape their citizen's wallets. Simple greed? I ordered a knife from Finland and did not have to pay my government anything. But in reverse, Finland will flat out rob you, despite already having taxed your money when you earned it.
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I don't know what the European justification is for the way they do things but Oz has a Goods and Services Tax, GST. You pay 10% on top of the price of most things except unprocessed food items, prescription medicines and some other "necessities" of life. The reasoning behind it is that other taxes can be reduced and the GST acts as a sort of user pays system.

Fortunately I don't have to pay it on knives I buy from overseas but I do have to pay import duty if the cost of the item is over $400 or thereabouts.
 
Ah well, just very different tax structures and society models. We get to pay a s*itload of taxes and fees, then again that buys for cost-free education, health care, etc. Just the usual welfare state thing with the inevitably appalling amount of bureoucracy and inefficiency involved, you know. :D

It gets expensive but has benefits, age-old argument there. And as for the customs barriers, well, I'm not formally educated on economics but protectionism does come to mind. The powers-to-be wish that business be done within our "economic block", the EU.

In an ideal situation, private purchases for personal use would be exempt from customs, but I don't see that happening. Although I should mention that Customs did announce a while ago that for online shopping from outside the EU, no tariff if the value is under 150 EUR. Doesn't exempt you from the VAT though, that you have to pay for any and every item bought.
 
No one is denying that most sellers here would rather ship CONUS only but for international buyers there are a few things you can do to help sway the seller's to your side. I've not had many transactions here, only 2 so far... One from Australia and one from the US. Both went well without any incident. I've also bought a few knives on eBay and from NGK.

First thing you could do is to send them links to your feedback on this or other forums. This is why I always bookmark those I've received. I also try to give them my ID on other forums (in my case, Spyderco forums, KnifeBST etc) and my eBay feedback page; all of which only shows knife purchases.

I also brief them on my local import laws concerning knives which means no autos (i don't even take chances with Kershaw's flipper knives), balisongs and any knives that has both sides sharpened (dirks, daggers, stilettos). Check your local statutes, laws and by-laws. Most countries have these info online or in your public libraries. If it's illegal in your country don't buy it. No point whining if it gets confiscated and no reason to blame the seller for your mistake.

You also need to know what is the maximum amount you can buy before import taxes are levied, you can't place that responsibility on the seller. My limit is SGD400 (approx USD270). Don't ask the seller to commit fraud by underdeclaring the amount, I don't... If you do that's your prerogative. The only thing I ask for is for it to be marked as camping knife, not "tactical black bladed folder with scary serrations". :)

I do realise it may cost more to ship overseas but there has been times where the cost is not as astronomical as you think. NGK shipped me 2 knives for USD9.98 with delivery confirmation. I try to steer them to the USPS website to check the rate sometime. I don't mind losing a few dollars now and then either... Link them to your local postal service website to show that tracking is available when the knife leaves the US.

If all this fail... Accept it like an adult and move on. It's their item, but it's also your hard earned cash and if they do not wish to do business then it's not worth whining about. Above else, be polite at all times. Like it or not whether you are online or on an overseas trip you are an ambesseduer of your country. Your words and actions shapes the image of what others think of your countrymen.

Best regards
Azad
 
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