XXX Country Buyers Only

I love the posts from New Englanders stating they won't ship to Canada. REALLY? Y'all are way closer to Canada (well, Ontario) than you are to California, or Texas.
I have hesitated to buy from Australia due to long waits & high shipping costs (but I HAVE bought dolls/clothes from there).
Can't say that I'd have a problem shipping things anywhere - I'm not paying the shipping costs, after all.

 

1. Have you ever refused to sell outside your own country? Outside your continent? Would you?

I barely sell things, but as long as someone is willing to pay the fee and take the risks I'd ship everywhere.
However, I would always tell them they at least pay for tracking (if they don't want insurance) and tell them, that as soon as things are shipped out, I'm not responsible for anything anymore.

2. What are some reasons people limit potential buyers geographically?

1) They are not willing to fill out special forms
2) They fear that stuff could get lost and buyers force them to give them money back etc., same for things like custom fees
3) They already "know" that no-one would be willing to pay their countries crazy postage fees
4) Buyer's country is known for horrible post companies, meaning a lot of stuff gets lost etc.


3. Do you think buyer education plays a part in the decision? I.e. do people prefer not to ship internationally to avoid angry buyers saying “You’re charging how much for shipping?” What about seller education? Are sellers preferring to stay in-country to avoid educating themselves about international customs requirements? Because they are un-informed or mis-informed about shipping options in their own country?

I say that's true for a few people, and I also think avoiding trouble of any kind is a reason for many to go the easiest route as possible.

4. Does a seller’s willingness to ship internationally (if stated) influence your decision to buy from them?

Of course it does! I'm living in Europe, Germany, and while our post system is quite good (hey, we own DHL after all) the community outside of Germany and Europe is of course way bigger and offers a wider range of things to buy.
I'm used to ordering and buying abroad.


However, I think you can turn around this quite well.
For me it's a XXX Country Sellers only, I'd never buy from certain countries or only if I had absolutely no choice.
Countries for example I'd hesitate buying are Canada (takes too long, very expensive), Italy and Russia (stuff gets lost too easily, and Russia also needs way too long) and also China if there is only EMS available.
But that's not China's fault but Germany's, since every parcel that comes from China via EMS gets hold by a company called "GDSK" that forces you to pay high fees to them.
Also Spain since there are too many recast owners, but that's a whole different story.
It's the same with sellers who are not willing to mark the package down (often the case with sellers from Japan).

I also hate buying from the US since, no matter what I do, it always takes quite long and my tracking never works. Like, really never. It either stops working after a few updates or never starts working at all, and I hate paying for something that doesn't work anyway.

 

1. Have you ever refused to sell outside your own country? Outside your continent? Would you?
I've never sold a doll before, but because I know almost nothing about other countries rules and regulations for shipping, I'd probably stick to the US.

2. What are some reasons people limit potential buyers geographically?
They don't know what shipping to other countries entails. They don't want the package getting lost, or sent back because they didn't take all the steps they needed to. They don't want to fill out numerous forms, or pay extra fees.

3. Do you think buyer education plays a part in the decision? I.e. do people prefer not to ship internationally to avoid angry buyers saying “You’re charging how much for shipping?” What about seller education? Are sellers preferring to stay in-country to avoid educating themselves about international customs requirements? Because they are un-informed or mis-informed about shipping options in their own country?
I could see how someone would not want the hassle of trying to explain to people why they're charging so much for shipping, or something like that. Who wants to keep having to rehash the same speech about shipping charges time and time again? I'm also thinking that most people don't usually buy things directly from overseas, so the buyer might very well be uninformed or under informed about how things go. I know I was when I ordered my dolls from their companies. I've also had a phone key chain and a camera stand take two weeks because it was in customs all that time. No one knew it would take that long.

I guess, if someone wanted to, they could always give a link to how things are supposed to go, and direct people there if they complain about being charged so much; however, that has to get tiresome, too.

4. Does a seller’s willingness to ship internationally (if stated) influence your decision to buy from them?
Only if they don't ship to my country. Otherwise, no.

 

I've shipped stuff to all over the place and although it's certainly more convenient shipping to the UK or within the EU, as long as the buyer is willing to pay and Royal Mail will send it, I'll ship it anywhere.

I understand people being worried about things going missing or being damaged, but frankly I've had far more problems with domestic mail and courier services than I've ever had with buying and selling things overseas (I've had things go missing, postal workers fraudulently sign for parcels they didn't deliver, serious water damage after the seller charged me £5 postage for a small item and then shipped it 2nd class which cost them £1.20, along with general delays and battered parcels). The worst problem I've had sending things overseas so far was when UK postal workers mistook the (clearly marked) return address for the recipient address, and the parcel floated around in the UK postal system for a couple of weeks before coming back to me without even leaving the country.

Obviously it's up to the seller whether they want to ship it to any given location or not and it won't affect whether I'm willing to buy from them, but I do find it kind of exasperating. International shipping isn't nearly as scary as it seems.

 

I'm in Australia and I can certainly confirm that Australia Post is far from reliable. I'm currently waiting on some first class mail from the states which I've been waiting over a month since the package reportedly left the states.

Due to my difficulties with untraceable mail, I have come to the conclusion that it's better for me to fork out the extra cash for a tracking number that I can follow rather than pester my husband with text messages along the lines of "mail in yet? was it there?" since he works in our town while I work in the CBD and he'd know long before I would.

I get frustrated with those who state "US buyers only" or "EU only", I can understand that people have had issues in the past but it does make me occasionally feel like my money isn't good enough. If you're worried about international buyers, put in your thread something along the lines of "tracking number required, this may mean additional shipping costs depending on your location". I'd buy from someone who required a tracking number, as long as the cost of shipping accurately reflected what the seller has paid.

 

1. Have you ever refused to sell outside your own country? Outside your continent? Would you?
No. If I'm trying to rehome a doll, I'll definitely consider all interested buyers. If someone is really interested, and willing to pay for the shipping it takes to get the doll to them, then I will certainly work with them. Where there's a will, there's a way. I've successfully mailed dolls to Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Russia, Japan, and Chile, as well as many parts of the USA.

2. What are some reasons people limit potential buyers geographically?
I think that shipping internationally entails a little bit more effort--customs form, shipping restrictions, making sure the addresses are formatted properly so that the package will get to where it is supposed to. Maybe some people are unsure what is involved in mailing abroad. Also, some people do not have their own transportation and so getting down to the post office to get an accurate shipping quote for foreign destinations is a hassle. Sometimes it's just easier to say you only ship using the flat rate priority mail box to USA addresses and print everything online and let your postal carrier just pick it up.

3. Do you think buyer education plays a part in the decision? I.e. do people prefer not to ship internationally to avoid angry buyers saying “You’re charging how much for shipping?” What about seller education? Are sellers preferring to stay in-country to avoid educating themselves about international customs requirements? Because they are un-informed or mis-informed about shipping options in their own country?
It is definitely easier to ship within one's own country because you would be well-versed in what is allowed, and how to go about it. Shipping internationally costs a lot, but if the buyer is willing to pay for the shipping as in most transactions, it shouldn't really be an issue.

4. Does a seller’s willingness to ship internationally (if stated) influence your decision to buy from them?
If my country is not one of the ones they ship to, then of course this means that I won't buy from them. ​

 

1. No, I have no reason to.

2. I think shipping is the main reason. The cost will be much higher shipping outside the country, and there is higher chance of an item getting lost during transit. Also, it takes a lot longer time for a package to reach its destination if shipped outside the country.

3. No, I don't think this is the case. Some sellers do get worried because they are not very familiar with how the postal system in other countries work, and they worry that their packages could get lost or stolen and might not reach their buyers, and they'll be held responsible.

4. No it would not. As long as the seller is willing to do business with me and seems trustful and has the item I want, I will want to do business with that person, regardless whether the seller want to ship to other countries or not.

 

I'm not sure you understand how exchanging currencies works....

 

That's what I thought too.
If you sell something for 300$, you get 300$. How much the other person paid in their own currency is not your problem at all, since you get your money anyway.

You $ guys have it even easier in my opinion. Since most of the people here sell in $ you always have a set price that won't change. If I sell something for 20$ today I might in the end get only 16€ today, two weeks later it might have been 18€.
If you sell something for 20$, you get 20$.

Only difference is when you want to buy something from Europe, depending on the rate you might have to pay more or less to reach the same amount in €.
But honestly, we all have to deal with that problem...and since $ is pretty much the standard currency here we have to watch out a lot more and think about when to buy and when not.
Hell, I sometimes stalk the exchange rate for weeks to find the best day to order a doll to "save" money.
Just imagine you had that problem every time you want to buy something, just imagine everything would be in € or Yen or whatever all the time.

 

1. Have you ever refused to sell outside your own country? Outside your continent? Would you? I don't refuse to sell outside the United States, but instead just politely say, sorry. But if there is someone who really wants something I'm selling, I would consider it even if it says I won't ship internationally. I just prefer to ship within the US because it's cheaper that way.

2. What are some reasons people limit potential buyers geographically? Cost to ship is always frightening, potential for it getting lost somewhere in flight (but then again, that goes for here, too). But shipping is the main reason really.

3. Do you think buyer education plays a part in the decision? I.e. do people prefer not to ship internationally to avoid angry buyers saying “You’re charging how much for shipping?” What about seller education? Are sellers preferring to stay in-country to avoid educating themselves about international customs requirements? Because they are un-informed or mis-informed about shipping options in their own country? Well, there is the ease of shipping within one's own country, not having to worry about customs and other problems that might arise. I don't know how some (ahem, most) postal services work in other countries, so it's a bit intimidating to have to learn about a new service several times for several different countries. It's not a huge deal, but it's a bit stressful.

4. Does a seller’s willingness to ship internationally (if stated) influence your decision to buy from them? If it's an item that I really want, and they do ship internationally, I will consider buying from them (even though I consider the cost of shipping and say, "Holy cow!"). If the seller is kind and honest about everything, I mean, it really honestly doesn't matter. If he/she decides to be rude about it, then count me out!

 

1. Have you ever refused to sell outside your own country? Outside your continent? Would you?
Yes. I don't sell internationally because I only take concealed cash or money order. International money orders are very difficult to do, or at least when I've tried, and concealed cash from another country other than the US is risky and an annoyance. When I sell to people in the US, it is in the same currency, or with a reliable money order system via USPS.

2. What are some reasons people limit potential buyers geographically?
Like I have stated above, some people can't deal with the payment issue. Some simply do not want to go through the trouble of shipping abroad. Packages get lost way more when being shipped abroad, and things get lost, and time is money. I would say it's expensive, but the buyer should be paying for it, so I don't think that should be an issue.

3. Do you think buyer education plays a part in the decision? I.e. do people prefer not to ship internationally to avoid angry buyers saying “You’re charging how much for shipping?” What about seller education? Are sellers preferring to stay in-country to avoid educating themselves about international customs requirements? Because they are un-informed or mis-informed about shipping options in their own country?
Not at all. I don't like this statement one bit. Complete disagreement with all of it.

4. Does a seller’s willingness to ship internationally (if stated) influence your decision to buy from them?
Well, since I only buy from the US, it doesn't really apply. Good for you if you ship internationally. Only shipping to your country? Good for you, too. Seriously, it's not a big deal. Sellers are allowed to choose their buyer and have restrictions like this.

 

1. Have you ever refused to sell outside your own country? Outside your continent? Would you?
Nope. I try not to, unless it's somewhere with very strict customs, but I expect the buyer to know about the custom rules/regulations and advise me to ship accordingly (e.g. mark down value if there's insurance, or declare items a certain way), if they want to avoid problems with the customs.

2. What are some reasons people limit potential buyers geographically?
Shipping costs, probably. I think shipping from some EU countries and other places are REALLY expensive, and sometimes unreliable as well, so the sellers try to avoid all these trouble.

I've also seen reverse geographical limits, i.e. I'll NOT sell within my own country, which usually only happens for people who are selling the doll with the faceup they currently have, and don't want to be reminded of their sale if they ever meet their buyer at meets etc. It's more so for my country, as Singapore is so small, it's really easy to meet your buyer, and maybe if you see your doll again, you'll feel some sadness/regret having sold them.

3. Do you think buyer education plays a part in the decision? I.e. do people prefer not to ship internationally to avoid angry buyers saying “You’re charging how much for shipping?” What about seller education? Are sellers preferring to stay in-country to avoid educating themselves about international customs requirements? Because they are un-informed or mis-informed about shipping options in their own country?
Hm, maybe.

4. Does a seller’s willingness to ship internationally (if stated) influence your decision to buy from them?
Yes, if only because I think I'm the kind that will need sellers willing to ship internationally, cos there's definitely less doll owners in my countries than not

 

Cian: I'm not sure if this is what you meant: "mark down value if there's insurance" but if you mark an item down on a Customs Form then it doesn't matter if you insure for the full value because if anything happens, the Insurance Company will always take the value you declared the package to be on the customs form. I think it's fair to say that is true of Insurance Companies globally. The customs declaration form is a legal document pretty much so it over rides anything else you write about the item and it's why many people aren't happy when they receive their new high price doll direct from the company in Korea or China, wherever and find that the company has marked the item down without being asked. the risk is huge, Insurance companies will not pay out on marked down items.

 

1. Have you ever refused to sell outside your own country? Outside your continent? Would you?

I generally only sell to US and Canadian buyers. I have sold to other countries, but only if the buyer agrees to my terms and is willing to pay the extra costs.

2. What are some reasons people limit potential buyers geographically?
My personal reasons?
1. Shipping cost. Not a lot of buyers want to pay as much or more in shipping costs and customs fees than the item cost. I also like to include shipping in my prices, and for other countries, it will ALWAYS cost more.
2. Paypal fees. Not an issue for me, really, but some international transactions will have higher fees and result in losing money if the the seller doesn't pass the fees on the the buyer.
3. Shipping times. If the buyer doesn't want to pay for Priority shipping, shipping times and time in customs could easily be over a month. As a buyer, I don't like such slow shipping because the item may never come and after 45 days, I'm no longer protected by PP.
4. Insurance and tracking are not available to all countries and I would really hate to do everything right as a seller, have the package get lost or damaged and have a buyer file a PP claim and I lose the item and money simply because I didn't have the option to insure or track something.
5. Language barriers. If there was a problem with a transaction, resolving it is much more difficult when the people have trouble understanding sales threads, negotiations, terms of the sale, etc. (and this is in no way against people who are not native English speakers. I'm sure foreign sellers would get frustrated with me too if I could not understand their explanations)
6. Customs requirements. I've been shipping internationally for years and know how, but when I went to ship an item last week, the lady at the PO informed me that I could no longer fill out a customs form by hand and that each size or weight box had to have a specific form that had to be done on a computer and printed out. I currently don't even HAVE a printer. Luckily, the flat rate envelope didn't require a form, but had I been required to go home and print one, it would be a lot of trouble, since even the library is a good 15 minutes from the PO. (yay for country living...)
7. Customs charges. I haven't personally had this issue, but I've heard of sellers shipping items only to have a buyer refuse the item and demand a refund because customs fees were too high. This is NOT the fault of the seller. And no, I won't mark the value down because my PO told me it's illegal and I'm not risking it.
8. Unreliable post. Some countries are well known to have a lot of postal problems and in some cases, it's just not worth the risk.

3. Do you think buyer education plays a part in the decision? I.e. do people prefer not to ship internationally to avoid angry buyers saying “You’re charging how much for shipping?” What about seller education? Are sellers preferring to stay in-country to avoid educating themselves about international customs requirements? Because they are un-informed or mis-informed about shipping options in their own country?
I think education on both parts would help, but isn't the complete issue. Money is a big part of it. I don't want to pay EMS costs if I can avoid it. There's no way I'd pay $25 to ship a $10 item! I also don't like waiting over a month for my item to arrive, I want to be safely covered by PP, should something go wrong. On small items that can go registered mail or airmail, I'm really not too concerned, but on large items, like dolls, I'd be afraid of them getting lost or damaged and having no way to recoup my loss.

4. Does a seller’s willingness to ship internationally (if stated) influence your decision to buy from them? Not really, as I tend to try to buy mostly in the US and Canada, though if a foreign seller has an item I want at a good price, shipping isn't too high and their feedback is all good, I would still buy the item, if they accepted international buyers. But if they don't, I understand the reasoning.

 

I used to ship all over the world. Now, however, I work the same days as the post office and it is absolutely impossible for me to get to a post office while it's open. I can print all my domestic postage off of Paypal, so that's what I stick to.

 

This is indeed an interesting topic.

I am currently more a buyer than a seller, but I just did my first sell. And I shipped from Mexico to Spain. The buyer, a really nice girl proposed to add a videogame she wanted to make the shipping cost worth it.
And regarding myself as a buyer, I have been facing this problems continuously, not only with doll related items. I came across this person that told me he do not ship to Mexico because the shipping fee were too expensive (WTF!?!? I was going to pay the fee but basically he decided for me). Also, they think Mexico is more far away than the US. Most sellers ship to 'north america' But not to 'south america' and they believe Mexico is in south america.

So, no. I think I would not refuse to ship overseas, of course making clear about the probable obstacles the parcel may face beforehand. If the buyer accept the conditions and agrees with the shipping fee, there should not be problems with the transaction.
Does a seller’s willingness to ship internationally (if stated) influence your decision to buy from them? Yes.

I know this is the sellers personal choice, but some countries are not in the shipping lists of most sellers. and I want to make clear I'm not talking about the marketplace, I do not have access yet so I am talking about my experiences outside DoA.

 

Well, my local post office doesn't accept international packages, so I really can't send anything internationally unless I ask someone for a ride to a post office that DOES do international shipments. And then I have to explain to that person why I am mailing doll stuff to another country. And give that person money for gas. So, yeah... international shipping is a pain that I prefer not to deal with.

 

Well, funny enough I can assure you that this isn't true for DHL Germany as an example. Actually they require you to always mark the packages lower, even if you have purchased the highest possible insurance. You actually even lose the insurance if you openly declare the full value on the outside of the package. You may of course add a letter/document with full declaration inside of the package, but never on the outside. And yes, this might actually mean that they suppose you to commit customs fraud as you have to sign on the outside that CN22 customs form where you have to fill out what's inside and how much it is worth.

Believe me, I've learned that the hard way as I recently shipped a doll marked full value to the US and it got lost for a couple of weeks in the mail. When I contacted them for filing and inquiry they shook their heads in disbelief for me having marked the doll outside as worth 500 EUR, even though I purchased an insurance up to that amount. Luckily they were able to find the package and forwarded it to the buyer, but if it would have been lost, they would most likely not have refunded me anything.

So, on to the questions, yes, I would ship anything to anywhere and I will ship it according to my buyer's wishes. However, they do have to take full responsibility for the way it was shipped. If they didn't buy insurance and if the doll gets lost in the mail, then it would be their business and not mine.

I think people limit potential buyers geographically, because they're afraid to deal with foreign postal systems. They don't know how to fill out custom forms, they are unsure how to correctly mark a package if they will have to ship it overseas (remember, many countries have a totally different alphabet, so there might arise questions, like do I have to also write down the address in Kanji if I ship something to Japan? and the like), they are afraid that the buyers who most likely paid with paypal might still ask for a chargeback if the item didn't arrive, even though they choose an uninsured shipping option and the list goes on and on.

And the last question, whether a seller's willingness to ship abroad will make it more likely to buy from them, well obviously I can only buy from them if they're selling to my country as well. Or was the question meant like, would I more likely buy from someone within my country if they offer to sell overseas, too? Then the answer would be: I don't really care .

 

I have never heard of this before. I sold a doll to a lovely German lady recently and I declared full value on my customs form - she never said that this would be a problem and I prefer to err on the side of caution if something should go wrong. If a package disappears in the mail, I accept that I will have to refund my buyer because they've lost out, but I also expect that as I've insured a package for the correct amount and declared so on the customs form that I would be paid the full value of the item lost.

This is a little concerning for sending goods to/from Germany

I'm not sure how declaring the value of an item honestly would make you lose your postal insurance? Unless they say this to deter the package from being stolen while in the mail?

 

@Jescissa:
As far as I know DHL has several rules regarding insurances and how much they will actually pay back in the end, but if you don't buy a special fancy insurance they usually only insure a value of 500€ if you choose the right way of shipping.
If you tell them that the thing inside was actually worth more they won't pay you back anything, i.e. if you tell them that inside was a doll worth 600€ you won't get back 500€ but usually nothing.However, for very expensive stuff you can buy a special insurance for up to a value of 2500€ or 25000€...but I must admit that I wouldn't send something that expensive with a normal service like DHL.
And I also wouldn't say so on the package because...honestly, the guys from courier services are usually very badly paid, and if they see something like 2500€ on a package they most likely will take it home or at least open it.

If something gets damaged it's very, very unlikely that DHL pays you something, they usually tell you it's your fault because of bad packaging. No matter what you do, they just say "Oh well, you didn't pack it well enough", and that's it. In the end it's better if your stuff gets completely lost, then it's more likely to get money back...=__=

That sounds horrible now, but personally I never had any problems with DHL. My stuff always arrived, and usually in good state...only time something arrived broken was a box full of dragon statues, but they were so fragile that I already feared that something would happen with them, no matter how much bubblewrap I would put inside :/