XXX Country Buyers Only

That, in a nutshell, is exactly why who I do or do not choose to sell to is none of your business. I am not a government entity, I don't have to justify my reasons. It's a free market, if you don't like the way I do things, then move along. However, that absolutely goes both ways. I will ship to the moon for
a pleasant buyer, but I would refuse to take a package next door for someone like yourself, elphsnt. Self-righteous elitism can shop elsewhere.

 

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

I haven't sold dolls, but I have sold other things on Ebay. I've put 'no international shipping' on items because I have had SO MANY issues with customs - oddly enough, especially to Canada. My family lives in Ottawa. A few years ago, I sent homemade cookies for Christmas. The package never arrived. Weeks later, I received a nastygram and a fine from Customs for sending in contraband. I had to go to Ottawa to fight it. Also, every. single. thing. I have ever sent to Canada has gotten opened and manhandled in Customs. I have had less difficulty shipping things to other countries, including places like Israel and Jordan, than I have with Canada.

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

See above paragraph for one reason. For two, with all the recent "Nigerian Scammers", it's a bit sketchy selling things internationally, because if something goes wrong, you have to depend on the police in another country to do something and that can be a major pain in the tail. There can also be issues if the tracking number doesn't transfer from one postal service to the next. The second biggest country I've had a problem shipping to has been Croatia - not because it's bad or anything, but the US postal tracking code doesn't go into their computers or something, so once it gets to the country, I have no idea where it goes until the buyer tells me it's been received - or until I make many phonecalls and talk to postal workers in my babytalk-level Croatian. They're always very nice, but the phone bill later is not.

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?

No, to seller education. I've been shipping things to foreign countries for over 25 years. I tend to educate myself very well on the customs declaration requirements/standards, contraband lists, postal service options, addressing protocol, etc, for the countries I deal with. I don't mind shipping internationally as long as the buyer is willing to assume the risk, because once the package leaves my country, there is often very little I can do to track it or fix any problems that might occur. I will do my best, but my best may not be very much. I had a package on Ebay that went AWOL. The buyer became very upset and angry - understandably - but they were angry and upset at /me/ and expected me to refund the purchase price of their item, even though I could prove via tracking that I shipped it the day they paid and that it had made it to their country. It started a PayPal dispute, which came down on my side, but the whole thing sucked all ways round.

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

If it affects me, sure. If it's an object I want and the seller is in another country and has stated an unwillingness to ship internationally, I will usually give it a regretful glance and move on. I won't bother trying to change their minds, I'll just move on. However, I also only buy things from international sellers when I'm either absolutely positive I can minimize the risk to the point of being negligible or when it's something that's neat and doesn't cost alot to the point where if it went AWOL, I wouldn't be out megabucks or heartbroken over it.

My general thought on international selling/shipping/buying is 'Caveat emptor'.

-Pere

 

I was taking you at your word when you said this:

I'm not sure how else it should have been interpreted?

 

A doll itself may or may not have those goods -- but look at the marketplace. Look at the variety of goods sold there. It's not just dolls being sold in the marketplace.

There is clothing, wigs, eyes, furniture, hair -- all of which have a multitude of components. You actually do need to know the law on, say, 'toy furniture' and whether its upholstery or stuffing is flame-retardant or not for any given country you're shipping it to. You need to know if the clothes have fur on them or not -- and if that fur is legal to export from your country, or be imported into another if it's real. Then, is it antique from something else? It might get a pass -- but can you prove it is? (Much harder.) It absolutely and completely applies to doll-related items, just like any other.

 

In the past I've shipped cosplay costumes to Europe, Asia, N. America, and Australia. Then one commission worth several hundred dollars was claimed to not be received by the buyer. The post office claimed it was delivered, so there was nothing to be done about collecting insurance. The resulting hassle soured me on shipping out of the country. Granted it could've happened to a shipment within the US, but I have had hundreds of packages shipped within the country and none lost... whereas I had maybe 20 out of the country. The risk ratio is not worth it to me.

I have made a couple exceptions on less expensive items (where the shipping was actually more than the item cost, so I knew the buyer really wanted them), but I am no longer inclined to openly offer, and will consider individual requests depending on what time and resources I have available to me at the moment.

Additionally, now with the convenience of CnS options, it's easier to offer US only shipping, as well as cheaper since I don't have to factor in gas or time. I have had to wait at the post office as long as 45 minutes this time of year (Christmastime).

I would not hold it against a seller who chooses to only ship to their own country. Their items, their choice. Plus I don't like paying the higher shipping costs and am willing to wait until an item becomes available in my own country, or when a company offers an event or free shipping, or to join a GO. If it's a used item for a good price, it still can end up as expensive as new by the time you factor in international shipping.

 

From a business perspective I may decide that the trouble of shipping is not worth the money. There are countries that have a notorious postal service and packages have known to disappear with no refund, but maybe you are willing to take the chance of ending up without money and doll/doll items to provide the best service as a seller. I won't when I can easily sell to some other country I've shipped packages to with no problems. I'd lose a lot less sleep if I ship to countries I'm comfortable shipping stuff to. Same amount of money in my pocket and less worries and hassle. Do you feel it's right to charge more when shipping to 'troublesome' countries to cover the extra effort? It's all part of business and providing a service, right?

Would you also ship to a country like Somalia? I doubt many people will. Antarctica? Maybe a scientist at a weather station really wants some socks for her poor sockless doll, but are you going to ship those to her? It's possible to ship there, but not through standard shipping options.

I don't think people have to justifiy why they only ship to X. I can always ask if they are willing to ship to my country if I really want the item. Sometimes people say they'll only ship to X, because they don't feel like making all sorts of statements for all possible shipping options (they are not getting paid to do that), but won't mind getting shipping quotes for an interested buyer.

 

Shipping cost, complicated posting systems. And of course the infamous CUSTOMS.
Personally I prefer only to buy from within EU because there are no customs for me. Though I had a lot of offers on WTB threads from international sellers, saying they would mark the parcel down and as gift etc. if I buy from them. Well that is my risk if it gets lost or damaged, and that is a risk I don't want to take. Some even acted rather grouchy when I refused their offer.

On the other hand, I wouldn't want to ship to someone internationally if they want their parcel marked down. Of course I can understand the reasons, but again if it gets lost there is nothing both sides can do and some buyers tend to blame the seller still, even if they wanted it to be marked down.

 

Nevermind, this is not the best place to bring the issue.

 

I think some people like to sell within their country because it is a lot easier than selling overseas. Many complications can arise within shipping costs and customs form. In addition, If I were to run into scammers, it would be hard to prosecute overseas and perhaps almost impossible to seek any restitution. Also, there are also postal issues with other countries and issues with paypal as payment.

In addition, this question should apply to BJD companies as well. Why do some companies have limitations on which country can buy their items?

 

Actually, sending packages to Canada from the USA (and vice versa) can take long amounts of time and can be annoying. It can be longer than shipping to Europe (certain parts) and usually is. Customs to some countries can require extra money, forms, etc, but after all that's taken care of is usually fine, but shipping to Canada is a worry (as well as the infamous Italy).

It's easier to say "only US customers" because there is a bigger BJD population in the US than there is in Canada, this is by no means a bad thing, and so obviously there's going to be more sellers and with more sellers, there's going to be a percentage of them that are going to say only to their country. More people means more variety(of people willing to work with customs and of people who aren't), and more of a population in a country gives you the ability to have things only sold within your country. Some people aren't really "sellers" and don't make clothes to sell, but have things they just don't need anymore so it's not something they regularly deal with and may not have much time since they have jobs, etc. Some people make clothes and items to sell all the time and so this is something they've started like a little mini-business and therefore have the know-how to get their product to their customer, of their nationality of not. I guess that's the way I look at it. People who are selling only to their country are, for the most part, not doing it in spite. I don't know anyone who would say '--- only' because they just didn't like selling to someone who wasn't of their nationality.

Then, there's the issue of currency. I think this would be the reason I wouldn't sell to anyone out of the USA if I ever did that, because the dollar is at $1.44 to the euro, which gives Europeans a real lead in this, which I feel is quite unfair. It would also be more expensive buying from a European seller because of this and I don't want to be spending too much on an item that I'll have to pay way more for an item just because of currency issues.

 

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

No, and I doubt I ever would. I do sometimes mention that I'd prefer Australia buyers (usually when I'm setting up splits), but I haven't ever barred people in other countries from my sales/splits.

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

Well, I know I'm often a bit wary of shipping to Italy, simply because I know how many parcels go missing to and from there. In every hobby I've participated in, the overall impression has always been that shipping to Italy is a hassle, not because of the buyers, but because of the postal system.

There's also the issues of customs, which a lot of people don't want to bother with. Often buyers ask for things to be marked down, which is technically fraud, and which can cause all sort of trouble if the parcel goes missing (since you can't insure it for the full amount if it's marked down).

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 it's more likely to be prior experiences. Often I see Americans on eBay would have a note in the auctions that say they only ship to the US due to problems shipping elsewhere. Or, as I mentioned above, people refusing to ship to Italy due to the risk of parcels going missing.

Cost does come into it to some extent, though. Shipping from the UK is ridiculous (twice as much as from the original company, in one case I've found). But I find that cost tends to be something that affects buyers - I (as a buyer) choose not to buy from some countries because of the cost. I wouldn't (as a seller) bar buyers due to the costs.

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

Well, if they don't ship to Australia, I can't buy from them, so to that extent, yes. If it was someone in Australia who publicly stated that they only shipped within Australia, I wouldn't be discouraged from buying from them, though. And I'm not really bothered by sellers who refuse to ship to Australia - it's their choice, and I wouldn't hold it against them.

 

No and No. As long as they are willing to pay shipping I'm willing to ship. Like a lot of people have said I enjoy seeing who's interested and also I like to take advantage of the weak dollar that might make my prices look appealing to other collectors.

I think they are worried about incurring unexpected charges or doing it wrong.

More the sellers education I'm guessing. Customs forms and foreign addresses can be intimidating if you haven't dealt with them before.

Not generally since it's usually US sellers that I've seen say this.

 

Speaking personally as an ebay seller, not of dolls just on the occasion of needing extra cash, I have only shipped within the U.S. Simply to avoid high shipping fees and the possibility of the item becoming lost.

 

Click n Ship has simplified shipping from the US for the most part. Priority and Express shipping and Customs Forms can be printed and paid for on-line (and you can just drop the packages off, no waiting), but the more reasonable International First Class CANNOT be printed out; you must trudge into the P.O. and you wait in line forever to get helped at the counter since the P.O. has cut down drastically on the number of staff they have working the counter. Buyers always ASK for the First Class shipping because it is so much more reasonable in price, but it costs me almost an hour out of my work day to send First Class International and that makes it far too expensive.

 

The reason I initially didn't ship outside the US was because I thought shipping would be high. I recently found out that USPS's flat-rate boxes are shipped international for the same rate (up to 4 lbs)!!

Though, I only sell smaller items like eyes and wigs and clothes.

Other than that, I would imagine people would be worried about their precious dolls, yes, being lost in transit. Also, for some reason, scam rates are much higher in Asian countries (I spent a year trying to sell my World of Warcraft account - got 10+ scammers, all from China.)

Though through DoA, things are very reliable. Feedback threads offer a lot, and it's much more of a tight-knit community, which I love.

 

I don't usually like to post in the debate section but this is so my topic.

The one thing I can't stand when it comes to international shipping is that I can never seem to get the charges right. Even with the usps system, I always find the estimation to be off from the actual charge and then I have to eat the rest. Around a year ago I bought a scale but that only could fix so much of the gap. To make matters worse, the tellers at the post office will effect the price also! Some time ago, I shipped two boxes within a couple of months of each other to the same country. The heavier box cost less in shipping than the lighter one....they were the same size box!

 

One day, the whole Earth will be one big country with no borders and none of this postage hassle will exist (although travelling and postage times will still matter)... but until then *sigh*

I am located in Australia. I buy a lot from the USA with absolutely no problems ever. So I don't know where people in the USA who avoid posting to Australia formed their opinions from. Of course postage costs a lot and with smaller cheaper items, sometimes the postage costs are even more than the item cost! But Australia is far away from everywhere so that's understandable, so I do only buy overseas when I have too or can't find the item in country. Then I look to Asia, then US or EU (in order of distance). I've also sent and received items from Germany and other EU places, no problems either. Sure, overseas items take a bit longer than local but that's to be expected.

I guess, if someone doesn't want my money... I'll either save it (yay) or someone else gets it and that first person loses out (or has to wait a bit longer for their "preferred" customer)... I'm fine with that.

 

I understand where you're coming from. I haven't heard many "horror" stories about shipping to Australia, just that the shipping rate is unbelievable, but I don't think that should stop them from selling there if the buyer is willing to pay.

About having too pay out of your pocket, I haven't sold anything yet, but if it was for a big purchase(dolls, etc.) and the shipping rate was $40 and you get there and it ended up being $56, that would peeve me quite a bit. Maybe one way is to charge more than the actual and then refund the difference? (and of course put this in your post and notify the customer) or if it is that much of a difference, message them to charge extra. I think the former would be better because the latter seems pretty rude and that it was YOUR mistake with the price, I don't know how buyers would feel about this.

Some prices fluctuate and you can never really tell until you get what your receipt, what it's going to be sometimes and it gets to be a hassle.

I understand people's reluctance regarding issues and customs, but not with shipping rates because I think this is really an issue for the customer(unless it keeps taking out of YOUR pocket to ship). Not saying you can't eliminate international purchases because of this, but I don't see where it's a problem regarding shipping price for the seller when the customer's paying it, if that's your reason.

If there ends up being a shipping difference that can hurt the seller, I really think the buyer should step up to the plate and pay the difference. I know this isn't what they expected and it may seem off in someways, but I still think that's what's right.

 

1. Have you ever refused to sell outside your own country? Outside your continent? Would you? Nope, and nope... I am a worldwide friendly fox

2. What are some reasons people limit potential buyers geographically? I've never really thought about it.

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?

If someone doesn't like the amount of shipping I quote, then it is their choice to refuse. I have been known to help if it is a ridiculous amount on a full doll etc. And it really isn't any more difficult to send internationally than inland (at least in UK), so can't see how it would be affected by intellegence tbh.


4. Does a seller’s willingness to ship internationally (if stated) influence your decision to buy from them? Usually yes. If someone is only shipping to their country obviously I can't buy from them, although I have had a few nice people waive the rule when asked because it is something I really wanted



Oh and to reply to a couple of posts

We don't have any control over exchange rates ya know? It sounds a little obtuse to say that Europeans get a real lead, and that it is unfair, when European sellers don't dictate the strength of the dollar. Also from a personal standpoint, my paypal funds are always set to dollars, so as far as doll funds go I don't get any more for my money

Are you giving free shipping with your sales then? Because otherwise surely your buyer should cover the cost of postage, which is their choice to decide if it is too high or not? And I have had far more packages/letters lost by inland post than I ever have internationally.... any posted item runs a risk of getting lost, which is why I always state on my sales to purchase insured (delivery confirmed) postage or any risk is on the buyer

 

Oh.i thinck that sometimes sellers act like this/becouse they dont want to bother tham selves going to post and ETC.Ive seen much people,for example on bjdclub.ru,when selling items,they put a notice ONLY FOR MOSCOW or ONLY RUSSIA.

Luckely,i baught my doll for a girl,that lived REALY far away form me?but she shipped it to me with no problem