• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

What's so bad about international shipping?

jawbfl

Active Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2020
Messages
122
Likes
70
Location
Morocco
I've been trying to acquire some equipment through ASR, AVexchange, ebay etc, obviously 99% of sellers are based in the US and the common condition is CONUS only. I'm not sure why this is the case? what's so bad about international shipping? I guess it's the same as US shipping except the higher rate which I'm willing to pay of course, I'm just curious.
 
I've been trying to acquire some equipment through ASR, AVexchange, ebay etc, obviously 99% of sellers are based in the US and the common condition is CONUS only. I'm not sure why this is the case? what's so bad about international shipping? I guess it's the same as US shipping except the higher rate which I'm willing to pay of course, I'm just curious.

Not counting the fact that around 80% of the people over there believe the rest of the world is a jungle where parcels are delivered on the back of donkeys ;) there are quite a few complications involved in selling significant stuff abroad. It is not only the shipping per se, but the administrativia.

https://www.avalara.com/us/en/learn...nd-duty-mistakes-you-cant-afford-to-make.html

Most of the Brexit woes on top of rushed and peculiar regulations boils down to a lack of import-export specialists.

Wrong tariff code, wrong packaging and/or labeling and the receiving end may find itself in a world of hurt and will then blame the seller.
 
It's a little more hassle to set it up. Shipments can get hung up in customs creating a headache for the shipper and receiver.

I got shipments from the US before, postal shipments are rarely caught in customs. Even when it's held by customs, the seller is never involved, I just pay and clear it.
 
Not counting the fact that around 80% of the people over there believe the rest of the world is a jungle where parcels are delivered on the back of donkeys.
Some countries are in fact something like that. My company sold something to a customer in Yemen that took about two years to be delivered because of the war.
 
I got shipments from the US before, postal shipments are rarely caught in customs. Even when it's held by customs, the seller is never involved, I just pay and clear it.
I have dealt with headaches from customs. Even shipping US to Canada. You don't know what you might be up against if you say you'll ship anywhere.
 
Not counting the fact that around 80% of the people over there believe the rest of the world is a jungle where parcels are delivered on the back of donkeys ;) there are quite a few complications involved in selling significant stuff abroad. It is not only the shipping per se, but the administrativia.

https://www.avalara.com/us/en/learn...nd-duty-mistakes-you-cant-afford-to-make.html

Most of the Brexit woes on top of rushed and peculiar regulations boils down to a lack of import-export specialists.

Wrong tariff code, wrong packaging and/or labeling and the receiving end may find itself in a world of hurt and will then blame the seller.

Though I think the first part is somewhat true, I don't think it's the reason because even Europe and Canada are excluded. The second part is for businesses I shipped so many items abroad and never had to fill anything for customs, just an address and post it.
 
I have dealt with headaches from customs. Even shipping US to Canada. You don't know what you might be up against if you say you'll ship anywhere.

Can you elaborate what kind of issues? AFAIK you don't have to deal with anything as the sender, worse case the buyer abandons the shipment and it's returned.
 
If I was a US vendor I would have the world's biggest, richest marketplace right there so the incentive to seek opportunities elsewhere is accordingly small. Other really huge countries such as Russia, China, India, Brazil also have big vendors and big online marketplaces which don't feel the need to bother with international customers.
 
The second part is for businesses I shipped so many items abroad and never had to fill anything for customs, just an address and post it.

You may get away with some small parcels now and then as a private user if their value is declared and low. Heck, you may get away with a no value, no insurance "gift" now and then. But for the rest... I exported to 90+ countries in the late 90ies early 2000. Always the same type of thing (my product) so paperwork was essentially a meticulous routine. But paperwork there was... Incidentally, our software fell, at least partially, under ITAR (when it became a thing) https://www.millercanfield.com/resources-417.html too...

AFAIK you don't have to deal with anything as the sender, worse case the buyer abandons the shipment and it's returned.

The sender remains responsible for what he sends. In fact, the actual sender is more legally and financially exposed than the buyer. By default, if what he sends is illegal in some way (which these days could simply be an improperly sent battery) for example.

If the buyer abandons the goods (say a pair of speakers), they will only be returned automatically if the sender has provisioned the fee with the carrier, or if the sender pays the return fee when informed by the carrier. Other than that, it gets destroyed, impounded and sold, storage and administrative fees pile up, depending...

If UCC, Incoterms, HTS US etc don't ring a bell, you are really talking without knowing the subject, or in other words, your post are poor quality goods sold FOB ;)
 
If I was a US vendor I would have the world's biggest, richest marketplace right there so the incentive to seek opportunities elsewhere is accordingly small. Other really huge countries such as Russia, China, India, Brazil also have big vendors and big online marketplaces which don't feel the need to bother with international customers.

We're not talking about big vendors, only one time sellers, but that argument is holds true since a US resident would prefer a quick transaction, thus this post, I wanted to know how difficult it is to offer a fair compensation for the troubles.
 
If I was a US vendor I would have the world's biggest, richest marketplace right there so the incentive to seek opportunities elsewhere is accordingly small. Other really huge countries such as Russia, China, India, Brazil also have big vendors and big online marketplaces which don't feel the need to bother with international customers.
The EU is almost as big as the US in terms of GDP, and we also have free trade. Looking at it Europe in terms of single countries is stupid. Only China and Japan are relevant then.
 
You may get away with some small parcels now and then as a private user if their value is declared and low. Heck, you may get away with a no value, no insurance "gift" now and then. But for the rest... I exported to 90+ countries in the late 90ies early 2000. Always the same type of thing (my product) so paperwork was essentially a meticulous routine. But paperwork there was... Incidentally, our software fell, at least partially, under ITAR (when it became a thing) https://www.millercanfield.com/resources-417.html too...



The sender remains responsible for what he sends. In fact, the actual sender is more legally and financially exposed than the buyer. By default, if what he sends is illegal in some way (which these days could simply be an improperly sent battery) for example.

If the buyer abandons the goods (say a pair of speakers), they will only be returned automatically if the sender has provisioned the fee with the carrier, or if the sender pays the return fee when informed by the carrier. Other than that, it gets destroyed, impounded and sold, storage and administrative fees pile up, depending...

If UCC, Incoterms, HTS US etc don't ring a bell, you are really talking without knowing the subject, or in other words, your post are poor quality goods sold FOB ;)

I'm actually working with clients to solve exports issues between the UK and EU due to Brexit, I'm no expert but I have a fair idea of the subject so you can sell your high quality expertise DAP ;)

I can only comment on my country, I don't know how is it in the US, as a person you can send packages from time to time without declarations, if you over do it then you'll be flagged and have to register with customs and do things as a business. I also received packages from individuals in the US without any issue. Regarding returns I sent packages to Europe and were returned but I didn't pay any extra or was even contacted, I never sent anything as a business so I can't comment on that.

The idea behind this post is I want feedback from people who shipped internationally small relatively cheap packages from the US, I'm just curious what's the inconvenience to offer a fair compensation if possible.
 
You can ask for items to be sent to a shipper in USA, who can ship to you.

I used shipping agents in China and the experience was good, I looked into some in the US but they have some scary low ratings, probably the best option if I find a trust worthy shipper.
 
I've been trying to acquire some equipment through ASR, AVexchange, ebay etc, obviously 99% of sellers are based in the US and the common condition is CONUS only. I'm not sure why this is the case? what's so bad about international shipping? I guess it's the same as US shipping except the higher rate which I'm willing to pay of course, I'm just curious.
IMO the USA is a big market and so dealers have no need to deal internationally to do an acceptable volume of business and knowledge of the rest of the world isn't much taught either IME, so dealers in the USA tend to be happier with domestic sales.
It is a shame since the US is often the cheapest place to buy stuff but after years of experience I don't buy from the US except when I am there, which I used to be several times a year but now haven't visited for > 10 years.
Buying in the EU has been easy here for 40 years but we have gone back to more or less how it used to be again so more of a pita.
 
For me, eBay sales within the USA during the first half of 2020 were amazing, whereas I only saw one or two winning bids being placed by Canadians. It's possible that the cost of eBay's Global Shipping Program worked as a disincentive to overseas buyers, but I did have the sense that USA shoppers were very busy right through the middle of summer which would normally be a quiet time.
 
I used shipping agents in China and the experience was good, I looked into some in the US but they have some scary low ratings, probably the best option if I find a trust worthy shipper.

Used shipito.com many times without any hassle. Not during covid though, so yeah.. probably not the best time using these..
 
In Canada, you have to pay "customs clearance fees" even when no customs duties are liable (usually the case when the product is made in the US). Clearance fees can be a significant percentage of the purchase price (~20%). It's a recipe for unhappy buyers and I can understand why US firms wouldn't want to ship north of the border.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: PSO
I just cancelled a subscription to an annual academic journal published in the US. Shipping, customs, vat and handling were about 100% of the orginal price. And I had to collect it from some depot to pay for all these extras.
 
Back
Top Bottom