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Whats the deal with CONUS only?

#43
Having shipped overseas before, as well as to Canada, numerous times, I can tell you that it is fraught with risk as well as extra red tape. I’ll do it, but I also would rather avoid it. I’ve never lost anything, but it’s not unusual for stuff to go MIA from tracking then reappear.
 
#44
MegaSwing said:
Having shipped overseas before, as well as to Canada, numerous times, I can tell you that it is fraught with risk as well as extra red tape. I’ll do it, but I also would rather avoid it. I’ve never lost anything, but it’s not unusual for stuff to go MIA from tracking then reappear.
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I've been importing classic car and bass guitar/bass parts for 25 years as well as shipping (including engines and parts going to Europe) and have never had an issue. Perhaps you could provide some detail on this risk and red tape you speak of?
 
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#45
It's easier to ship in the US, why add more hassle? Also, unless PayPal's terms of service have changed, when you use a forwarding service like BonVu, you lose buyer protection. If you're the seller and don't ship to a PayPal authorized address, you lose seller protection.
 
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#46
Bruce Johnson said:
A solution to your immediate problem is a company called BonVu (Bonvu.com). They specialize in exactly what you are asking for: Handling shipment of individual items overseas. They built up their business to help Europeans buy items on US Ebay. But now they provide the service almost worldwide, either direction.

It works like this: They are in Austin, TX. When you buy the bass, you have the Seller ship the bass to BonVu in Texas, which they should be willing to do. BonVu checks the packaging, does all the Customs paperwork, and books it on a plane to your country. At your end, you can pick it up at the airport, or they will have your local delivery service take it to your door. You pay BonVu for the whole deal, including any Customs or Import Fees. They will tell you the total price up front, before it ships, and you can do quick estimates right on their web site.

This service sounds expensive, but amazingly enough, it's usually less expensive overall than if you process the shipment yourself directly through one of the shippers (UPS, FedEx, DHL). They work with all the shippers, and have good rates with them.

And, most important, they know what they are doing handling all the paperwork through Customs. They do it all electronically, and it's all cleared through Customs at the other end, before your shipment leaves Austin. If there's some hangup, your bass sits in BonVu's warehouse while they clear it up. It doesn't disappear into a Customs dept forever. They ship a lot of individual musical instruments, and are completely familiar with all the rules and laws and import fees, etc. You'll get a straight answer up front from them on the total cost.

I've used BonVu's service maybe ten times to ship basses to England, Germany, Spain and Japan. Very simple and trouble-free, and not expensive.

Also, if you are selling a Bass in the US, and get an inquiry from a potential buyer in Europe, you can quickly get a quote on the full price to ship it to Europe. Let the buyer make the arrangements with BonVu and pay for it. Then you just ship the bass to Austin.
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Your post should become a sticky! Great info! Thanks, @Bruce Johnson!
 
#47
IME is because of the hassle that comes with dealing with problems should they arise. I’ve sold pedals and basses overseas and I always have three conditions: 1. Seller pays for the shipping and insurance, 2. The seller assumes all risk and problems once I drop it off and give them a shipping confirmation, and 3. Absolutely no refunds.
 
#48
When selling, I often include shipping in the price as CONUS only, but am willing to ship - and have shipped - elsewhere (Canada, Brazil, Europe, South Korea, China, via US expediter) if appropriate provisions are made re shipping cost and insurance. But I have no patience for wheedlers looking for lowball value declarations. And as a buyer, I once was clobbered by an idiot seller in Canada. Permit me to share this tale of aggravation - which came out right in the end, but was an enormous PITA.

I negotiated purchase of used self-powered ATC loudspeakers from Canada, at about 40% of then-list price, which was appropriate for age and very good condition. Seller assures he's shipped large speakers before and had good feeback on Audiogon. It's a four-box project - two speakers, two solid metal stands. UPS, insured.

I wait. I wait. I wait some more. One stand shows up, in a weird box. Then one speaker shows up, and it's a disaster - underpacked in a pseudo-crate, so the box is broken and the speaker sustains some damage to its finish, particularly on a corner, and the grill cloth.

I contact the seller before I initiate a damage claim with UPS...and learn that the seller, wlthout telling me, declared the value at a ridiculously low price - essentially, 5% of the sale price! He said he thought he was doing me a solid on the customs fees - I think he was chiseling on the cost of insurance, while I'd told him I'd cover a gross-up in price to ensure adequate coverage!

Then the second stands shows up. It's fine, but being bombproof, that's no surprise.

Finally, about 10 days after the first item arrives, I come home from work to find the second speaker on my doorstep. Just the speaker. No box, just 120 pounds of speaker, with a nasty UPS sticker marring the finish..but that was small potatoes, as all corners had some damage, two of which were really chewed up, some scratches on the sides, a cracked frame for the speaker grill, and one of the grab rails for the amp module - made of steel - was bent at a 20-degree angle! Also a hairline crack in the baffle to which the speakers were mounted.

Yikes.

I deal with UPS - they point out that the packaging sucked, but pay up to the declared value, which was peanuts. I sought recourse through Paypal - a complete joke. The seller was unrepentant, and tried to duck me as I sought some compensation for his miserable performance.

Then things start to come out right. I contact my credit card company, and they were fabulous. They basically rescinded or froze my payment to the seller, so he had to deal with me. I took the speakers to the local ATC repair rep (Charlie Bolois, who is a master studio and recording tech in LA - truly great to deal with), who reported that the speaker elements and amps were all fine (go, ATC - they build for a lifetime of use), we arranged for replacement speaker grilles and frames, and Charlie straightened out the bent amp rail. And the cosmetic issues have been somewhat addressed over time.

The seller and I ultimately agreed to a final sale price that was 1/2 of the original deal.

And twelve years later, those speakers continue to sing. I see the bad corners (fortuantely, in the back top) and grimace, but enjoy world-class performance from a speaker design that continues to be manufactured, and which now sells for 6x what I paid for mine.

But I also had a huge amount of hassle and anxiety that I'd been screwed over.

So when I ship abroad, I pack the heck out of stuff, and don't send big, heavy things, and insist on full declared value, for the buyer's own protection if shipping goes bad - if they can't get on board with that, then no deal.

And this goes to show why folks are hinky about shipping beyond CONUS.
 
#49
The same goes when buying on basschat.co.uk, for some reason the status quo there is that the buyer arranges pickup from the sellers home. Pretty expensive and a hassle if you're not familiar with the British postal system. I'm not doing that again. Why is it such a problem to drop a package at your local post office? Just give me a price and I'll pay for it.

Rant over.
 
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#51
For me the deal breaker is the possibility of a customer complaint and what goes along with it. As a seller , you end up taking a big loss in time and money.

If buyer and seller are in the USA, and the buyer wants compensation because he sees a “face in the wood grain” or “pedal with no box “, then he can simply send it back to me for a full refund (never partial, either you like the bass or not!)

If the buyer is out of the county customer complaints get extremely complicated. I’m not gonna risk that !
 
#53
As far as I know, there's no tracking once an item leaves the US. You can use the customs form number to get some information. But I've had things disappear for a worryingly long time before finally being delivered. And if there's a problem, it's often more difficult to resolve. I've done it, but I don't enjoy it.

I'll ship to the US and Canada these days. That's it.
 
#54
Here in New Zealand, one of the major postal services (NZPost) can provide an American postal address if a retailer can’t or won’t ship internationally. The retailer ships to that address and then NZPost takes responsibility for shipping the item internationally. It’s called YouShop. Perhaps there’s a similar service in Canada…


laklandfan07 said:
I get it, mailing a rather expensive piece of gear across a border may seem intimidating to a degree. But if a buyer is willing to pay the shipping and obviously accepts duties, why are so many reluctant? The buyer accepts all the risk and Im just in CANADA haha

I inquired on a bass on Reverb and they stated CONUS only, only to further drop the price a few days later. Even still, they said no dice when i followed up. It’s dropped 30% since it went up originally so i assume they want it offloaded.

anyway, just venting haha. Is there like an extra charge or some kind of additional liability Americans take on when shipping to another country?

i just want to give you money for your bass, but you would rather drop the price than ship within the same continent?
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#59
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