One thing that turns me off with this hobby..

[Espen]

US based sellers which scams me with shipping charges .

I'm sorry, but i have to say it. The latest scam was when i bought a vintage swisschamp on eBay, the seller wanted 32$ for tracked shipping to Europe, i sent a "request total" asking if this was the right price because it is the highest price i have ever payed for shipping from the US. The seller responded with a higher fee, meaning that he regarded the time it took him to reply to be worth over a dollar, now totaling at 33.50 or something around there.

The end of the story is that i received the knife with regular shipping with a stamp saying that i cost 10$ to ship from the US. I told the seller that this is not something that i will accept and that i will give him a negative feedback if he did not return the what i have payed extra. The seller never responded and now it is to late for me to leave a feedback.

Let this be a warning to international buyers.

[Mr. Whippy]

If you can substantiate this, please feel free to list the seller's id.  I'm sure others would like to know what they're dealing with before bidding on an international purchase.

[Espen]

This was not a regular seller of Swiss army knives, although it is a common practice to overcharge for some of them that specialize in that as well.

For instance when i buy a couple of used classics for my collection this is not something which is gonna cost much weight-wise but the sellers still charge a markup for every individual sale so something which costs 4 dollar in honest shipping to send ends up costing about 10 dollars. I have a feeling that the "standard" charges for shipping on eBay has got something to do with it, in a way it "legitimizes" overcharging, but the end result is that i end up with a much more meager collection than one that is living in the US.

I almost never experience this when buying from European based sellers, but then again they don't have as much snacks as the US based got.

I Also have a feeling that the economy in general might be what makes people take these shortcuts.

[Sazabi]

Where are you located, Espen?  The country regions of Europe have no pattern to them, in my opinion.  Though the price is insane, for some tracked or insured packages to Europe, the price of shipping alone - in my experience - has been that high. :/  It doesn't make it right, though.

[edursr]

Well Espen,

I live in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and it happens to me all the time.

Most of the times I buy knifes from USA, eventually from Europe.

I have a 496 feedback point on ebay, and only two times the seller sent me back change from the shipping.

I'm even used to that...usually costs between 4 and 8 dollars for the seller, and usually they charge me between 10 and 20 dollars.  One time a seller tried to charge me 40 dollars, and when I refused to pay, he filled a claim against me. I complained with ebay and they removed the claim.

Well, thats it, pay or give up the collection...I pay, because I like too much this hobby, but I wish the sellers would be a little more honest... 

[stressmaster5000]

US based sellers which scams me with shipping charges .

I'm sorry, but i have to say it. The latest scam was when i bought a vintage swisschamp on eBay, the seller wanted 32$ for tracked shipping to Europe, i sent a "request total" asking if this was the right price because it is the highest price i have ever payed for shipping from the US. The seller responded with a higher fee, meaning that he regarded the time it took him to reply to be worth over a dollar, now totaling at 33.50 or something around there.

The end of the story is that i received the knife with regular shipping with a stamp saying that i cost 10$ to ship from the US. I told the seller that this is not something that i will accept and that i will give him a negative feedback if he did not return the what i have payed extra. The seller never responded and now it is to late for me to leave a feedback.

Let this be a warning to international buyers.

As much as I hate over chargers of S&H too, your statement highlighted is actually a violation of eBay's feedback extortion policy. http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/feedback-extortion.html

I buy from one eBay seller that charges much higher prices for international shipments due to his location in a rural area. He has to drive some 30 miles just to get to the nearest post office which is required for international packages. It doesn't make it right but it keeps most international buyers away so he does not have to deal with them.

Best advice I got for you is deal with someone else who lives in a city and ships international all the time.


added note: Something I do is use the "report" feature and tell eBay when I find someone who is obviously way overcharging S&H. I have seen results from this action a few times so eBay does listen and respond.

[Grant Lamontagne]

I often use a proxy buyer- someone in the US that can buy the item for me, then ship it to me at a reasonable rate.

It's not just overseas buyers.  I often see things I want to buy, then am turned off when shipping is painfully excessive.  Recently I wanted to buy some modding supplies for a couple of bucks, but decided not to when the shipping was somewhere in the neighborhood of $20-25.  For a $2 item.  No thanks...

If anyone here that lived in the US wanted to make a couple of extra bucks by shipping things on to us dirty foreigners I think he/she would be very popular.

Def

[Espen]

US based sellers which scams me with shipping charges .

I'm sorry, but i have to say it. The latest scam was when i bought a vintage swisschamp on eBay, the seller wanted 32$ for tracked shipping to Europe, i sent a "request total" asking if this was the right price because it is the highest price i have ever payed for shipping from the US. The seller responded with a higher fee, meaning that he regarded the time it took him to reply to be worth over a dollar, now totaling at 33.50 or something around there.

The end of the story is that i received the knife with regular shipping with a stamp saying that i cost 10$ to ship from the US. I told the seller that this is not something that i will accept and that i will give him a negative feedback if he did not return the what i have payed extra. The seller never responded and now it is to late for me to leave a feedback.

Let this be a warning to international buyers.

As much as I hate over chargers of S&H too, your statement highlighted is actually a violation of eBay's feedback extortion policy.
*removed link due to lacking rights to post them*

I buy from one eBay seller that charges much higher prices for international shipments due to his location in a rural area. He has to drive some 30 miles just to get to the nearest post office which is required for international packages. It doesn't make it right but it keeps most international buyers away so he does not have to deal with them.

Best advice I got for you is deal with someone else who lives in a city and ships international all the time.

The end of the story is that i did not leave a feedback and he got his stolen money. I am not the crook here. What i should have done in retrospect is to just given him a very humiliating feedback instead of sorting it out the kind way since it is obviously against eBay rules.

[Espen]

Where are you located, Espen?  The country regions of Europe have no pattern to them, in my opinion.  Though the price is insane, for some tracked or insured packages to Europe, the price of shipping alone - in my experience - has been that high. :/  It doesn't make it right, though.

Norway, home of giants.

Well Espen,

I live in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and it happens to me all the time.

Most of the times I buy knifes from USA, eventually from Europe.

I have a 496 feedback point on ebay, and only two times the seller sent me back change from the shipping.

I'm even used to that...usually costs between 4 and 8 dollars for the seller, and usually they charge me between 10 and 20 dollars.  One time a seller tried to charge me 40 dollars, and when I refused to pay, he filled a claim against me. I complained with ebay and they removed the claim.

Well, thats it, pay or give up he collection...I pay, because I like too much this hobby, but I wish the sellers would be a little more honest... 

Nice to know that i am not the only one. 

[stressmaster5000]

US based sellers which scams me with shipping charges .

I'm sorry, but i have to say it. The latest scam was when i bought a vintage swisschamp on eBay, the seller wanted 32$ for tracked shipping to Europe, i sent a "request total" asking if this was the right price because it is the highest price i have ever payed for shipping from the US. The seller responded with a higher fee, meaning that he regarded the time it took him to reply to be worth over a dollar, now totaling at 33.50 or something around there.

The end of the story is that i received the knife with regular shipping with a stamp saying that i cost 10$ to ship from the US. I told the seller that this is not something that i will accept and that i will give him a negative feedback if he did not return the what i have payed extra. The seller never responded and now it is to late for me to leave a feedback.

Let this be a warning to international buyers.

As much as I hate over chargers of S&H too, your statement highlighted is actually a violation of eBay's feedback extortion policy.
*removed link due to lacking rights to post them*

I buy from one eBay seller that charges much higher prices for international shipments due to his location in a rural area. He has to drive some 30 miles just to get to the nearest post office which is required for international packages. It doesn't make it right but it keeps most international buyers away so he does not have to deal with them.

Best advice I got for you is deal with someone else who lives in a city and ships international all the time.

added note: Something I do is use the "report" feature and tell eBay when I find someone who is obviously way overcharging S&H. I have seen results from this action a few times so eBay does listen and respond.

The end of the story is that i did not leave a feedback and he got his stolen money. I am not the crook here. What i should have done in retrospect is to just given him a very humiliating feedback instead of sorting it out the kind way since it is obviously against eBay rules.

I understand. I have been the recipient of "Over Chargers-R-Us" eBay sellers before too. I have had many difficult dealings with crotchety old farts and little help from eBay so I spent some time and learned what I can do without overstepping eBay's policies. 

One thing some might not know is now that sellers can not leave negative feedback some have resorted to saying bad things in the feedback even though it is listed as a green "positive". That is against eBay policy and you can ask eBay and they will delete the comments leaving the positive mark.

I found some very reliable eBay sellers and ditched all the rest and I just keep going back to the good sellers all the time now.

[felinevet]

I used to sell on eBay extensively and even had an eBay store. Due to excessive eBay fees and cutthroat competition I gave up my eBay store and now list very few items (non Swiss Army mostly). One of the reasons that eBay sellers jack up the shipping is to mislead buyers into seeing their sale price as better than others. Another is that shipping charges are not subject to listing and sales fees by eBay so they list something low and then make it up in shipping. I guess my best advice is to add everything together and if you feel it is still a good deal, go for it. If not, don't (I know, some stuff that we want is only available from one buyer sometimes which makes it tough). For International shipping I have gone to using Flat Rate Priority International and charge $14. (actual cost is $13.85). I will use 1st. Class International upon request but it takes much longer and is not as safe.

I do not provide tracking because 1) the U.S. is notorious for failing to scan packages at every stop along the way which makes tracking spotty; and 2) I print shipping labels right on my computer and which, unfortunately does not get entered into the postal tracking system. I live a ways from the Post Office and I would have to go to the P.O. anyway to get it scanned AFTER doing the work on my computer. On the rare occasions where things don't show up, I usually just eat it and refund the money.

[Mr. Whippy]

I just did some online checking.  Shipping to Norway (1lb ~0.5 kg) is $10.xx at the cheapest.  No insurance, no tracking.

Adding insurance, means going to the next level of shipping and the price jumps to $29.xx (upto $100 coverage, more for more expensive items).

My guess is, they charge you the higher price, ship at the lower price and gamble that it gets there.  If not, they pay out of pocket to refund your money.  Since MOST of the time it gets there, they come out $20 ahead. 

[Sazabi]

Where are you located, Espen?  The country regions of Europe have no pattern to them, in my opinion.  Though the price is insane, for some tracked or insured packages to Europe, the price of shipping alone - in my experience - has been that high. :/  It doesn't make it right, though.

Norway, home of giants.

If I recall, the cheapest USPS method for tracking and insurance is Express Mail; Norway is in country region 5, so if the package is under 0.51 pounds, the cost is $30; if it's a pound, the cost is $35.  If they ship it via first class (~$10 for a pound) or Priority ($15 for a small flatrate box; $45 for medium, and on up), but charge Express Mail prices, though, that's highway robbery. 

[Gareth]

I don't mind paying a few extra bucks over the actual shipping cost, as others have said there are additional costs involved; actual packing material, potentially travel to the PO, and the senders time.  The last is one we don't seem to think of much but I don't think it's unfair, especially if it's a business they're trying to run.  BUT charging $20 over the actual cost of shipping is daylight robbery if you ask me.

[Mr. Whippy]

I don't mind paying a few extra bucks over the actual shipping cost, as others have said there are additional costs involved; actual packing material, potentially travel to the PO, and the senders time.  The last is one we don't seem to think of much but I don't think it's unfair, especially if it's a business they're trying to run.  BUT charging $20 over the actual cost of shipping is daylight robbery if you ask me.

To be fair, In my example, the seller is essentially supplying insurance to the buyer (rather than purchasing the service from the USPS).  If the postal service is good, he makes out well.  If it's bad, he'll be out of business.

[Crouton]

I never bid on anything that has excessive shipping charges.

If you know the shipping prior to confirming your bid then you accepted that you would pay the shipping price regardless of what it is.

[jazzbass]

I just did some online checking.  Shipping to Norway (1lb ~0.5 kg) is $10.xx at the cheapest.  No insurance, no tracking.

Adding insurance, means going to the next level of shipping and the price jumps to $29.xx (upto $100 coverage, more for more expensive items).

My guess is, they charge you the higher price, ship at the lower price and gamble that it gets there.  If not, they pay out of pocket to refund your money.  Since MOST of the time it gets there, they come out $20 ahead. 

Personally, I think that's exactly what happened. It's a big gamble on the seller's part, too. A dishonest buyer could simply say they never received the package. Without tracking and delivery confirmation, the seller can't prove otherwise, and eBay will side with the buyer 100% of the time and take the money back from the seller.

Some argue that if you pay the $30 the seller should have to spend all of the $30 on shipping. I guess I can see it both ways - the end result to you, the buyer, is the same isn't it? You pay $30 for shipping and if you don't get your item you get your money back. The only difference is whether the seller paid the extra $20 to the USPS for insurance or kept the $20 as "self insurance".

I don't sell on eBay a lot, and when I do I try to avoid international shipping for exactly this reason. Most times it simply isn't worth the trouble. If you charge the full $30 price, the buyers get angry and want to leave negative feedback for exorbitant shipping. If you self-insure, they get angry that you charged them too much. All buyers want you to ship as cheap as possible to save them money, regardless of how that leaves you exposed financially on the transaction. You can ship USPS First Class for $5, but now you as a seller completely vulnerable to foreign post offices, the USPS, and potentially dishonest buyers. Most long time eBay sellers have countries they won't ship to (Spain, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico) because they've been screwed by shipping there before. I personally have a problem charging $30 for $10 shipping, so I just try to avoid eBay international altogether.

All that said, this is 2011 and the international postal system is pretty damn reliable. Most of my international dealings now are private transactions with collectors I've met here, on knifeforums, or on other web forums. Since I know these collectors, the "dishonest buyer" part of the equation you have to worry about on eBay is completely gone. All you have to worry about is the postal system - which as of yet, hasn't lost anything I've sent or has been sent to me (knock wood).

[sawman]

Very good point.  The seller takes a big risk selling to international buyers and I to a point understand them marking up the shipping for "insurance" purposes.  I'll tell you all, as an occassional seller, how I handled this problem:  I quit selling international on Ebay.  I cannot take the chance that Ebay freezes my money until an overseas buyer hopefully leaves positive feedback thus relinquishing MY money.  Not to mention the time involved in customs forms and having to wait in line instead of using the drop-off station which is not available for international mailing.  When it comes to the forums however, I make every attempt to charge exact at-cost shipping to my international buyers - afterall, this isn't Ebay   

[felinevet]

Very good point.  The seller takes a big risk selling to international buyers and I to a point understand them marking up the shipping for "insurance" purposes.  I'll tell you all, as an occassional seller, how I handled this problem:  I quit selling international on Ebay.  I cannot take the chance that Ebay freezes my money until an overseas buyer hopefully leaves positive feedback thus relinquishing MY money.  Not to mention the time involved in customs forms and having to wait in line instead of using the drop-off station which is not available for international mailing.  When it comes to the forums however, I make every attempt to charge exact at-cost shipping to my international buyers - afterall, this isn't Ebay   

I agree. I don't sell Internationally on eBay at all. I only deal Internationally with folks on the forums that I know I can trust.

[Guardian]

and you always give excellent service Tim!! :

[Neil]

Some countries postal systems are better than others, you learn the hard way.  As a result there are some countries I will only ship tracked to.  I always charge postage at cost but that can still be expensive.  A Swisstool by itself with only basic tracking to Brazil would cost over eleven pounds, that's just under thirty reais or around eighteen US dollars

[nsa-x-file]

and you always give excellent service Tim!! :

I second that!

[Carlos]

For me, worst than shipping costs, is the customs surcharge. All stuff coming outside EU is subject to an array of taxes that adds a typical 35% extra cost regarding the TOTAL order cost. Also it means an usual 2-3 week stoppage at customs.

[Sgt Bash]

Sorry to hear it was a painful transaction. I have been buying on Ebay now for 8 years plus and never had a problem with either import taxes (all the sellers have been very creative with their customs paperwork bless their little socks  ) or the shipping. Any potential probs have been avoided by an exchange of email and a little patience. (and yes paid tracking is pointless as tracking numbers only work up to the borders of the country of origin)

I buy a lot to try out and then if it doesnt suit I sell it locally here in the Netherlands (we have a local version of ebay called Marktplaats which has all the benefits but no charges up to 100 euros).

I always check the price + shipping first, do a quick conversion with a  conservative rate then see if I can find cheaper in the EU. Most often not so back to the bay or over to Tim  .

I think what I'm  trying to say is find the sellers that work with you so you both get what you want and support them. Take what you need and discard the rest.

Sarge

[MultiMat]

I won a small decorative Victorinox pin for under $3 on US Ebay & the seller wanted to charge $25 to ship  .
Fortunately a US buddy became my middle man & it cost $2 too ship too him .
I have been known to rather cheekily bid on items & then ask if they are happy to ship to Australia. I figure if they are not happy they should of set the auction up to block non US bidders. Every time I have done this bar 1 it has not been a problem. I often sweet talk sellers that have 'US only shipping' to let me bid on cool items or let me bid & us a US buddy as a middle man.
Always try & establish shipping charges before committing if you can or have a plan B  .
I have found a couple US Ebay sellers that do exceptional combined shipping deals  .
You can not go wrong with Tim at FelineVet ----> http://felinevet.sosakonline.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1
EDC Source is good place to find sellers that ship overseas too ---> http://www.edcsource.com/