Problem: US ebay sellers who won't ship overseas

[TerraHertz]

I suppose this is an annoyance for everyone outside the USA. It's certainly been a nuisance for me on multiple occasions.  The latest instance being this:
  http://www.ebay.com/itm/160989292321
  Boonton Radio Corporation Q-Standard Inductor Type 518-A1 And 518-A2 Lot of 2

These are for that HP 4342A Q-Meter I bought recently, see http://everist.org/tales/20130215_The_Q_meter.htm

For proper calibration, one needs several of these Q-standard coils. I've bought three so far. See: http://everist.org/archives/scans/Boonton_Q_Standard/!_Boonton_Q_standards.htm
(Complete data as a RarBook here: http://everist.org/archives/scans/Boonton_Q_Standard/RarBook-Boonton_Q_standards.jpg )

Sometimes US sellers legally cannot sell items overseas, due to restrictions on resale of govt/mil surplus gear. The restrictions may be stupid, but it's not the seller's fault. In other cases, like this nextstepreuse mob, what's their problem? If it wasn't so annoying, their hypocrisy would be amusing. Check out this moral babble from their listing:

NextStep Recycling seeks to create a network of people who are committed to the shared values of the preservation of our environment and to bridging the digital divide. NextStep recognizes that the ability to use technology is becoming increasingly important in the workplace. NextStep understands that social and economic injustice, racial and ethnic inequality, and ecological loss affect all people. NextStep s mission is to address the digital divide and the impact electronics waste has on our environment.

But they're not going to sell to any nasty non-USA people, outside the 'digital divide' of the US borders, oh nooooo.

This bit is especially good:

International customers, please ask about shipping options before bidding.

Which implies they actually have international customers. But I don't think so. Their ebay store refuses to accept questions from non-US members, and they totally don't respond to queries via the contact form on their website. It seems they are just hypocrites, and don't even want to admit they refuse to deal with international customers.
I tried snipe bidding anyway (nearly twice the value it went for) but got 'bid blocked'.

Well, rant over. Other ones of these will come up eventually, I'm sure.

My question, for forum members in the USA and elsewhere, does anyone know of a reliable, reasonably priced proxy bidding and parcel forwarding service in the USA? Something that provides a way to get around these petty ebay seller types that refuse to deal with 'damned foreigners.'

[PeterG]

I no longer look at US sellers on ebay. They either don't ship to aus or try to charge $150 shipping fir a $20 item.

Regards

[TerraHertz]

I no longer look at US sellers on ebay. They either don't ship to aus or try to charge $150 shipping fir a $20 item.

Hmm... Your experience is atypical, I think. Most are OK, and although USPS rates went up recently, generally I find shipping rates are acceptable. I've tried several shipping methods - USPS, air and surface, Fedex, direct airport-to-airport air freight, and even a pallet load one time. It is a long way, and you pay for the weight and volume. It's just necessary to learn the ropes.

If you can win the item you want, and know what to expect in shipping costs, the biggest risk is idiot sellers who won't pack items well enough for international freight.
But with sellers who just refuse to even speak with you, and block bids, something besides flexibility is required.
Sledge hammers come to mind.

[johnh]

Thats were a freight fowarder comes in.

I have signed up for Shipto     http://www.shipito.com/ 

I asked a question several weeks ago about frieght fowarders and digisys mentioned Shipito.
I was talking to a colleague about this and he mentioned that he has been using ShipIto for over a year. ( He is into music stuff, amps, guitars etc).  He initially was using the per item service but changed to the yearly subscription.
He is very happy with the service.    You can store stuff for 90 days and consolidate packages and then select who/how you want to ship it back home.

[ignator]

My observation is the problem is eBay, and it's way over the top, the customer is always right.  When the seller gets screwed with selling something that the end customer say's was misrepresented, or never was delivered, adding in the extra pain to ship outside the country with EARS and ITARS paperwork (and electronics falls in this category).  All it takes a one memory of being screwed to shut the sales off to anywhere outside the USA.  And eBay keeps making changes that "improve" the customer experience, which beats the sellers into "we don't ship outside the continental 48".

[TerraHertz]

I have signed up for Shipto     http://www.shipito.com/ 

Thanks! From their website, that sounds very promising.
One problem though - they'll only do buying assist for ebay buy it now items.

Which leaves the problem of how to bid on items, via an ebay account that appears to be someone in the USA.

[BravoV]

One problem though - they'll only do buying assist for ebay buy it now items.

Which leaves the problem of how to bid on items, via an ebay account that appears to be someone in the USA.

This, that made me reluctantly to use them for ebay purchase. 

[Neganur]

You can bid on US restricted auctions when your primary shipping address is set to an US address. The account itself does not have to be originated in the US.

You can rent a phone number in any US state with Skype. Add to that a shipping address provided by your Shopito account and you're ready to enter a new shipping address to your US account.

You cannot however, circumvent the seller's buyer restriction setting in his Paypal account. It won't let you pay unless you have a US PayPal account (impossible without a USbank account)

Sending the required legal documents to shipito takes time, be patient - this will not work if you're in a hurry and open an account today.

[ttp]

I no longer look at US sellers on ebay. They either don't ship to aus or try to charge $150 shipping fir a $20 item.

Regards

+1

[maca_404]

On a side note,  I have found if I want to buy something from a Chinese sellers on aus ebay who ships world wide if I search for the same items on us ebay alot of the time I can get it cheaper shipping and all.

[Wuerstchenhund]

My observation is the problem is eBay, and it's way over the top, the customer is always right. 

Not in my experience (which now goes back over 12 years). Many cases are decided against the buyer, it simply depends on the circumstances and the person looking at your case.

And not sending abroad does not protect you from complaints by the buyer. In fact, when I lived in the US I had less complaints from abroad buyers than from US buyers.

When the seller gets screwed with selling something that the end customer say's was misrepresented, or never was delivered, adding in the extra pain to ship outside the country with EARS and ITARS paperwork (and electronics falls in this category).

For proof of delivery there is tracked shipping (required by Paypal Seller Protection anyways), and for claims of misrepresentation proper documentation (i.e. taking some pictures before shipping the item) can help as well as requesting proof from the claimant.

And as someone who deals with ITAR regularly I can tell you that the majority of electronics stuff sold on ebay US does not fall under ITAR at all, so that's a non-isse. The paperwork for sending something like a scope or a multimeter abroad takes less than 5 mins, unless you ship stuff to countries like Cuba or Iran.

All it takes a one memory of being screwed to shut the sales off to anywhere outside the USA.  And eBay keeps making changes that "improve" the customer experience, which beats the sellers into "we don't ship outside the continental 48".

My experience with US sellers over the years is that this is less a problem with ebay and mostly a problem with their particular attitude. Some don't give a damn about what's outside 'Gods Own Country', and are just not interested in dealing with the outside world at all (or simply hate foreigners). Others are simply not familiar with the process (and imagine it to be much more complicated than it really is). And then there are those that think their old crap cannot be send abroad as they believe it falls under 'sensitive technology', completely ignoring that the same item has been exported without issues for over a decade and that dozens are available outside the US.

But at the end of the day, not selling outside the US means cutting off their access to markets much larger than the US one (i.e. Europe), which means they artificially limit their customer base and the profit they can make, essentially just harming themselves.

[justanothercanuck]

Heck, some US sellers won't even ship to Canada, and we're not getting any closer...   

[Anquietas]

I no longer look at US sellers on ebay. They either don't ship to aus or try to charge $150 shipping fir a $20 item.

Regards

This^10. $150 shipping for $20 item is somewhat exaggerated, but there was a very nice $350 almost new Tektronix 2465B rack mount for sale I would've been interested in obtaining, but it was $150 shipping, which is insane and ridiculous. I ended up going for a local-ish seller.

[Dagon]

I've used borderlinxs couple of times in the past. Good, but not particularly cheap when I used 'em. Basically courier prices which limited their usefulness for smaller items.www.borderlinx.com/

[vlf3]

I encountered this problem of not wanting to supply outside of the USA, some years ago now; one supplier I had used was Dan's Small Parts.

It turned out the US customs clamped down to the degree that; any single resistor or part, need to have a photo identification, it's weight, and monetary value, with a declaration form each...  thus, if I wanted 25 of the same item, he had to produce 25 repeat documents, one for each part no matter if it was the same part... for Dan's that was an impossible task, to supply overseas with too-much paper work.

A sad day for myself, as he had a great range of RF and hardware parts at good prices.   

[mikeselectricstuff]

I encountered this problem of not wanting to supply outside of the USA, some years ago now; one supplier I had used was Dan's Small Parts.

It turned out the US customs clamped down to the degree that; any single resistor or part, need to have a photo identification, it's weight, and monetary value, with a declaration form each...  thus, if I wanted 25 of the same item, he had to produce 25 repeat documents, one for each part no matter if it was the same part... for Dan's that was an impossible task, to supply overseas with too-much paper work.

I don't believe that for a minute - sounds like he either misunderstood or was just fobbing you off.

[c4757p]

It turned out the US customs clamped down to the degree that; any single resistor or part, need to have a photo identification, it's weight, and monetary value, with a declaration form each...  thus, if I wanted 25 of the same item, he had to produce 25 repeat documents, one for each part no matter if it was the same part... for Dan's that was an impossible task, to supply overseas with too-much paper work.

Bullshit.

[TerraHertz]

Bullshit.

You took the word out of my mouth. Good 'ol Dan was laying it on thick there.
Considering the piles of stuff I've bought from the US, and no mention from the sellers of any such problems.
Also given examples like a Tek 7104 1GHz analog scope, and *two* HP 54121T 20GHz digital scopes. All of which were most definitely on US export restriction lists once upon a time, but no longer. No special paperwork at all required.

[vlf3]

For all your Bullshit... I am telling it as I was given.   

[c4757p]

Dan was full of crap then.

[c4757p]

(Quote from another thread)

You might find the BNC from Dan's USA: 

http://www.danssmallpartsandkits.net/

Dan's page looks rather... interesting. I know I shouldn't judge people by how good they are at the Internet, and blah blah small businesses, but I can't help being entirely unsurprised by your experience with him.

[Bored@Work]

It turned out the US customs clamped down to the degree that; any single resistor or part, need to have a photo identification, it's weight, and monetary value, with a declaration form each...  thus, if I wanted 25 of the same item, he had to produce 25 repeat documents, one for each part no matter if it was the same part... for Dan's that was an impossible task, to supply overseas with too-much paper work.

Dan must have stepped on the wrong guy's foot, badly.

[Wuerstchenhund]

It turned out the US customs clamped down to the degree that; any single resistor or part, need to have a photo identification, it's weight, and monetary value, with a declaration form each...  thus, if I wanted 25 of the same item, he had to produce 25 repeat documents, one for each part no matter if it was the same part... for Dan's that was an impossible task, to supply overseas with too-much paper work.

I guess he also had some bridges to sell then 

[SeanB]

I have met those kind of government worker. Either change office to another, or snow them under paperwork, or better still get the supervisor to snow them under.

[tom66]

So, according to Dan, if you sold a packet of e.g. salt, you would need documentation for each individual part?