A question about the Marketplace and those of you who sell there.

I have sold a G2 to someone living in the Philippines, but I think I have started to check CONUS (poor Hawaii). I did think of it as more my convenience with a big enough market and not that I was depriving anyone else. I'll keep that in mind next time I sell something.
 
For the Aussies:

Can you tell us:

What kind of import duties do you have to pay?
Can we ship just USPS priority post?
Any idea if we have to fill out declaration forms?
Have items gotten hung up at the border?
I have heard of these li-ion restrictions. Do those apply to us shipping to you?

I'd like to consider a sale to down-under in the future.
 
For the Aussies:

Can you tell us:

What kind of import duties do you have to pay?
Can we ship just USPS priority post?
Any idea if we have to fill out declaration forms?
Have items gotten hung up at the border?
I have heard of these li-ion restrictions. Do those apply to us shipping to you?

Not an Aussie, but I have shipped items to buyers there so I'll try to answer some of them.

>Can we ship just USPS priority post?
That's what I have been using - other carriers like FedEx seem a lot more expensive.

>Any idea if we have to fill out declaration forms?
Yes we do

>Have items gotten hung up at the border?
Not hung up, but slowed down. Tracking seems to pause after the item leaves US. It did pick up on the "other side" after a long delay. The buyer actually contacted me since he was leaving on vacation and it seemed to take longer than anticipated.

>I have heard of these li-ion restrictions. Do those apply to us shipping to you?
Pretty sure they apply for international shipping from the US. See 349 Miscellaneous Hazardous Materials (Hazard Class 9)
"For domestic and international mailings, primary (nonrechargeable) lithium batteries are prohibited via air transportation if the batteries are shipped without the equipment they operate (individual batteries). In addition, lithium batteries are prohibited in international mailings when they are mailed with the equipment they are intended to operate."

-Thomas
 
>I have heard of these li-ion restrictions. Do those apply to us shipping to you?
Pretty sure they apply for international shipping from the US. See 349 Miscellaneous Hazardous Materials (Hazard Class 9)
"For domestic and international mailings, primary (nonrechargeable) lithium batteries are prohibited via air transportation if the batteries are shipped without the equipment they operate (individual batteries). In addition, lithium batteries are prohibited in international mailings when they are mailed with the equipment they are intended to operate."
Whooops, now there's some onion in the ointment.
 
Can we ship just USPS priority post?
Have items gotten hung up at the border?
I always pay a little extra and opt for USPS ExpressPost International. It is always here within 5 working days. Actually had a package from NYC get to me before another sent the same day from Perth. Amazing service!
NB: To be fair the best I've experienced internationally so far has to be JapanPost (on all 3 occasions the item is here within 2-3 days! Best sent Friday 6pm and I picked it up 8am Monday). Phenomenally fast and efficient EMS.

Also USPS Express saves the Customs delays for some reason - Priority is held up to 3 days, Express less than one.

I'd like to consider a sale to down-under in the future.
Done! What you offering? Happy to serve as a guinea-pig....or let's say 'wombat' just to keep it fair dinkum true-blue Aussie ;)
 
I would also like to thank everybody for clearing this out - everything makes much more sense now. I didn't know that domestic shipping is so effortless in USA; here also we have to go to post office regardless of sending the item overseas or next street :-(
 
The USPS is competing with UPS and FEDEX so they are trying to make it easier. I usually go to the post office just because I don't have a printer at home and I live in a small town so it's never much of a wait.

The battery issue is one I never thought of. Sell everything but the batteries? I usually want to sell the batteries with the body since it's not easy to sell them separately. It might be easier if we figured out the best way to do this and wrote up some basic policies. People might be more willing if there was less uncertainty. It could be a sticky in the Buy and Sell Forum.
 
>I have heard of these li-ion restrictions. Do those apply to us shipping to you?
Pretty sure they apply for international shipping from the US. See 349 Miscellaneous Hazardous Materials (Hazard Class 9)
"For domestic and international mailings, primary (nonrechargeable) lithium batteries are prohibited via air transportation if the batteries are shipped without the equipment they operate (individual batteries). In addition, lithium batteries are prohibited in international mailings when they are mailed with the equipment they are intended to operate."

-Thomas

While I believe what you write, here's another example of regulations that seem to make no sense. How is one expected to ship an electronic device without the batteries intended to power it? Are all cameras from factories in Asia put on ships only? How do B&H and Adorama ship globally? I can understand a requirement that the batteries be taken out of the device and wrapped separately. If Li-Ion batteries are so unsafe, why are they sold to consumers?
 
I would also like to thank everybody for clearing this out - everything makes much more sense now. I didn't know that domestic shipping is so effortless in USA; here also we have to go to post office regardless of sending the item overseas or next street :-(

We will become more like you over time. Our postal system is running a horrible deficit and facing cutbacks including Saturday deliveries (was supposed to be cancelled already but it got put off) and other austerities. Soon, we will need to go the Post Office to mail packages I'm sure and the hours they are open will be curtailed.

This will reduce costs for awhile, but the eventual loss of trade as people use other shippers will make their deficit even worse. The American mindset during fiscal problems is to cut so far that the situation becomes critical. It looks good for a quarter or two, then the consequences catch up. The company I work for, for instance, did this and lost even more money as shipped tons of steel went down. Duh.
 
I'll chip in my two cents. There is more safety in shipping within the US for US sellers. I ship a LOT of stuff overseas for work. Rare records go mainly to the Pacific Rim, Europe and the UK......occasionally to the US....but most leave here. Luckily I haven't been burned too many times. Paypal offers a fair number of protections to shippers that follow their rules. If I ship to a confirmed Paypal address and have proof of that mailing, I'm covered. The problem (and I understand they are working on it) is that "confirmed address" as they use the term is only currently available on US accounts. If some guy in New York buys my X-Pro1 and I buy my shipping labels through Paypal, I have proof that I shipped it (or at the very least a way to track the package). If it gets lost in the mail (or the unethical buyer claims it never arrived) I'm covered because I can prove that I shipped it to the confirmed address. Those protections are not available on transactions overseas.

So for me, part of it is not knowing how well things are delivered overseas (and every country is different) as well as not knowing how any random person on a forum may or may not be a thief (I would likely make exceptions for long time forum users such as you Sue, but the reality is that if I did and a package was legitimately lost, you would want your money back and could get it through Paypal.....and they would take it back from me....despite my proper shipping of it. The difference is that if you were an American that didn't get your package and opened a case through Paypal, you'd likely still get your money back because they also protect buyers, but they couldn't take it back from me because I can prove I sent it to you)

It's a lot of typing to say that it's just one more layer of protection. And don't forget that we American are by and large a lazy bunch of SOBs.....it's just too easy. I remember gulping really hard when I was shipping a record to Japan that I had sold for $2,500 knowing that an unethical person could attempt a chargeback. I used everything at my disposal to protect myself and a paper trail a mile long, but it was a couple stressful days.
 
I'm not a big seller on here, tried a few times, only sold once. I put usa to usa [it is easier] but always make a notation that if people want it outside of the country to ask or such... as well as if they need different shipping. If you see something you want Sue, you should probably just ask the seller. Sometimes people try to sell camera kits too and suddenly you see that they've sold only a part and have parts left. That is because people contacted them for particular pieces. It never hurts to ask. :)
 
I have the same concerns Luke mentions. I have sold an item or three to Oz and NZ, but really, when I think about it, the risk doesn't make a lot of sense.

US sellers could ask non-US buyers to pay with PP Gift or some other method that cannot be charged back, thus putting the risk on the buyer. I suppose I'd do that, though I don't like using Gift option.
 
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