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Posts: 3618
Location: GATLINBURG TENNESSEE :) | I had an offer from someone in the netherlands on my 12 string through Ebay. He appears to have a good feedback history (although all of his verifiable purchases were small). I know some of you have had some terrible experiences in selling through Paypal. I don't want to get screwed with a credit card chargeback or any other scam out there, so .....
Does anyone have some fool-proof advice for ensuring a secure overseas sale? |
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Posts: 7307
Location: South of most, North of few | Foolproof? Yes....don't do it. Andrew has shipped a lot outside the US as others here. I had a bad time with customs once, so I won't do it again. |
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Posts: 3618
Location: GATLINBURG TENNESSEE :) | WOW. I thought that might be a response I'd get right off. I am a little skiddish about the idea, and unless it could be 100% safe I wouldn't do it.
I was also thinking about the fact that I'll be flying to Germany in December, and that perhaps I could take it with me there and see about selling it when I got there. Perhaps a music store in Frankfurt would be interested in buying it. What do you thing about that idea? |
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Location: Minden, Nebraska | I've shipped well over a hundred guitars internationally without incident. |
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Location: GATLINBURG TENNESSEE :) | How have to conducted the transactions Paul? |
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December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | Originally posted by Paul Blanchard:
I've shipped well over a hundred guitars internationally without incident. maybe twice that for me
if you are really worried get a wire transfer of funds into your account.
pack well
insure to the amount of the instrument
DON"T LIE ON THE CUSTOM FORMS
but ultimately the only foolprrof was is not to do it |
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Posts: 269
Location: Nîmes, south of France | Sensitive question, and delicate answer bvince.
Because you must have trust in the buyer ...
As a person from overseas, i consider me lucky enough to have bought 3 nice guitars to OFC'ers located in the USA, without problems at each side.
If you don't know this buyer nor he can show you enough garantees -and this could be the case with Paypal- i think the best way to secure the transaction is to ask him paying through bank wire transfer or international money order.
Communication is essential, if he really is a gentleman and wants your guitar, he can understand the situation and accept the extra cost and delay. Scammers don't do so ...
My two cents. |
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January 2005
Posts: 4903
Location: Phoenix AZ | PayPal + FedEx. I've never had a problem. Many succesful transactions to buyers in Germany, France, Italy, Holland, UK, Mexico and Australia. My advice, talk to the buyer on the phone. All Dutch guys speak English at least as well as Al does. It's worth the few bucks it'll cost you for the call. If he's not willing to talk to you, he's probably not willing to pay you either. Dave |
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Location: Scotland | The only way to ensure you don't get a chargeback is to have cash deposited in your bank account by wire transfer. International Money orders and cashiers checks can take several weeks to fully clear through banking systems and can bounce. Paypal are a law unto themselves and if they decide to take money from your account for whatever reason they feel like, there's very little you can do about it. I know, it happened to my company several times, and we took a couple of big hits. At a corporate level this can be seen as the price of doing business, but you don't want it happening to you as a private individual selling an asset.
As for shipping, make sure the guitar is packed properly and is insured to it's full replacement value (customers pays for this, not you) And as Al said, don't under-declare the value on the customs form. |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Good advice from everyone. Nothing I can add except good luck! |
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February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Vince, he contacted me on my 12 string as well. Asking if I would sell to Netherlands, he was willing to pay extra shipping. I responded by asking him if he was willing to pay up to $150 in extra shipping, and all I got back was another request, very much like the first. Didn't hear from him again. |
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Posts: 709
Location: Germany | Most of my guitars where shipped with USPS, never had a problem. Dave, why do you choose FedEx? To my knowledge it costs 2-3 times of what USPS charges. Are there any other advantages?
Karl |
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Location: South of most, North of few | "All Dutch guys speak English at least as well as Al does."
:D |
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December 2004
Posts: 1673
Location: SoCal | Until you have more experience with international sales and shipping, I'd have the buyer send you the (purchase amount + shipping) via Western Union and ship via USPS.
With Western Union, you pickup the money and you do not have to worry about a charge-back.
You pay USPS the shipping charges and the recipient pays the duties on their side. If they refuse to pay the import fees, they do not receive the shipment. |
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Posts: 3618
Location: GATLINBURG TENNESSEE :) | Hey thanks to everyone for all the great advice! This place is truly a treasure trove of information and knowledge. (and a little bit of additional stuff along the way;)
It looks at the moment that it may not sell on this round. I have no problems with the idea of relisting. I think I could confidently open up to international bidders now with the up-front understanding that they will have to pay via cash wire transfer with all shipping and insurance fees paid in advance, and they will have to deal with customs on their end. If they are sincere and legitimate, there sould be no problems. And the phone call idea would also help ease concerns on both ends. I like to do that with ANY big ticket Ebay items. You can usually get a good idea as to what kind of individual you are dealing with after talking for a while on the phone. THANKS AGAIN! |
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Posts: 4903
Location: Phoenix AZ | Originally posted by Charlie Ramon:
Dave, why do you choose FedEx? To my knowledge it costs 2-3 times of what USPS charges. Are there any other advantages?
My company does several million dollars in business w/ FedEx annually. On personal shipments I get a 60% discount and they waive the dimensional fees. Plus their uniforms are SO much happier looking than UPS.
I am very big on private interprise. I would NEVER, EVER trust the US Government to ship my guitar.
Dave |
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December 2004
Posts: 1673
Location: SoCal | Originally posted by Tupperware:
...FedEx... their uniforms are SO much happier looking than UPS. I'm happy with our UPS driver's uniform!
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Location: SoCal | hmmm, for some reason, I thought you'd post that picture :D |
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Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | the guy who does my UPS pick-up/delivery doesn't look half that good in that uniform.
I've shipped a few guitars via USPS and haven't had any problems. |
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November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Originally posted by Tupperware:
I am very big on private interprise. I would NEVER, EVER trust the US Government to ship my guitar.
Dave Btw, how'd that Enron stock work out, Dave? |
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March 2007
Posts: 665
Location: Tychy, Poland | i've been on this situation "on the other side" - i ordered musicman axis SS from guy from USA, who actually had polish roots so transaction went smoothly. i paid about $180 for shipping and guitar was in Poland in 6 days. BUT then tax office looked at package insurance and added about 50% of insurance value as import tax.
And i regret doing it "right way" because i still don't have a guitar in my hands (i had to pay the tax, and now i have to wait that they will confirm that they have it, and then it will be sent to me) and this is 3rd week of waiting.
My friend is frequently buyingguitars and other stuff from some polish guy in chicago, and he's paying only about $50 for USPS normal package, uninsured and it arrives usually in 5-6 weeks. No one in tax office is even looking on those packages... next time i'll do it this way.
but - it's poland, maybe in other countries thing go more... normal. |
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September 2005
Posts: 3618
Location: GATLINBURG TENNESSEE :) | That girl looks young enough to be my daughter, twice over!
Hey! The guitar just sold for my reserve price ($850), so I won't have to deal with the overseas issue this time around anyway. (: |
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May 2002
Posts: 651
Location: Australia | Originally posted by Tupperware:
Originally posted by Charlie Ramon:
Dave, why do you choose FedEx? To my knowledge it costs 2-3 times of what USPS charges. Are there any other advantages?
My company does several million dollars in business w/ FedEx annually. On personal shipments I get a 60% discount and they waive the dimensional fees. Plus their uniforms are SO much happier looking than UPS.
I am very big on private interprise. I would NEVER, EVER trust the US Government to ship my guitar.
Dave
I'd also say buyer beware, always deal with a trusted source. |
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Any Advice for Overseas Selling?