Selling to someone in another country


I notice a lot of listings say US only. What are the problems selling to someone in other than the US?
sabrejet

Showing 3 responses by mitch2

I have had significant problems purchasing from Canada due to seller's lack of a NAFTA certificate, and subsequent duty, brokerage, and state tax fees I had to pay above the advertised item price and shipping costs. These costs were significant and not incidental. I recently investigated shipping electronics I was selling to Canada and found several potential pitfalls related to how you identify the item, the associated fees, and who pays those fees (buyer or seller), and when. Maybe I just do not know the ropes well enough, but until I can find a guide of some sort that explains fail-safe methods of trading across borders, I will not take the risk again. I would find it quite helpful if maybe Audiogon could take the lead here and add a section explaining recommended procedures and potential considerations when trading across borders, with specific guidelines for Canada, Asia, etc. Do any of you know of existing resources for that information?
Rambone, you are lucky things have worked out for you. My problem was a purchase from a Canadian who neglicted to include a valid NAFTA agreement for goods manufactured in Canada. FedEx did not want to deliver the package until I hounded them for a couple of weeks, even though tracking said it had crossed the border, then the brokerage bill was huge and much larger than the quote by FedEx Trade Network. FedEx when called said FTN was an entirely different entity and they had no control over what happened with brokerage. It took over 6 months to iron out the NAFTA thing and still cost a lot, and finally, I got a bill for close to $200 in state sales tax thanks to FedEx notifying them. The tax bill was based on the insured price, not the actual purchase price (which was lower), but I just paid it to get things over with. I understand when shipping to Canada, if the buyer does not pay the brokerage (for whatever reason) the shipper will come back on the seller for those fees, and the seller will have no recourse. Yes, there are real pitfalls, but if I ever sell/buy from Canada again, I hope it is with someone as knowledgible and trustworthy as you.
You do not need to accept the bid from the "joker-scammer" with no feedback, because you said US-Canada only. However, if there was a high bidder who met your qualifications and who bid above your reserve, then you need to sell to that person. Just because you decided to possibly entertain a bid from someone outside of your stated region, does not mean you have to accept all such bids, especially if your ad states you would not sell outside US-Canada. If you had no other offers, and you want to sell it to the good feedback guy from outside the US, have him post a wanted ad, which you can respond to. That way you can see if he is serious and you can conduct the transaction within the Audiogon system. Piece of cake.