I hate them too, but seriously, I think the most common problems happen when shipping/receiving from the States. With other countries, it's usually pretty smooth.
I'm a little shocked at how vicious this has become. People are actually getting MORE entrenched and vocal about not wanting to ship "overseas." In my mind, the US is one of many "international" countries. Unless you visited Japan to get toys, the only reason anybody has a collection is because a maker, distributor, or collector went through the effort to send the toys overseas from Japan. I've made this point before, but it doesn't seem to be getting through. Instead, we see several people saying, "It's my stuff, and I'll do whatever I want with it." To be an active member in an international hobby, the distinction between the US and the "rest of the world" needs to be knocked down. Level the playing field, and yes that means going through the same hassles that everyone around the world goes through to ship stuff to other countries. FWIW, when I lived in the US, I shipped to people in other countries all the time. Yeah there are forms and lines, but it's a small component of being part of an international hobby.
I have probably shipped over 1000 packages overseas in the last 5 years, from 200 lb crates to a single 3 inch toy. i have never minded it, and only ever make sure that appropriate measures are taken and discussed beforehand so both parties are aware of any extenuating circumstances. its not a big deal. and its good business, i have repeat customers constantly in Australia and Europe due to my customer service and knowledge of shipping and logistics.
I live in the US and am more than happy to mail things overseas, I have sold 100's of items internationally. We are an international community of collectors, Italy, France, England, Mexico, China, Japan, and wow even Denmark etc......we live in a world where we can reach out to the whole world and the whole world can reach out to us. If your worried, for big ticket items, use Paypals standard payment method and get a valid EMS tracking number for ultimate protection. What on earth is the problem, this is the 21st century. EDIT: I have sold 100's of non toy items internationally with a handful being toys. Of course people can do 'whatever they want' with their toys! But wouldn't it be nice if more people opened up to the world. 2nd EDIT: In case you missed this: If you utilize Paypals standard 'goods' method of payment AND get a valid EMS (Paypal recognized) tracking number----whether you buy extra insurance from the post office or not you are automatically insured by Paypal! You have nothing to loose! We are world citizens, many of you guys are being ridiculous! I have had enough of this thread.
I've kept 99.99999999% of the toys I've ever bought. They are my toys and I'll do what I want with them.
To recap for you: And to everyone who says "what's the big deal, I do it all the time and it's easy": read the above. And also realize that "doing it all the time" is probably what has made it easy for you. And if you're doing it all the time it sounds like you're in some sort of business that would typically require international sales. For someone that rarely sells/ships it isn't easy, nor is it necessarily important that the toy sells. I'm not supporting "US Only" sales, it just seems that people are ignoring very valid reasons why some people might prefer not to ship internationally.
i'm too lazy to go back and read all 5 pages of this, but that recap does seem a bit lopsided, no? but laziness IS pretty much the recap, from what i've read. well, maybe not "laziness" per se, but at least a limit as to what each of us is willing to put up with/go through for a sale. sure, it's a hassle to go to the post office, i'll buy that. and it's definitely not an easy process to ship overseas, but that doesn't mean that it's actually a difficult process... but then again, i'm sure there are plenty of people who ARE willing to take the time to ship overseas (like myself) who would have no problem receiving a toy and shipping it on to an overseas buyer if only that buyer were willing to do a little asking around. i'd be willing to bet that even if a seller weren't willing to ship overseas, they'd still happily take your money and ship it domestically. there's no "right" or "wrong" here. if you REALLY want to buy or sell something, i find it had to believe that a little thing like shipping is going to keep money from changing hands. true dedication requires some degree of flexibility.
Wow read much? No one is being lazy, as I have no issue filling out the forms or waiting in a line (I just wear an ipod to block out all the riff raff noise around me in line). I think valid points are being made on how it can be a costly thing to do- shipping overseas. Everyone wants the best deal here, don't pretend to be blind, like you've never taken a look in the BST. Let's say you bought four or five toys from a seller. He comes back to you with a shipping price of over $50. How great of deal does it seem now? If the buyer is willing to do it no problem. Also I get toys shipped from Japan all the time, sure currency exchange factors in, but I've been doing it for years. Shipping from Japan to the US is not as costly. I've never paid more the $50-$60 for shipping out of Japan and I've received a box full of heavy Shikaruna toys before (at least eight). Try sending those back overseas for that price and they'd laugh you out the door at the USPS.
no.. it just bugs me that you think overseas shipping is as simple as just filling out one more form that takes just a few minutes. Bert's arguments are downright strange as it seems like he actually likes to interact with post office workers (maybe he doesn't realize that you can print & ship and you can either skip the line and drop off packages at the PO or have it picked up). If someone wants to give a good deal and doesn't want to bother... that's their business. The U.S. isn't just one of many international countries of this hobby.... I can find a domestic buyer much easier here than anywhere else.
So you're saying that people in the US are the only ones who have to go to the post office, stand in line, and deal with the hassles of overseas shipping? See the point that's being missed here (over and over) is that collectors in EVERY country deal with these issues, and yet they're perfectly willing to ship to any country, including the US. Is this not valid food for thought?
And believe it or not, there are clerks in other places that don't know what they are doing and Oh! No! we also have long lines and other people wanting to ship stuff! What are they thinking?
What you are ignoring Andy, is this is an English speaking board, for an American toy store, that has a super majority of users from the United States. Many of the toys I used to purchase from s7 were brought here from Japan or other countries, and s7 marked up their retail price to cover their costs of shipping to the States, and then charged my shipping to my address. This is my main problem with your arguments of the international hobby. Besides, as my part of the "hobby" as you call it, I'm a collector. I don't really care how you want me to sell my items, because, as I said, I keep them. I find your tone and the hyperbole in your posts as offensive, not your desire to open dialogue or have people realize sending items besides the US may be better for their sales.
Unlike other locations... we are lucky to have the option of not having to deal with overseas shipping. I'm sure most stores in Japan would also like this option, but the market for this stuff is international (mainly the U.S.). You're missing my point. If I ship domestic.. I don't have to go the the PO, stand in line, and deal with any hassle. People have the right to not deal with this. People in kazakhstan have the same choice... but the majority of buyers on this forum is from the U.S. and not anywhere else.
I hope this is my last post, because this conversation is just going in circles. It started out as a good topic and good conversation, but then people seemed to ignore the counter-points. My recap was of the reasons why people might not want to ship internationally - because some people seem to have missed all of those points. I wasn't recapping the thread. Also, laziness is not necessarily the reason why people might not want to ship internationally. And lastly, it appears that MOST people ARE willing to ship internationally - so this is much ado about (nearly) nothing.
I don't think so. My intention with this thread was to start a dialogue in which attention could be brought to the growing trend. For a while there was a really positive vibe, with people sharing information and experiences. So I'm going to end on a positive note and, once again, thank those who made a solid effort to share their knowledge and experiences in helping move the discussion forward.
although andy is correct... I do notice this happening more often as you'd never even see a single U.S. only sale EVER before.
I can sum up the thread in one sentence. "Punks don't like being told what to do, even if it's a good idea."
I'm curious though: people in the US don't have to go to the post office and line up if they're shipping domestic? We do in Canada... (And I do believe that beside the high prices and slow delivery, our postal system is just fine. Often open 7 days a week till 9pm, employees are mostly super friendly and may change a weight or dimension here or there to help you out, I've never received a damaged box (and I've received lots...).
a lot of the time, you can print postage directly from paypal for either usps or ups. i don't bother with that, but you can still skip the lines a majority of the time if your post office has one of the automated machines. they will weigh and dispense postage for priority and first class mail, and you can get delivery confirmation without having to fill out that little green form because the machine will print the barcode along with your postage!
yes. when i ship domestically... all I do is weigh & measure, go to paypal and "print postage", tape it on and stick it in my mailbox at work (as if I was mailing a letter with a stamp).
Oooh! Fancy. We don't have any of that. Maybe I'll have to rethink my high opinion of our postal system.
