Why is it CONUS ONLY?

[AngryGoldfish]

In Ireland we have diddly-squat in the way of new or used amplifiers, effects pedals or guitars. In the UK we have some, but anything imported from America is always expensive because of the exchange rate from USD to GBP and because the English can be greedy and often demand extra for their "troubles". Buying from Germany or others places and shipping to Ireland is generally frowned upon in a lot of cases because they have a different VAT rating and I should apparently buy from the closest seller or dealer to myself in Ireland.

But any time I find a sweet deal on a piece of gear in America I'm willing to drop the extra cash on for shipping and taxes/import duties, I'm met with the dreaded "CONUS ONLY". What is that? People say they've had terrible experiences shipping abroad. What are these experiences? How come some will make the extra effort to box it up properly, fill in a customs form and use a relatively decent courier service like Fedex - the same service they would use to ship it from Washington state to California state, the same distance from Florida to Ireland - but others won't?

Am I missing something here? Have I spent hours of my day on the Internet and missed every single negative story that every single TGP'er seems to have experienced? And it's not like it is on other forums like Harmony Central, Rig-Talk or Huge Racks Inc., where they cater for international buyers and sellers and are actually willing to discuss the issue at hand, TGP'ers don't even bother and just say "it's never going to happen so don't ask me". Has some Iranian screwed you over? Has some French guy been rude to you because you didn't warn him about taxes? What is the story?

I sound pissed off because I am.

[MikeyG]

Not pressed for money, worried about damage in international shipping, don't need the aggravation.... I only ship international when I've exhausted all domestic options.

[Mark]

This should explain it all.

[AngryGoldfish]

Originally Posted by MikeyG

Not pressed for money, worried about damage in international shipping, don't need the aggravation.... I only ship international when I've exhausted all domestic options.

Which would suggest shipping abroad is a possibility, which then suggests that you simply don't want the hassle, which is, as it suggests, very lame for those who might even pay an extra fifty bucks to cover the troubles of the seller. It's often still cheaper than buying one over here.

[Lost_Cause]

I am sure if you made it worth for the shippers many or at least some would be accommodating. I would be sure they knew the right way to pack an amp or instrument though before finalizing a deal though.

Do you ask and they still say no or not even ask the question?

[jamison162]

I have shipped a few pieces abroad and ship to Canada pretty often. I make the decision on a case-by-case basis after evaluating the risk/incentive. It's ultimately up to the individual seller, sorry.

[rhinocaster]

This exact thread comes up from time to time around here and people usually end up yelling at each other and calling each other names so they're ultimately not very constructive.

I think that people here DO understand that it's frustrating for those in Europe to feel like they can't buy much of what's for sale on this board, but there are the realities that make selling to buyers overseas less interesting to people here.

I know that when I sent my first item overseas it involved 2 trips the the post office as I'd failed to bring all of the information that I needed with me. My fault, but it was extra hassle involved. The forms are no big deal but they do take extra time when shipping and if you're sending a bunch of pedals or items to different buyers I can understand why someone would prefer to sell the items where the paperwork wasn't necessary.

I've also sold several items to overseas buyers and EVERY time they've started by asking me to lie on the forms. I really don't want to have to deal with that conversation again. Ever.

There's also the reality that shipping companies can bite you in the ass for filling paperwork out incorrectly EVEN WHEN they're the ones that told you how to fill out the paperwork. I've watched $5K guitars disappear in Europe only to find out that UPS or FedEx would not cover the loss because their representative screwed up when they told us how to fill out the forms.

I think that the more borders that an item crosses, the more chance there is for a disappearance so that's not much fun to worry about.

Many of the big scam fishing that we get on our computers seems to originate from overseas (that's where they always say they're from) and that puts quite a bit of spook into American sellers that erroneously feel that the scammers are mostly "Over there".

Most people want to do what's easiest and feels safest. That means that they'd rather not deal with shipping overseas.

[freaksho]

i'm happy to get great tone into the the darkest corners of the world! that is, i have no problem shipping abroad. i've done it a few times and haven't had any trouble.

[rmpacheco]

Originally Posted by MikeyG

Not pressed for money, worried about damage in international shipping, don't need the aggravation.... I only ship international when I've exhausted all domestic options.

This ^^^

To the OP, I can understand your frustration, but I've read several horror stories here regarding shipping overseas (items getting lost or held up for weeks and causing lots of stress and aggravation for both parties involved). It's enough to dissuade me from bothering with shipping abroad because honestly I can make deals locally and domestically easily enough that I don't consider it worth the potential stress of an international sale. In other words, the few bad experiences of others have been enough to sour me on it.

Just my $0.02

[GCDEF]

Harder to track, customs can be a PITA, harder to track down the other party if something goes wrong. There's a big enough market in the US, that international sales aren't worth the hassle, especially on bigger, pricier items.

My last international venture was a pedal that went to England. After a few weeks the buyer didn't have it, and the post office couldn't track it. After a month they told me to file a claim. To be fair to the buyer, I refunded his money. After about six weeks and the day after I filed the claim, the pedal showed up back at my house with stickers saying it hadn't been claimed from customs, or something to that effect.

[jbp]

Check your email and your PM.

[QRSS]

No hawai'i or alaska either.

[TD_Madden]

Originally Posted by QRSS

No hawai'i or alaska either.

Yep...CONtinental US

[AngryGoldfish]

Originally Posted by jamison162

I have shipped a few pieces abroad and ship to Canada pretty often. I make the decision on a case-by-case basis after evaluating the risk/incentive. It's ultimately up to the individual seller, sorry.

This is pretty much all I'd ever ask from people. I'm not going to ask to ship a $10,000 PRS to me. But something as simply as, for instance, a Reeves low wattage head worth no more than $1000 could be surely discussed between both parties involved. Because we have no dealers over here that even sell Reeves, let alone stock the one you want when you spend $300 flying over there to try it out, we rely on second-hand sellers and dealers who offer international shipping and who are willing to try and work out a deal.

[Sandy Cheeks]

Pity poor Canada! It's trivial to ship here from the US and most sellers won't do it. Things can simply be sent USPS and the customs form take one minute to fill out.