"shipping To Conus Only"

[kid31]

I have been following the Classifieds for some time now and I have observed that many sellers state that they are willing to ship their pens to "CONUS only" (not even to all of the US). In contrast, I am not sure I have seen even a single ad where the seller was willing to ship "to the EU only". Has anybody else observed this? Why does it happen? I am just curious...

[WilsonCQB1911]

Most of the market for these pens is in the US from what I understand. So if a seller in the EU were to restrict sales to the EU only it would be tough to find a buyer. US sellers don't need to open it up to the EU, and if they do, find that postage, etc is generally a hassle. That would be my guess for the trend.

[hari317]

 

I have been following the Classifieds for some time now and I have observed that many sellers state that they are willing to ship their pens to "CONUS only" (not even to all of the US). In contrast, I am not sure I have seen even a single ad where the seller was willing to ship "to the EU only". Has anybody else observed this? Why does it happen? I am just curious...

 

 

IMO, I think US sellers are more confident of finding local buyers.

Edited June 10, 2014 by hari317

[kidde]

Shipping costs and a perception of dishonesty in some countries postal services. Quite a few folks are stepping back from shipping overseas due to additional risks and fears. Personally I may have just run into that myself. $12 shipping plus the pen and no one knows were it might be.

 

Paul

[Cryptos]

Well, I can give some good news, Paul - even though I was going to wait until the weekend when I could hand write a thank you - your PIF came yesterday afternoon! More in the PIF thread on the weekend My apologies I should have PM'd you as soon as it arrived - real busy is my excuse (exams and everything) even though it's not a good one.

 

 

Edit: I am a bit disappointed by the CONUS thing too. Especially when I am prepared to take the postal risk and not the sender.

Edited June 10, 2014 by Cryptos

[lahlahlaw]

The main issue is that you can't track the package unless you pony up the $40-plus it costs to send it registered. I've shipped many packages overseas and the only difference is an extra $8 or so and a few minutes filling out the customs declaration. I've been fortunate in having all my pens show up, but unreliable postal service is always a risk. I know first hand that Mexico's regular mail is downright terrible.

[Newjelan]

While I understand the concern driving people to ship to "CONUS" only, I've received numerous orders from the US, UK, EU, Japan and on all occasions the items have arrived safely and within 5 - 7 business days.

[Coop]

A big part of it is that the US is covered entirely by USPS and there are several other companies like Fed-ex and UPS which offer competative rates for domestic shipping. As a shipment is being dealt with by only one company, it is pretty clear who is to blame when something gets lost/damaged. But shipping international is another thing. Using USPS can save a few dollars, but having a package handled by multiple shipping companies increases the chance of stuff getting lost and tracking across different systems is more complex and therefore more costly.

Not to mention the shipping documents required for customs (although in many cases a simple CN-22 label is enough).

 

The EU on the other hand, is still a bunch of separate countries, each with its' own mail company. Most EU residents know and accept that by selling domestic only, they severely limit their chances of finding a buyer. And as we are used to our shipments crossing international borders, it doesn't really matter much which borders these are. Within or outside the EU, it's just another border, the only thing different is the shipping rate. And due to the variations in shipping cost between mail companies, the buyer paying for shipping is quite normal.

 

 

That being said, it's still the sellers choice who they sell to. A domestic sale is usually easier than an international sale, and if you happen to live in a large country chances of a domestic sale are larger. My personal experience with sellers advertising items as CONUS only, is that they are often quite reasonable and still willing to ship international if you can agree on shipping and payment terms. The CONUS only still is a pretty good way to filter the scammers looking for a quick buck from the honest buyer willing to invest in an international purchase.

[LBpens]

I think paypal is the main reason. It's great for getting paid fast, but if you ship something and there is no online tracking saying it was delivered, paypal will refund the buyer automatically. I put shipping to US addresses on my ads, and even so I get buyers who don't tell me until after I have marked the item sold, and perhaps turned away other buyers, that they are, say, In Canada. Then they innocently ask, "how much extra to ship to Canada?" The answer with tracking is... too much. Sellers outside the US seem to be able to ship, with tracking, into the US for much much less than we can ship outside. And because we can find buyers here, it isn't worth it. If a foreign seller approaches me and says - here's how to ship a pen to my country and here's how much it will cost, I'm ok with that. But not if I have to go research it and report back to them.

Edited June 10, 2014 by LBpens

[tmenyc]

Two quick thoughts:

I'm always willing to ship anywhere, but quote the full price for the country of destination before accepting the sale, and tell the buyer that I will email a photo of the USPS receipt for the shipping they pay for, but that outside the US it is 100% the buyer's risk. I've never had a problem, using international first class most of the time. Twice I have undone a sale because the buyer did not want to accept the risk. That was a bit frustrating, but a happier ending for me since the pen sold soon after anyway.

 

Also, in reverse, it always galls me when a European seller, on ebay or elsewhere, states firmly that there will not be any shipping to the United States. On several occasions, being an arrogant New Yorker, bought anyway and then talked them into it, but it seems so limiting for them to not ship to the biggest market.

 

Tim

[OcalaFlGuy]

There was also a Stiff postal increase in the U.S. last year that Doubled even the untracked/uninsured 1st class International rates.

 

Speaking of untracked...keep in mind;

 

Your paid for tracking is generally valid only Within the country of mailing.

 

I remain unconvinced that if an international package truly Went Missing, that each country wouldn't say the other's PO did the losing. I have Yet to hear Anyone on FPN say they've gotten money back from an international postal loss. Not saying it hasn't happen, just that no one has Said it has.

 

The tracked/insured packages can go missing just like the untracked/uninsured ones do. They BOTH usually turn up sooner or later.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

 

 

[OcalaFlGuy]

PS; It is a scientifically proven fact that posting on FPN about your missing package acts as a Postal System clot buster to restore proper package flow and have Your package magically reappear.

 

No, Really it is. It works Every time.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[LBpens]

I don't think paypal will listen to a claim that the buyer accepted the risk. If the buyer makes an item not received claim against you, and you don't have tracking with delivery confirmation, you will lose.

[sargetalon]

I can ship a pen anywhere here in the US via priority mail for $5.15 and have tracking with some insurance. That is a good price, a quick turn around, and backed by a fairly reliable system. I do a lot of overseas purchasing and have no problems 95% of the time. I list all of my classifieds as CONUS to cut down on any headaches for myself but have made exceptions when contacted by interested buyers willing to pay for the overseas shipping charges via a secure route.

[yogalarva]

I would hesitate to ship outside of the States purely because of the cost involved. Yesterday I mailed something to Australia and it was my first time mailing overseas. To go to Australia it cost me like $9 for a 2.3 ounce envelope. The same package, shipped similarly in CONUS? $1.40 First Class... I can only imagine how much the price would skyrocket for something heavier like a pen or a bottle of ink.

[DrRoger]

While sellers have every right to sell to whoever they want to, I do see some lovely pens here that I'd buy in a moment if the seller didn't state CONUS only. To date I've had no issues with people who've sold me pens from the USA, Canada, Japan, India and Europe. The issue of paying for tracking seems important - if you want a pen enough then maybe tracking isn't a big ask? Some sellers use FedEx or similar - I don't know how if it's costly or inconvenient but it does resolve the USPS to UK post office issue. Occasionally VAT or sales tax is a deal breaker but again that's another issue. So, for what it's worth, my ten cents - others will disagree I'm sure.

[Bigeddie]

While sellers have every right to sell to whoever they want to, I do see some lovely pens here that I'd buy in a moment if the seller didn't state CONUS only. [...]

 

Likewise, particularly with brands like Sheaffer or Eversharp where pens may not have been exported to such a great extent at the time of production. When I sell internationally by Royal Mail £4 covers me for a cheap pen anywhere in the world, insured up to £20, £12 will be tracked and insured up to £250. It's often cheaper to send something tracked internationally than domestically. If a package is lost Royal Mail pays up, I don't understand this dealing with other companies for compensation, certainly here you deal with the company you buy the service from.

 

When I read 'ConUS only' I just think never mind, they lost a sale, I'll find one elsewhere though I might have to pay a little more.

[LBpens]

Those of you outside the US, let me pose a question - what percentage above a pen's selling price are you willing to pay for paypal required shipping/tracking?

[DrRoger]

If I may reply LBpens, I would say that if I want a pen enough then it's not a percentage issue but what the USPS cost is perhaps together with what the seller regards as appropriate for their time in work associated with mailing the item (please don't think of that as facetious - I'm thinking of filling forms etc.) The latter element is a variable cost while the former would, I assume, be fixed by USPS.

[Bigeddie]

Those of you outside the US, let me pose a question - what percentage above a pen's selling price are you willing to pay for paypal required shipping/tracking?

 

I would say that the majority of out of production Sheaffers that I have seen for sale from the UK have been about 50% more than buying from ConUS sellers. I assume that this is mostly down to their relative scarcity here.