Maroon92
Maroon92 SuperDork
9/23/11 7:36 p.m.

I have now had three separate vendors on Ebay.co.uk tell me that "Due to the size and weight of the item, we are not able to ship it to the United States".

I have been looking for a Honda H100A engine for a long time, and each time there is a good one on ebay.co.uk, they tell me I can't have it.

do they have something against me?

Any reason they can't ship a 20 pound engine in a 15 by 15 by 15 box?

stuart in mn
stuart in mn SuperDork
9/23/11 7:59 p.m.

Probably for the same reason that many US eBay auctions won't ship overseas either.

Hocrest
Hocrest HalfDork
9/23/11 8:02 p.m.

Not sure if its related, but a buddy of mine with a TVR had issues with that. There's a company in England that makes some suspension bit. They will not sell to anyone in the US due to the risk of lawsuits.
He had to purchase the part through a fellow TVR guy over there and then he shipped it.

Streetwiseguy
Streetwiseguy Dork
9/23/11 8:35 p.m.

Ok, why the heck won't half of the American guys out there sell into Canada? The two countries are about, oh, I don't know, less than .050" apart. We don't bite.

aussiesmg
aussiesmg SuperDork
9/23/11 8:36 p.m.

Have you seen the value of a US sawbuck lately

Maroon92
Maroon92 SuperDork
9/23/11 8:44 p.m.
aussiesmg wrote: Have you seen the value of a US sawbuck lately

They still price everything in crazy prince symbol money.

RexSeven
RexSeven SuperDork
9/23/11 8:49 p.m.

In reply to Maroon92:

I think aussie was replying to Streetwise. He's in Canada, where they pay for everything in Loonies, Toonies, and Monopoly Money.

I've had a would-be Canadian buyer almost buy some stereo equipment from me, but he reneged after he found out and refused to pay the absurd shipping costs. That might be a factor for some US sellers.

pinchvalve
pinchvalve GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
9/23/11 9:18 p.m.

Tried to ship something to Colombia last week. 10 pounds, $950 via FedEx. $40 through the Post Office. (still wonder why they are billions in debt and not competitive?)

ditchdigger
ditchdigger Dork
9/23/11 10:12 p.m.
Streetwiseguy wrote: Ok, why the heck won't half of the American guys out there sell into Canada? The two countries are about, oh, I don't know, less than .050" apart. We don't bite.

Because as close as we are and however similar we look our shipping services are for some rediculous reason totally incompatible. Exactly 19 out of every 20 items I ship to Canada get screwed up in some way. It is 3 times more expensive to take it across the border, customs always holds it for no reason, Insurance and delivery guarantees are not honored the moment customs touches it. I lost at least $300 due to shipping into canada before I got wise and stopped.

Shipping to the UK, Netherlands, Italy and Germany? Never an issue. Canada? Seems to always be a problem.

Streetwiseguy
Streetwiseguy Dork
9/23/11 11:11 p.m.

Suggestions: make sure your Canadian customer is comfortable with UPS gouging them on brokerage, or make sure your Canadian customer has his own brokerage account, or just throw it in the mail. I understand not selling to somebody that has no clue, but I'm not that guy.

UPS bones us on brokerage for small stuff, but they charge for the service, not the price of the goods. I don't worry too much when I'm spending a kilobuck or more, but $60 fee on a $20 thing kills me. USPS works for small stuff fine.

It can't be that tough- I can phone Tirerack, order tires to be shaved and heat cycled and have them sitting on my back deck in 3 days.

Fit_Is_Slo
Fit_Is_Slo Reader
9/23/11 11:20 p.m.

Nope they relish in your bike being slow!

BoxheadTim
BoxheadTim GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
9/23/11 11:40 p.m.

As someone who's lived on the other side of the pond:

  • It pains me to say it but some US ebay buyers are a pain to deal with, especially those who think that the 'UK' means University of Kansas or something like that. A friend of mine used to ship bike parts to the US but he had so many bad experiences that he's given up on that.
  • Shipping is brutally expensive from the UK to the US (or even the rest of the EU). There are some ways to mitigate that but TBH you'll find that shipping the engine costs more than the engine itself and/or will take months. As an example, I sent a set of FB RX-7 rear lights to someone in Oz (because like here, the lights fade in the sunlight, a problem that doesn't really exist in the UK) and the cheap way took something like 8 weeks, but it was the only way to make shipping halfway affordable.

That said, if you're dead serious PM me and I might be able to help work something out, but it'll be slow and cost a lot.

Zomby woof
Zomby woof SuperDork
9/24/11 1:19 a.m.
ditchdigger wrote: Because as close as we are and however similar we look our shipping services are for some rediculous reason totally incompatible. Exactly 19 out of every 20 items I ship to Canada get screwed up in some way. It is 3 times more expensive to take it across the border, customs always holds it for no reason, Insurance and delivery guarantees are not honored the moment customs touches it. I lost at least $300 due to shipping into canada before I got wise and stopped.

You're doing it wrong.

Been doing it both ways on a regular basis for 10 years, and could count on 1 hand the problems I've had.

UPS bones us on brokerage for small stuff, but they charge for the service, not the price of the goods. I don't worry too much when I'm spending a kilobuck or more, but $60 fee on a $20 thing kills me. USPS works for small stuff fine.

No brokerage fees on items under $20. Price accordingly next time

Shipping from the US is getting ridiculously expensive these days. It can also be inconsistent. Same thing from 2 different people in similar places, one is $25 to ship, the other $4, and both are legit.

Zomby woof
Zomby woof SuperDork
9/24/11 1:27 a.m.
Maroon92 wrote: I have now had three separate vendors on Ebay.co.uk tell me that "Due to the size and weight of the item, we are not able to ship it to the United States". I have been looking for a Honda H100A engine for a long time, and each time there is a good one on ebay.co.uk, they tell me I can't have it. do they have something against me? Any reason they can't ship a 20 pound engine in a 15 by 15 by 15 box?

See if they'll ship it to Canada. I'll relay it to you.

cwh
cwh SuperDork
9/24/11 9:35 a.m.

I ship a lot of stuff internationally, but all to the Caribbean. Shipping costs can vary wildly. One customer requested FedEx for an order to Barbados. FedEx wanted 350.00 for a 35# box. Amerijet, a freight forwarder with a fleet of jets, did it for 95.00. They also have a small package program. Under 25#, 25.00, plus fees. If you are going to do this, do your research first. Only place I use USPS is to Virgin Islands. Cheapest by a bunch, no customs duties when received. No shipments via UPS.

Wally
Wally GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
9/24/11 10:12 a.m.
pinchvalve wrote: Tried to ship something to Colombia last week. 10 pounds, $950 via FedEx. $40 through the Post Office. (still wonder why they are billions in debt and not competitive?)

If it could be swallowed in condoms you may be able to find a mule headed home that would do it far cheaper.

ditchdigger
ditchdigger Dork
9/24/11 3:08 p.m.
Zomby woof wrote: You're doing it wrong.

How? I can stop into any UPS store and drop off goods to be taken anywhere else in the world without any issues. Why should I have to do anything different to send stuff to canada? You guys aren't that special

4eyes
4eyes HalfDork
9/26/11 8:18 p.m.
ditchdigger wrote:
Streetwiseguy wrote: Ok, why the heck won't half of the American guys out there sell into Canada? The two countries are about, oh, I don't know, less than .050" apart. We don't bite.
Because as close as we are and however similar we look our shipping services are for some rediculous reason totally incompatible. Exactly 19 out of every 20 items I ship to Canada get screwed up in some way. It is 3 times more expensive to take it across the border, customs always holds it for no reason, Insurance and delivery guarantees are not honored the moment customs touches it. I lost at least $300 due to shipping into canada before I got wise and stopped. Shipping to the UK, Netherlands, Italy and Germany? Never an issue. Canada? Seems to always be a problem.

And yet, shipping from freakin' CHINA is apparently free. Or maybe you get paid IF you ship something from there. How else can you buy something made in China, for less than I can buy materials for here?

ditchdigger
ditchdigger Dork
9/26/11 9:26 p.m.

Totally!!!!

How in the world can I have an unlimited supply of bottle openers or netbook keyboards shipped to my door from china in less than a week for 99 cents each? I haven't had the opportunity to ship anything to china myself but I am betting the deals aren't reciprocal.

Jay
Jay SuperDork
9/26/11 11:47 p.m.
ditchdigger wrote:
Zomby woof wrote: You're doing it wrong.
How? I can stop into any UPS store and drop off goods to be taken anywhere else in the world without any issues. Why should I have to do anything different to send stuff to canada? You guys aren't that special

Shipping across ANY border via UPS = doing it wrong. The good old United States Post Office seems to work much better.

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