On 8/5/05, Laurence Smith <laurence@alanasmith.com> wrote:

> So I am on eBay again checking out what available to feed my Vanagon
> addiction. Lots of stuff, but all the US seller only want to sell to
> the US. Could someone tell me why? The obvious answer is that it
> may be a PITA to send an international shipment, but I'm willing to
> pay the extra cost, and the seller will get my higher bid to offset
> the extra effort.
> 
> Come on US sellers. How about being nice to us international folks
> that want (no need) your stuff.
> 
> - Laurence

 Laurence,
 Yes, it is a PITA. I do ship on many times. I veen shipped a set of four 
wheels and tires to the other side of the world. I stopped short when a 
fellow asked me to shipped a Jr. Dragster to Canada even though the auction 
clearly said no non-US shipping. Then I gave him the shippers quote. The 
bidder then defaults on the auction terms. Anyway, that is one of the 
reasons many sellers don't ship outside US. 
 And as Jeff added, the Customs forms are an extra hassle. Then if you use 
something like UPS, they have extortionist brokerage fees.
 BTW, we face the opposite problem when we buy outside of the US.
 Cheers,
 BenT