I have bought several really cool items off of German eBay but it is
way more complicated and way more expensive than dealing within North
America. But if you're willing to put in the extra work the rewards
(in terms of rare items) are definately there. Here are a few tips:

- Be prepared for CRAZY shipping costs, as a total guess say five
times what shipping would cost from coast to coast here.

- Most German eBayers are reluctant to deal out of country. But you
can try sending them an e-mail and asking if they'll deal with you. It
helps to have a high feedback rating. IN particular they seem
reluctant to ship outside Germany. I am still not sure why. Whenever I
complete a German eBay transaction I ALWAYS ask the seller to leave
feedback in GERMAN, this way German only speakers can see I've dealt
with German sellers before.

- The seller may not speak English, but http://babelfish.altavista.com
does a good job of translating. I usually send my first e-mail in
German and English, if they speak Englisg they will usually reply in
English

- Few German eBayers take PayPal, instead prefering bank wire
transfers. Fees for bank wire transfers are around $30 on BOTH sides
of the transaction, so immediately add $60 to whatever you think your
price will be if tehy will not take an International money order.

I know my list is longer than this but at the moment the items I can
recall buying of German eBay are:

- Rear side sliding windows for BOTH sides
- Still shrinkwrapped Eberspacher BL1C gas heater

None have been installed yet, but the windows could go in any day now...

Chris

On 11/21/06, Thomas Myers <thomas.myers@xerox.com> wrote:
> I saw the note regarding the vanagon accessories on the German Ebay and
>
> Often think that must be the best place for rare vanagon parts and tidbits.
>
> But how complicated is it to buy from a foreign Ebay site?
>
> Is it simply a case of providing an address and the extra shipping $$??
>
> Is a simple customs declaration involved?  I am surprised there isnt someone
>
> Running through German / European pick and pulls and dragging boxes of parts
>
> over...
>
>
>
>
> Tom Myers
>
> Rochester Ny
> 90 Westy "ChiliPepper"
> 91 Syncro "Chipotle"
> http://motsvan.blogspot.com
>