Why CONUS Only?

[Chandu]

I want to pop the items in a USPS priority box, know exactly how much it costs ahead of time,

That's been my reasoning. And frankly I'm a little lazy when it comes to shipping. I don't have a lot of time to go to the post office or ups or fedex and figure out what things cost overseas and I don't have a scale so I need to go to get an accurate weight and then do you want this service, that service and so on. Then I get a firm price and the buyer decides it's too high. I realize I limit my customer base to 300 million or so by just saying CONUS, but I guess it's a trade off I'm willing to take.

 

[RayClem]

It is enough of a hassle to take a package to the USPS office to mail something CONUS. Shipping overseas is an even bigger hassle if you do not do it routinely and have no idea what to do.

I rarely even purchase things from overseas. I have ordered things from Amazon or eBay that have shipped from Europe or China, but they are rare. Even getting stuff from Canada can take a while. Whenever possible, I try to order from a CONUS vendor so I can anticipate a smooth delivery. Even then it does not always happen.

 

[dmshaver]

I've mailed multiple items to other countries (Europe & Asia), I'm in the USA. It takes more time filling out customs paperwork, but it's all online on the USPS website. Postage rates are also available online. I purchase my postage & print out at home, so I take the packaged, addressed item & drop it off at the post office. I don't stand in line, I drop it off in the mailbox & away it goes. It takes more time, but if I want to sell to someone overseas, I can do it with about 20 minutes extra work. Some prefer not to do that, & each seller has the option of choosing where they will, or won't, ship to.

 

[sarimento1]

i recently sold BST items to buyer in Russia who used a freight forwarding service with CONUS address.
Listing specified CONUS shipping address.
Paypal. Worked ok.

 

[xiletero]

It's a pain...., not reliable everywhere, and then many places the person receiving the package needs to pay import taxes....etc....

Life is too short , to bother with extra head aches.....

The stores should, that is how they make money.

 

[BradWorld]

i recently sold BST items to buyer in Russia who used a freight forwarding service with CONUS address.
Listing specified CONUS shipping address.
Paypal. Worked ok.

Same. And it was a fairly pricy razor, so I was nervous about the transaction. But the buyer PM me and let me know that the razor arrived in Russia and that he was happy. Worked out well.

 

[RayClem]

I've mailed multiple items to other countries (Europe & Asia), I'm in the USA. It takes more time filling out customs paperwork, but it's all online on the USPS website. Postage rates are also available online. I purchase my postage & print out at home, so I take the packaged, addressed item & drop it off at the post office. I don't stand in line, I drop it off in the mailbox & away it goes. It takes more time, but if I want to sell to someone overseas, I can do it with about 20 minutes extra work. Some prefer not to do that, & each seller has the option of choosing where they will, or won't, ship to.

Apparently you have used this process enough where you are comfortable with it. Wonderful! However, to someone who has never done this before, it is going to take a lot more than 20 minutes extra work. If I were selling an expensive straight razor or hone, I might consider doing it, but for lesser items, it is not worth the time and effort.

 

[garyg]

I've sold a number of items offshore, a Fatboy to Norway, a Tony Miller to Brisbane, a Rooney repatriated to olde England are some I recall. But I still try & limit shipping to "conus", which is slightly misleading as usually USPS does Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico the same as the "lower 48" in my experience with small items.

If someone responds to a BST post & asks for offshore shipment I have usually tried to accommodate with an actual tracked shipping quote, but for the extra $ involved in shipping to wherever .. most folks won't pay for the extra costs involved. Then there's that "gentleman" who wanted me to falsify the value on the customs declaration so they could evade duty ..

In short, unless you export regularly it ends up being a hassle

 

[dmshaver]

Apparently you have used this process enough where you are comfortable with it. Wonderful! However, to someone who has never done this before, it is going to take a lot more than 20 minutes extra work. If I were selling an expensive straight razor or hone, I might consider doing it, but for lesser items, it is not worth the time and effort.

I've shipped items overseas 4 - 5 times, not extensively. My view is there are items in the USA easily found that may be difficult to find in other countries. We are a group of gentlemen here, so if a gentleman in another country wants to purchase one of my items, I will take the time to accommodate him. Before selling to an overseas buyer, I check to see if they've been on our forum for a length of time & has a history of participating on the board. If the buyer is willing to pay for the additional costs for shipping, I will take the time on my end.

 

[azwetshaver]

I typically go to the post office after work hours. Due to it being after hours, I use the self serve kiosk machine. For international shipping, I must go during business hours. This isn't always feasible for me.

US post office does not offer international tracking to all countries.

I will offer international shipping to established members, or members I have dealt with in the past.

With the same mindset, I do not get upset when EU or AU members state only EU or AU shipping on their sales.

 

[ackvil]

i recently sold BST items to buyer in Russia who used a freight forwarding service with CONUS address.
Listing specified CONUS shipping address.
Paypal. Worked ok.

Funny, I did the same thing. I sent it to an address in Wilmington DE. I never realized the individual was in Russia until he PMed me to tell me he received it - three months later!

 

[sarimento1]

Funny, I did the same thing. I sent it to an address in Wilmington DE. I never realized the individual was in Russia until he PMed me to tell me he received it - three months later!

quite possibly, same buyer!

 

[Whiterook]

Even though I never shipped anything to HI or AK I would have to presume the same USPS flat rate box applies for them as well. Even Puerto Rico is considered domestic shipping. I sent a perfume there few months ago and was surprised it was flat rate like anywhere else in the US and it arrived in 2 days.

Yes, the same flat rate applies to shipments to Hawaii. A package never leaves the US postal system, so there is no additional risk. First class rates are the same too. So far, no seller has refused to ship to me here, but it is still a bit off putting to be excluded as if we were not part of the Union. I think people just forget we are here.

 

[alex1921]

Yes, the same flat rate applies to shipments to Hawaii. A package never leaves the US postal system, so there is no additional risk. First class rates are the same too. So far, no seller has refused to ship to me here, but it is still a bit off putting to be excluded as if we were not part of the Union. I think people just forget we are here.

People are probably just jealous you get to live there .
Like it was stated above, when I list something I include the cost of shipping and say CONUS but it was always meant as - free shipping in the US. I will have to be more specific next time.

 

[Suhrim21]

There are many items listed for sale on BST that I would be interested in but most often their sale is restricted to CONUS only.

If a buyer is willing to pay for shipping beyond CONUS, why not allow them to buy?

Instead, how about "free shipping CONUS" and giving a reduction in shipping cost to outside the CONUS equivalent to say the cost of the "free shipping"?

For me it's a matter of I cant stand in the long lines at the post office to get the forms then fill them out and finally ship the item. I have some medical problems i have to take into account. There are times even with being a lot faster to ship to the CONUS I cant get to the post office for 2 weeks or so. Then I feel like crap someone paid for an item and it takes a bit to get to the post office so I end up including something extra to make up for it. Be cause of that I have given away probably 6 straights 4 brushes and 2 DE razors. That's stuff i could have sold and gotten extra money.

 

[Chandu]

Rethinking this a bit. I may open it up to Nigeria. There does seem to be a plethora of chaps with loads of money contacting me via email from there. Nigeria might be worth the extra time and effort.

 

[jesseix]

I typically go to the post office after work hours. Due to it being after hours, I use the self serve kiosk machine. For international shipping, I must go during business hours. This isn't always feasible for me.

With the same mindset, I do not get upset when EU or AU members state only EU or AU shipping on their sales.

Same boat for me.
I've shipped to Canada once, and was able to print the label from home but then had to go to the PO to finish up whatever the paperwork was (and make sure it was done correctly, since I couldn't really tell and the instructions online weren't great).
Shipped to EU once for a sale here and quoted the buyer a price based on what I could find out online after weighing it at home. Went to the PO to actually mail it out and was told a much different (higher) price. Don't really want to deal with that again, in part for the buyer's sake since I had to go back to him and ask for more money which made me feel like a real *** (and it was a large enough difference that I wasn't going to just eat it).

 

[Rrose Sélavy]

Just echoing what others have already said, but shipping overseas is a major pain. I prefer to go to the post office before they open to use the self-serve kiosk, and shipping outside of the USA isn't an option when using these kiosks. Sure, I could try to come back to the post office during my lunch break to mail a package overseas, but then I have the crowds, long lines and all the paperwork that needs to be filled out. It is unfortunate that it isn't easier to ship outside the US, but the fact of the matter is that it's a pretty big hassle.
And while I sometimes use the "CONUS only" shortcut here on B&B, I will always ship items to HI and AK, as the price for Priority is the same as the other 48, and most importantly, there is no additional paperwork that needs to be filled out prior to shipping.

 

[iamryan25]

International shipping can be done from home with USPS Click n Ship and flat rate boxes. The rates are listed on the USPS site. Typically a small flat rate box costs about $36.55 or something close to that if memory serves me correctly.

There is the extra customs form that gets filled out, and you tuck it inside the box because it prints with the label.

So, the seller would have the extra step of filling out a customs form.


I think it is wise for international buyers to consider using a forwarding service like shipito to avoid errors with the customs forms.

 

[Rrose Sélavy]

International shipping can be done from home with USPS Click n Ship and flat rate boxes. The rates are listed on the USPS site. Typically a small flat rate box costs about $36.55 or something close to that if memory serves me correctly.

There is the extra customs form that gets filled out, and you tuck it inside the box because it prints with the label.

So, the seller would have the extra step of filling out a customs form.


I think it is wise for international buyers to consider using a forwarding service like shipito to avoid errors with the customs forms.

Sure, I can spend the time printing the labels and paperwork at home, but then I still have to go to the post office to drop it off. I've tried it. It just didn't work for me...
But you are right, those forwarding services are a true blessing!