The Breitling Watch Source Forums

I know this has been raised here before, and it's in no way a dig at anyone here, and in no way a blanket moan at you Stateside guys : I just feel the need to vent.....

Sometimes the unwillingness of people to ship items outside of CONUS drives me absolutely insane! I'm looking for a specific (and quite rare) pair of Oakley sunglasses, and lo and behold a pair turned up on ebay in mint condition, with all the original boxes and accessories. The guy selling them had a good high and 100% positive score, and his ad apparently allowed international shipping, including the use of the exorbitantly priced Global Postage Program, which incidentally was designed entirely to make the idea of shipping abroad more palatable to US sellers on ebay. We exchanged a very pleasant email about the item, and then suddenly out of the blue he adds a line to the description saying, "I only ship to the US".

So I wrote back and offered to pay well over the odds for them (like at least 50% over the odds, which is a fair bit considering they were already priced well above the original RRP), and I also agreed to use the hideously overpriced Global Postage Program. His reply? "Sorry, I only ship to the US".

I mean, honestly, the guy would rather lose the best part of an additional $250 just to avoid having to send a package to the UK. I was going to pay all the postage, plus the Global Postage Program takes all the pain (and cost) out of the transaction on the sellers part ; why else would the buyer have to pay so much for the "privilege" otherwise??? It really couldn't have been an easier transaction for the guy, but no.......

I know it's been discussed before, but no matter what people say, I just do not understand the fear of posting outside of CONUS. This isn't the first time it's happened...........and it drives me absolutely INSANE!

OK, rant over.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

With higher priced items, like watches, it's twofold: (1) limited insurance and (2) buyers who "insist" a seller place a ridiculously low declared value to avoid high duty. It sours the transaction. (of course I have sent watches to the 4 corners of the world anyway), but ALWAYS prefer a CONUS transaction - fewer contingencies and conditions to work out. Now I will google Global Postage Program and see what that is all about. One member here had a Panerai make it all the way to Australia, only to be returned because of the alligator strap.

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SHARKMAN

I had a panerai get held up in Australia customs for 10 days until we could provide proof that the alligator strap was not from an endangered alligator or crocodile. It was an absolute nightmare but thanks to a fellow forum member who is a lawyer in Australia I was able to get the appropriate documents completed so the buyer could take possession of the watch on the final day before FedEx was set to return the watch to me in which I would of had to pay duty fees to receive....yes a returned item was going to cost me a significant amount of money in duties to get my watch back. Shipping overseas is a pain in the @$$ which is why I prefer a state side transaction however, I've shipped all over the world only after the buyer has agreed to a formal contract accepting all responsibility for the watch after I provide the tracking number since insurance is very limited on international shipments.

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"I don't own any watches, I just lease them"

Driver8,

It gets worse than that. Half the companies in the U.S. (I'm looking at you Amazon) refuse to recognize that Hawaii is in the U.S., that the U.S. Post Office makes all the same type of deliveries here as it does to the Continental U.S., and that both FedEx and UPS parcel service can be used to send items to Hawaii. They insist on requiring overnight or 2-day shipping. Many times the cost of shipping is higher than the cost of the item.

I can understand hazmat type materials but it goes beyond ridiculous.

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Breitling Montbrillant Olympus
Breitling Navitimer World
Breitling Chronomat
Breitling Colt GMT
Omega Seamaster GMT "Great White"
Omega Speedmaster X-33
Rolex GMT Master IIc
Bremont ALT1-ZT

I hear you on the limited insurance and demands for a low declared value Sharkman, but that's the same here too : the UK shipping companies are poor on offering adequate insurance, and people the world over often ask for a lower declared value to be put on items (which is not something I entertain).

However when it's a $500 pair of sunglasses, insurance isn't a problem, and I was happy to cover ALL costs.

The Global Postage Program allows US sellers to post an item to a dispatching company in the US so for the seller it's like posting to a US based buyer. The dispatching company then completes any paperwork and applies the customs charge upfront to the item (which the buyer pays, not the seller) before posting it overseas. Takes all the "pain" out of it from the US sellers point of view, and also gives the buyer an all-in price for the customs side of things. The only downside is the cost of that service....but the buyer pays it. It really couldn't be easier nowadays and yet eBay sales are STILL difficult to work with some guys.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

Crocodile products to Australia is not a US issue, any country shipping to Australia would have the same burden of proof. I do find many US sellers, be it online businesses or eBay, are inflexible on shipping. For many I think that it simply comes down to having a large enough domestic market that they don't have to support international customers.

PM sent.

Have the items sent to me ( I live in the U.S.), and I'll ship them to you.

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Breitling Navitimer: Black Dial
OMEGA Speedmaster Professional
Steinhart Nav.B-Chrono II
Elgin-Hamilton 37500 (Aircraft Clock)

And replied.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

The huge US market is often sufficient to provide the seller with a reasonable "market" price.

A few non-scientific observations after extensive international travel, and living overseas for 7 years........

> US citizens are (unfortunately) somewhat insular because it's easy to exist solely within our large country. We are far less likely than our international brethren to speak multiple languages, have a passport, and we know less about other cultures.
> Many US sellers don't have enough international sales opportunity to invest in learning about international complexities associated with funds collection, shipping, customs, fraud detection and dispute resolution. Perfecting an international sale can be complicated and overwhelming for many sellers.

A few other considerations........
> Low value products: why bother?; high value products: why risk?
> For similar reasons, some sellers will only consider FTF - - it reduces the risk & hassle and can provide an adequate buyer market for achieving an acceptable price.

Desert Hiker

Not sure on high value items over $1K, but for something like Oakley sunglasses or anything else under $1K, I would just use reship.com

Have it shipped to them, and for a fee of $5 p/ package, they reship it to the location of your choice at FedEx or USPS prices.

If you are doing a lot of shipping, then you can go on the monthly fee which is only like $20 p/ month

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PANERAI Radiomir PAM183
IWC Ingenieur Mission Earth
BREITLING Navitimer Olympus
BREITLING Super Avenger (Sold)
OMEGA Planet Ocean XL (Sold)
SEIKO Fifty Five Fathoms Mod
SEIKO Orange Monster
SEIKO Black Monster (Traded)
TISSOT PRC 200