Here's the real skinny on shipping U. S. to International

[Frantic]

I would never deal with someone who ships records by registered mail. It will take two months to get to the destination. It's the most worthless way to send something valuable through the mail system. Media mail would be safer and quicker

Also: Postal rates are going up across the board in two weeks!

Mikey you are 100% right which you are 99% of the time...ha! Registered mail is a scam, a lie and a joke. It protects you from nothing, Loss, Damage, theft...ZERO!!! Either way, from now on when sending from America to International for any items $1 to $999.99 send it the cheapest way, 1st class Intl. Paypal or Ebay won't protect you but Shipsaver will. PERIOD!!!

 

[chas_kit]

Thanks for clarifying this, but Joey, where does Shipsaver say that it only has to be accepted by the post office for a value between $250 and $1000?

 

[chas_kit]

The international rates are too damn much. I had a buyer from Japan (Japan!) back out of a deal because of the postal charges.

Another interesting anecdote, I sent a fine record to London via Priority Mail Express. I declared a $45 value at the buyer's request. UK customs held the package and charged $40 in customs fees! Now how would they come to that figure? Are they able to track the ebay sales via the tracking number?

 

[Frantic]

Thanks for clarifying this, but Joey, where does Shipsaver say that it only has to be accepted by the post office for a value between $250 and $1000?

It doesn't...I called them and talked to the manager.

 

[tymespan]

First Class International is going up 8% starting Jan 26th but I think if you print your postage online (like through eBay's shipping) the price remains the same.
They're also adding tracking to Estonia, Finland, Gibraltar, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Portugal and Singapore.

 

[Frantic]

First Class International is going up 8% starting Jan 26th but I think if you print your postage online (like through eBay's shipping) the price remains the same.
They're also adding tracking to Estonia, Finland, Gibraltar, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Portugal and Singapore.

It will just track it to the country not the address.

 

[Frantic]

It will just track it to the country not the address.

After the shipping went up 70% last year, you think they could have waited a few years to raise it again.

 

[gregk25]

Another interesting anecdote, I sent a fine record to London via Priority Mail Express. I declared a $45 value at the buyer's request. UK customs held the package and charged $40 in customs fees! Now how would they come to that figure? Are they able to track the ebay sales via the tracking number?

From personal experience: They can do MANY things. They are a bit like the NSA's little step brother.

 

[Andreas]

The international rates are too damn much.

You're damn right. I've been reading the thread on garage/psych cheapies but I won't be buying many of those because of the high shipping rates. It's just silly to pay $15 in shipping for a $4.99 record. Unless it's a top-want, of course. LPs are even worse, anything between $18-25 and then the risk of customs tax. I don't mind paying some sort of VAT but then comes the $30 fee to the postal service... Sigh. And they also count in the shipping as the total value of the package. F. 'em.

 

[vinyl01]

Okay....Forget what you were ever told when shipping records overseas that are over $250. DO NOT send by PRIORITY MAIL EXPRESS INTERNATIONAL like Ebay and Paypal tells you to do. If you send a $500 45 overseas by this method and it gets lost, you will not have a signature confirmation which they need to protect you. So you just made your buyer spend over $50 shipping for nothing!!! Plus charging that much for shipping will lose you lots of sales. All you have to worry about is to make sure you use SHIPSAVER INSURANCE. You can send a record up to $999.99 using 1st class intl. which will cost around $12.50/$12.75. If it sells for between $1000.00 and $2500.00 it must be sent by PRIORITY INTL. which is around $42. If the 45 gets lost or damaged Shipsaver will need to see that it was excepted by the Post office. This can be done with a tracking number, or customs form number or p.o. receipt. I just sold a $350 45 to Japan and the buyer is refusing to pay for it because shipping is $55.85 for PRIORITY MAIL EXPRESS INTERNATIONAL. So I made a lot of calls and found out that Ebay & Paypal shipping rules don't mean squat. Just make sure you insure it through Shipsaver and make sure there is a record of the P.O excepting it, (online or actual receipt) and they will cover you. I filed a claim with Shipsaver last year and they paid me off in 2 or 3 days.

How many claims have you made the past year for packages the buyer said he did not get?

 

[tymespan]

It will just track it to the country not the address.

If you look at the tracking info on eBay it doesn't show you anything but if you go to the USPS website you can see when it cleared customs & when it was delivered. I haven't had a single "Item Not Received" complaint since the PO added tracking to the UK, Australia, etc.

Here's the tracking for a package I shipped to the Netherlands:

December 27, 2013 , 3:30 pm
Delivered

December 24, 2013 , 9:12 pm
Customs clearance processing complete

December 23, 2013 , 3:27 pm
Customs Clearance
NETHERLANDS

December 23, 2013 , 3:26 pm
Processed Through Sort Facility
NETHERLANDS

December 19, 2013 , 7:59 pm
Processed Through Sort Facility
ISC NEW YORK NY(USPS)

December 19, 2013 , 6:29 pm
Processed through USPS Sort Facility
JAMAICA, NY 11430

December 19, 2013 , 6:29 pm
Arrived at Sort Facility
ISC NEW YORK NY(USPS)

December 18, 2013
Depart USPS Sort Facility
BELLMAWR, NJ 08031

December 18, 2013 , 9:17 pm
Processed at USPS Origin Sort Facility
BELLMAWR, NJ 08031

December 18, 2013 , 8:02 pm
Accepted at USPS Origin Sort Facility
WEST CHESTER, PA 19380

December 17, 2013
Electronic Shipping Info Received

 

[vinyl01]

I think it's unfair to put the burden of proof of delivery on the seller causing increase in postal costs. I think if the buyer wants insurance or has a preferred way of shipping then they can pay for it which could be less costly. However, paypal onerous rules prevent this.

 

[JGTiger]

Shipsaver Insurance is EBAY & Paypal's answer to their idiotic and ILLEGAL "burden of proof" scam, which is the entire "Buyer Protection program" in a nutshell. If you sell .01 or 100,000,000 this "Buyer Protection Program" automatically judges the seller is a crook. So you have to prove your morality with ebay. Firstly, the laws of international shipping deems the US domestic shipper (from postcards to entire ISO certified containers) responsible to the PORT of exit from the USA, in the USA according to the UCC. Ebay deems a seller responsible for PROVING full transit and PROOF OF DELIVERY to a foreign Country, which means THEY CREATED THEIR OWN RULES.

The passing of risks occurs when the goods are loaded on board at the port of shipment. Since most buyers PAY for shipping, The last distinction is important for determining liability or risk of loss for goods lost or damaged in transit from the seller to the buyer. International shipments typically use "FOB" as defined by the Incoterm standards, where it always stands for "free on board".

I "used" Shipsaver, and it is the ONLY way to get reimbursement back from these ebay buyer thieves. Another profit motivated system in the corporate web to deceive the public into spending money - OF COURSE ebay will create rules, to make more profit. I had to use the Shipsaver program, VERY heavily, especially with Northern Soul Buyers and GARAGE buyers in foreign countries. It seems every time there is a rare Garage or Soul 45, sold, there is also a very knowledgeable MAILMAN that decides to STEAL the 45 EVERY TIME, it is over 100.00. (EVEN if the customs was considered a "gift" or customs cost of 1.00). Shipsaver will reimbursed providing the buyer cooperates and fill out the proper paperwork. It is such a common practice to claim non-receipt in a foreign country now, that I sent this form letter out, with the Shipsaver forms:

Dear Buyer:
I understand that your postman stole your precious 45. No worries, you will receive ALL your money back, including shipping as soon as you fill out this form. You see, because of this ebay buyer protection program, it makes it pretty easy to claim non-receipt of your records, and get free records. So, help me out, as two can play this game. You fill out the form, return it signed and dated to me, and I will reimburse you, and Shipsaver will reimburse me, everybody wins, and you can still steal records daily, even hourly because ebay makes it amazingly easy for foreign buyers to perpetrate fraud! I win, you win, and in a really super rare occasion, the mailman might actually win, and take home a record.
Sincerely, the ebay buyer protection program, that screwed up so bad with international law, that we started an insurance company to protect the seller, and make more money for our pockets.

I sold on ebay from 1998 until 2013. from 1998 until 2009 I NEVER HAD A CLAIM, EVER. When the ebay buyer protection program was started, I racked up 177 claims totaling 8,913.13 in this short time. Shipsaver paid almost all of them, the 2 they did not pay, was because the buyer never sent the paperwork back. AND I CHARGED the buyer for the 1.00 insurance cost in their shipping charges. Shipsaver IS the only way to do business on ebay now, but unfortunately, it costs your time and energy to put up with the hassle of claims. F**k ebay. Great to buy there, never will sell there again.

 

[gregk25]

The bad thing is that the "burden of proof" is a paypal-approach and as such transcends the ebay-world by far. Regardless wether you sell on the bay, facebook or privately, a buyer paying by paypal automatically is offered a wealth of mischievous possibilities. And as paypal is starting to become an even bigger monopoly than ebay it's getting more and more impossible to avoid this w/o the inconveniences of services such as shipsaver. Not selling on ebay doesn't solve the problem.

 

[Shipsurance]

Shipsaver Insurance is EBAY & Paypal's answer to their idiotic and ILLEGAL "burden of proof" scam, which is the entire "Buyer Protection program" in a nutshell.

One of our users pointed us to this thread. We wanted to chime in as Shipsurance is the insurance provider for ShipSaver Insurance. For clarification purposes; eBay does not own or have anything to do with ShipSaver. The insurance is available for eBay users and accessible through their App Store, but eBay has nothing to do with it. We are happy that it offers the protection that helps you in your International shipping.

eBay does offer "ShipCover Insurance". That is run by eBay.

 

[JGTiger]

I'd never sell on ebay again, with out SHIPSAVER. Only way to protect yourself, unfortunately. It is a fair program, especially if the seller passes on the cost of insurance to the buyer. My bad, had no idea "Shipcover/Shipsaver was 2 totally different options on ebay. In any case, I used Shipsaver, and it was a great help to my small business at that time. Never tried Shipcover.

 

[vinyl01]

One of our users pointed us to this thread. We wanted to chime in as Shipsurance is the insurance provider for ShipSaver Insurance. For clarification purposes; eBay does not own or have anything to do with ShipSaver. The insurance is available for eBay users and accessible through their App Store, but eBay has nothing to do with it. We are happy that it offers the protection that helps you in your International shipping.

eBay does offer "ShipCover Insurance". That is run by eBay.

Does your company do any checking on the claims to see if they were actually rec'd. when claimed they were not?

 

[Hicksville Hogwash]

JGTiger Hows the water your way? I can post a pipeline down there with our good unchemicalized stuff. Well kind of good. Still some mine crap in there I guess.

 

[JGTiger]

the water is poison. Don't, never did, will never drink it. reduced my bath/doing dishes & laundry to 1x /week. sick, as it is a vivid example of what is to come to real world, in NYC & LA.

 

[Lagniappe Records]

so far, i've sold to people who have been "rock stars" of honor, on the internet.
i've been very fortunate, i guess.

since i started selling years ago (as an individual) the international shipments all went without a hitch. excuse me, i have to knock on some wood.

many INT buyers payed the more expensive shipping costs (at their request)

others opt for lower cost shipping. so far, no issues. (banging on wood)

using forums to sell has it's benefits, it seems.
that is mostly where i've bought and sold. (rcg, your old site, northern soul forums, craigslist, etc)

i've always gone straight to folks themselves, so to speak... in discussion forums or other free online portals.

i'm a small business owner. free is a great price. i have budget for free services.

i don't have a best buy budget. surviving as a "mom and pop record store" isn't all that lucrative, in the overall picture of the world.

i've never had an ebay account, or paypal... personally... but now that i'm managing a record store, they do.

as far as moi, i never signed up for those services because of forums.

also, ebay & paypal are such large corporations, i prefer mom and pop businesses, so to speak. i try to live my life that way, and not "shop at the walmarts, but the small local shops"

personal choice, is all.

additionally, i had considered paypal, but when they asked me for my SS, i told them to fuck off. i don't give my SS to ANYBODY.

that personal choice will never change, and i have grey hair, so... yea.

most of my customers are local college or high school kids, asking me for anything from otis redding to punk, John Coltrane to Janis Joplin. Not one has asked me for madonna or snoopwhomever. i find that pretty damn refreshing, dog.

i'm fortunate. they are also awesome people, just like the folks i've bought and sold to... in the vinyl online community.

most vinylheads take pride in their honor, is my experience. not all, of course.

most grade honestly and bend over backwards to package and ship professionally.
that has been my experience. again, i guess i'm really lucky.

in contrast, i have turned down requests to purchase things online (not just vinyl) because i didn't have a good gut feeling about the buyer (or, in reverse... i've back out of buying stuff, due to not feeling comfortable about the demeanor of the seller)

so far, so good.

somebody got some nice ruff stuff from me at your old web site, years ago.
i had just started "retailing" back then on my own locally, but now i'm in an actual brick and mortar.

oh, i did get good feedback quickly on epray.
i graded something near mint, and both buyers were happy.
first two epray sales ever, for me.
(the two vinyl items that sold via the owners Langiappe Record Store account)

http://www.ebay.com/usr/wildsalmonak

every other record i've ever sold has been face to face, or forum to forum, so to speak.

put the record in front of the experts, has always been my theory.

thanks to people who build forums. you're really great people.

:^)

thanks for listening. this helps.

vic