I am done shipping outside North America (1 Viewer)

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Lemonzest

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I have always been of the opinion that Americans are egocentric in posting for sale ads that are "CONUS" only. I mean come on the rest of the world likes chips too ya know. So I always made an effort to ship internationally to whoever was a willing buyer. I lauded myself for being an inclusive citizen of Earth. Well no longer.

I have shipped maybe 10 packages to Europe/Australia over the years (all with tracking) and 2 of them have been lost. Those just aren't good odds. Sorry euro and aussies I am done.
 
I just won't do it for anything I wouldn't be comfortable with eating the cost for. Even if a buyer says that they'll take full responsibility, I'll still feel bad about it if whatever it is is lost. Maybe when we're not in a pandemic I'll reconsider.
 
I can say exactly the same from the other side of the pond.

Chipping outside North America is close to stupid or suicidal, unless you 're filthy rich.
No Paulson savouring, sampling, "renting" etc

One package (out of not many) I sent to the US has been vandalized and its contents mostly stolen.
This is not just because of Covid (right now, of course, I would NOT mail anything to the next town, in any country).

Even in smooth shipping eras, factoring in shipping costs and import taxes, you never-ever get your money back if you resell to the Americas something you bought from there.

For spirited and demanding non-North American chippers, the only solution is CPC / Key West (still, after the pandemic and the world-wide shipping collapse are over).
No brillant yellow? You can make marvels if you match CPC yellows to blues, pinks, purples.
 
Lemonzest said:
I have always been of the opinion that Americans are egocentric in posting for sale ads that are "CONUS" only. I mean come on the rest of the world likes chips too ya know. So I always made an effort to ship internationally to whoever was a willing buyer. I lauded myself for being an inclusive citizen of Earth. Well no longer.

I have shipped maybe 10 packages to Europe/Australia over the years (all with tracking) and 2 of them have been lost. Those just aren't good odds. Sorry euro and aussies I am done.
Click to expand...

People should stop using cheap shipping for expensive chips....USPS is a joke for international

Any chips I'm sending outside EU will be premium shipping only untill covid dies down (DHL/UPS/FEDEX)
Same for receiving for that matter...I pay about $350 for 15 racks ($23/rack)...25kg boxes are even cheaper.

Sorry for the loss of packages @Lemonzest
 
Thomacetti said:
People should stop using cheap shipping for expensive chips....USPS is a joke for international

Any chips I'm sending outside EU will be premium shipping only untill covid dies down (DHL/UPS/FEDEX)
Same for receiving for that matter...I pay about $350 for 15 racks ($23/rack)...25kg boxes are even cheaper.
Click to expand...

+1, I agree. I've been shipping USPS internationally at the choice of the person receiving the shipment, but in my honest opinion, if it's something like a 20-25% increase in price, its well worth it when going with DHL, UPS, or FedEx. Heck even ARAMEX, which is based out of Dubai is a fantastic company to ship with.
 
Lemonzest said:
Sorry euro and aussies I am done.
Click to expand...

Would we call this a "Lemon Pledge" to no longer ship outside CONUS? :rolleyes:

1609960691003.png
 
Thomacetti said:
People should stop using cheap shipping for expensive chips....USPS is a joke for international

Any chips I'm sending outside EU will be premium shipping only untill covid dies down (DHL/UPS/FEDEX)
Same for receiving for that matter...I pay about $350 for 15 racks ($23/rack)...25kg boxes are even cheaper.

Sorry for the loss of packages @Lemonzest
Click to expand...

Solid advice. DHL/UPS/FEDEX are pros with shipping international. The domestic postal services clearly not so much.

To clarify I don't want to further alienate international chippers. I realize it sucks and there are so many added costs/inconveniences. I will follow your advice and ship with DHL/UPS/FEDEX next time despite their ridiculous cost/fees.
 
ReallyGoodUsername said:
Knock on wood I’m still about 40/40+ for international shipments
Click to expand...

I am at 20+ Packages sent and/or received with no issues. 4 of them sent from the UK mid-Dec made it safely to the US between this week and the week before.

There is no such thing as 0 risk though. Hopefully this thread won’t discourage US chippers from engaging with their international counterparts.
 
Lemonzest said:
I have always been of the opinion that Americans are egocentric in posting for sale ads that are "CONUS" only. I mean come on the rest of the world likes chips too ya know. So I always made an effort to ship internationally to whoever was a willing buyer. I lauded myself for being an inclusive citizen of Earth. Well no longer.

I have shipped maybe 10 packages to Europe/Australia over the years (all with tracking) and 2 of them have been lost. Those just aren't good odds. Sorry euro and aussies I am done.
Click to expand...
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/conus-only.67344/#post-1352425

What a coincidence, I was now thinking about that (but as Spaniard, of course).

I bought some chips to a French eBay seller in October and they haven't arrived yet, and they were only 500 miles from my home. But I can understand that the risk is for the buyer in this case when buy in the forum, of course.
 
PocketAces said:
I am at 20+ Packages sent and/or received with no issues. 4 of them sent from the UK mid-Dec made it safely to the US between this week and the week before.

There is no such thing as 0 risk though. Hopefully this thread won’t discourage US chippers from engaging with their international counterparts.
Click to expand...

Would advise you to find a US mule or relay to avoid missing out on chips and sales...

I that base is covered... Carry on
 
Thomacetti said:
Would advise you to find a US mule or relay to avoid missing out on chips and sales...

I that base is covered... Carry on
Click to expand...
If by "US mule" we mean a person travelling to Europe frequently, that's ideal, but not feasible right now, in Covid time.

If we mean just a US address, it's equally dangerous as direct shipping, currently.

I had a few expensive chips shipped from Spinetti to a friend in PA.
The friend re-shipped them and they arrived in Athens International Airport on Nov 20.
Cannot be tracked ever since...
 
I sent a SFRB to Germany and it was there in 4 days with no issues...... shipped a SFRB to Canada, we are on 34 days and counting. Somehow it's been sitting in Montreal for 2 weeks when it is supposed to be heading to Edmonton area. Very frustrating with the inconsistency.

Also had a rack take 12 days to go from Detroit to Chicago.... could have walked it there myself in that time.
 
There's also other factors we aren't considering outside of courier delays. One thing I think everybody should do no matter who they ship with, print in large bold font and tape over it when you can. Sometimes the delays could be due to the writing not being legible, even with a bar code to scan. Make sure you print the names large enough so that the person can input the information manually if they have to.
 
I sent a pair of sneakers to a buddy of mine in the UK, tracked and signature delivery. They made their way to his door and were left there by the delivery guy because he wasn't at home and promptly stolen. The UK post service acknowledged they screwed up and admitted blame however it still took over 4 months for USPS to pay out on the insurance - and I still lost money as the insurance didn't cover everything.

I share your reluctance!
 
I have a shipment within CONUS that hasn't moved since Dec 7th... been reported a week ago or so, still nothing. So, not sure the international part is the problem.
 
I'm at about 30 international for cards, and had no issues. Some did take forever to get there, but I don't think the cards spoiled during the time. Minty fresh!
 
Coyote said:
Sure, you might have lost something like $2K in the process, Customs-wise, but you 've gained experience from life :)
Click to expand...
Haha, my comment was strictly referring to packages being lost/stolen. That has never happened to me. Import tax however........
 
I think the USPS sucks for domestic packages as well. I have a package in usps limbo and cant get any info on it. I placed a lost mail inquiry and a day later All I got was a request to do a survey to tell them how they did in resolving the problem...... what ridiculous joke. From now on I will only use ups/fedex. It’s not that much more.
 
Lemonzest said:
I have always been of the opinion that Americans are egocentric in posting for sale ads that are "CONUS" only. I mean come on the rest of the world likes chips too ya know. ....I lauded myself for being an inclusive citizen of Earth. Well no longer.
Click to expand...

Dude,
Good talk the other day....
I buy and sell watches as well as poker chips and have been doing so for many years. I can't even remember the last time I was willing to ship anything of value overseas. I did right at the beginning when I first started, but it is just too difficult and too risky. US to Canada = Fine, US to anywhere else = Forget it
 
Seeing as how this is where we all chime in, I’ve sent and received probably 50-100 poker chip packages to and from USA to Scotland over the past 10-15 years. Mostly sets, and sent from the USA using usps. Zero missing packages. The only damaged chips were some PNYs that were literally poured into a flat rate box by the seller.

Still, totally get where the op is coming from.
 
Goldfish said:
I think the USPS sucks for domestic packages as well. I have a package in usps limbo and cant get any info on it. I placed a lost mail inquiry and a day later All I got was a request to do a survey to tell them how they did in resolving the problem...... what ridiculous joke. From now on I will only use ups/fedex. It’s not that much more.
Click to expand...
idk, if you use usps priority flat rate boxes they are good and priced well. I do use these frequently and have never had an issue. usps does just fine within the US but once it leaves the US boundaries I think that is when the real issues start. I am not saying you didn't have a problem within the US, but I think that is unusual
 

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