Shipping to US only, US first: It's a desaster (1 Viewer)

5aces

5aces

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Hi fellas,

I know that this thread and maybe especially the title will effectuate some controversy discussion, but for me it is the right moment to initiate it, now.

As a chip collector there is no discussion to me, that there is only one place to be: PCF! I was also a well known member at CT (another nickname), but things have changed and I really like this board and appreciate to be a part of it.

But what I really dislike and what I don't understand is, that more and more classifieds contain "shipping to US only". I hope that there are certain reasons, why sellers choose this option and that this is not only to avoid foreign people to buy a rare US product?!

As all serious collectors I would also like to keep all chips and sets only for myself, but if I decide to sell a set, I would sell it to every nation worldwide, if the buyer take the costs.

Hope you got my point and I am really looking forward to the discussion.

Cheers,

Sebastian

PS: Attached you can find some selected pictures of sets, which I have sold in the past to foreign collectors (and there are many more)!

1$ MGM Grand LV

1$ MGM Grand LV

5$ MGM Grand LV

5$ MGM Grand LV

MGM Foxwood 1$

MGM Foxwood 1$

MGM Foxwood 2$

MGM Foxwood 2$

MGM Cash Set

MGM Cash Set

 
I've had seven packages go missing en route to international addresses (coincidentally, 2 or 3 of these were supposed to make it to you....) and am 0/4 on insurance claims thru USPS (3 of the 7 did not have insurance).

The additional "work" (customs forms) doesn't even play into the equation for me anymore.

I'm not saying I'm done shipping internationally but I'm close. And I will absolutely give preference to someone domestically even if it means accepting a lower price before shipping costs.
 
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Beautiful sets, love that pron.

More people will chime in soon with their reasons, I personally will ship internationally, I have shipped more than a couple things to Canada and one to Mexico, so for me it's not an issue.

I will say that people who won't ship internationally seem to have reasons for it and I don't think it has anything to do with just "not wanting to sell to a non USA person". It sucks for you for sure though, good luck finding what you want.

Edit: links posted while I was typing, but yeah, those seem to be the reasons I have heard. For what it's worth I explicitly state and make sure it's understood that once I drop package off at the post office my part is done.
 
5aces said:
I hope that there are certain reasons, why sellers choose this option and that this is not only to avoid foreign people to buy a rare US product?!
Click to expand...
I've shipped a number of items overseas. Typically they arrive without issue, however I've had two small flat rate boxes disappear. From now on I only ship overseas if two conditions are met by the buyer:
  1. At least 300 chips are being purchased (to warrant the use of a medium flat rate box)
  2. The buyer assumes all risk of the chips showing up damaged/not showing up at all.
Additionally, I refuse to use anything but medium flat rate boxes when shipping overseas.
 
I have no issue with overseas shipping both ways if the buyer/seller is a known PCF member or a chipper I have dealt with before.

I think you will hear the biggest concern with a lot of folks that there are fewer avenues of recourse when problems arise with an international shipment. Tracking issues and problems with insurance claims for international shipments along with the added cost of shipping internationally seem to be other factors.

I don't believe it has anything to do with some kind of anti non-US type of thing.

I've done many transactions with international chippers and so far have had nothing but great results but others have had problems and I can understand their concerns especially when dealing with $1000's of dollars worth of chips.
 
I was happy to ship to international buyers for years. It was more of a hassle but I didn't mind. I'm guessing I made 20 to 30 international transactions w/o any issues at all.

But my last sale 2 years ago got lost in the mail. I proposed a deal to the buyer where I absorbed about 65% of the loss and he 35% but he demanded a full refund so I was out $100's in chips and shipping costs. I guess I'm lucky it was just one rack and not 5.
I haven't sold too many chips since then, but I reluctantly decided to limit them to US-only. It was just much of a risk.
I could always do a F&F payment with the 'buyer accepts all risk' clause, but if something goes wrong then the buyer is not happy and my reputation would take a hit regardless of whether it was my fault or not.
 
Glad to hear, that only the shipping issues are mostly the reason, why some of you don't like to ship overseas.
Maybe you should add this to you classifieds and everything is fine, like "risk and costs regards to the int. buyer".
 
5aces said:
Glad to hear, that only the shipping issues are mostly the reason, why some of you don't like to ship overseas.
Maybe you should add this to you classifieds and everything is fine, like "risk and costs regards to the int. buyer".
Click to expand...

In all likelihood that is what I will do. For me, and I expect nearly everyone else, it has nothing to do with wanting to keep chips on home soil.
 
fish72s said:
In all likelihood that is what I will do. For me, and I expect nearly everyone else, it has nothing to do with wanting to keep chips on home soil.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I've never heard of anyone using this reasoning. As stated in this thread, I think the two reasons are simply:
1. The risk of loss/damage.
2. Americans are lazy. :LOL: :laugh:
 
5aces said:
As all serious collectors I would also like to keep all chips and sets only for myself, but if I decide to sell a set, I would sell it to every nation worldwide, if the buyer take the costs.
Click to expand...

And the risks.

But I agree - I'm very willing to do a tiny bit of extra paperwork if the buyer is willing to pay to fly beloved chips to far-off lands.
 

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From your pics, feel free to ship me chips ANY time! ;)

I did ship 500 chips to Canada once, seemed fine, but when I filled out the paperwork, I hesitated at the "Gift/Goods(Consumable)" question and still checked Goods, which I'm sure meant the buyer paid more in Taxes, but I didn't know what would be safest...... :(

I just don't sell enough to (A) Care, or (B) Worry.....

And besides, I want "All your chips are belong to me" anyway...!
giphy.gif
 
Wils said:
It might be more hassle, it might be more cost, it might just be the case that US chippers want to keep US chips on home soil.

Personally the hefty shipping and import costs make any non-European deals almost irelevant to me.
Click to expand...

I feel your pain, shipping and import duty are not great for us.
 
Did you buy some of the PNYs from me? (JCTC or Jeff on Chiptalk)

I shipped a ton of very expensive chips to Europe. All of them got there but I remember sweating the risk. Thousands of dollars in transactions that would be a big problem if the chips went missing I believe the countries were Germany, France, Denmark. I don't blame people who decide they can't stomach the risk.
 
BTW...I would never recommend doing an eBay Transaction internationally. Just privately here.
 
I've never heard of US sellers wanting to keep their chips on US soil only. But I have heard of chippers from a country that's done that. The country shall remain nameless...but it lies btw you, England and Spain (And I don't think Luxembourg has any chippers.) Just saying. :D
 
I hadn't thought about how nice it would be to keep all the chips in the US for easier and more trading in the future until you mentioned it :sneaky:

Seriously though for me it falls under "once bitten, twice shy". I've been burned before and I won't likely do it again. Especially for high dollar deals.
I only half kiddingly say that if I can't drive somewhere and handle a bad deal in person, I don't ship there :p

I do sympathize with you though. I'd be bummed if the tables were turned and I was obsessed with pretty chips from Europe.
 
links_slayer said:
I've had seven packages go missing en route to international addresses (coincidentally, 2 or 3 of these were supposed to make it to you....) and am 0/4 on insurance claims thru USPS (3 of the 7 did not have insurance).
Click to expand...

That sucks.
Having read these posts I suppose the way to go is insured shipping + all the costs and the risks to the buyer.
If and when the insurance gives the seller a reimbursement, the seller will send the money to the buyer.

Of course anyone is free (not) to sell its own things to anyone else, but, as a collector / fanatic / hobbyist, its really bad to find that someone won't sell you the chips you're looking for just because you're not in his/her same country. It would have been understandable 50 years ago, maybe, but today everyone takes for granted that shippings should work and, if lost, refunded. Amazon and eBay are founded on this assumption.

Anyway I think this is a wonderful community with wonderful people and if many have stopped shipping worldwide there must be very good reasons. Hopefully this discussion can help solve the problems people have with international shipping.
 
Hypothetical question...what would have been the reaction if a Canadian buyer had bought all of the Stardust Poker Mansion chips when they became available, and refused to ship to buyers outside of Canada for the same reasons?
 
abby99 said:
A lot of road trips to Canada?
Click to expand...

If the buyer is close to the border, that would be an option. If they aren't (say the seller is in my old hometown of St. John's, NL, so a plane or 12-18 hour ferry trip is required), then that might not be an attractive option.

Note that this would be a horrible decision from a practical perspective due to the smaller buyer pool. I'm just curious about what the reaction (if any) would be from US buyers.
 
CdnBeerLover said:
Hypothetical question...what would have been the reaction if a Canadian buyer had bought all of the Stardust Poker Mansion chips when they became available, and refused to ship to buyers outside of Canada for the same reasons?
Click to expand...
I would be what it would be. If you were in love with those chips then you would do what you could to get them. If you couldn't, you'd get over it.
I'd kill for a few racks of Dunes $1. I don't lose (much) sleep over the fact that I can't get them.
 
CdnBeerLover said:
Hypothetical question...what would have been the reaction if a Canadian buyer had bought all of the Stardust Poker Mansion chips when they became available, and refused to ship to buyers outside of Canada for the same reasons?
Click to expand...

We have nukes. Just sayin':)
 

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