Spacey's rant: U.K., I've had it with you

[SpaceGhost2K]

There have been about four Gears of War 2 faceplates listed on ebay in the past 30 days and not a single one of them will ship to the US. Not only are the auctions set up to block US bidders, but when I ask nicely, explain that I collect them and run a forum, and that I'm happy to pay more for the additional shipping, they STILL refuse.

I know there isn't a chance in hell of them reading this.. but on second thought, I think I'm going to link this post every time I ask.

1) Are you aware that you could get three to five times what you're getting for your auction item if you shipped outside of the U.K.?

2) Are you aware that these people have significant positive feedback so you're not selling to some guy with a feedback of 2?

3) Are you aware that they also have confirmed addresses and PayPal, and money IN PayPal so you get paid ASAP and you're covered by PayPal if something goes wrong?

4) Are you aware that by reaching out to these people you could find yourself with a new, happy and regular buyer - the kind of buyer that sellers WANT?

5) Are you aware that it doesn't matter what the exchange rate is with other countries when you're a seller? You get whatever the asking price is, unlike when you buy internationally and what you pay depends on the exchange rate at that moment.

6) Are you aware that we all regularly buy, sell and trade internationally? We're aware of the additional expense and willing to pay, but we also know how to figure out what it is, so don't look at this as an opportunity to screw us with shipping. Be aggressive but be fair.

7) Are you are aware that our planet is a globe, with other countries and even hemisphere's and stuff?

We all like Xbox. In fact, we'd like to think that other people who like Xbox are maybe just a little smarter than the average bear. So help yourself out by helping us out, and allowing us to bid on your UK exclusive items. See, that's where HAVING a UK exclusive item benefits you - WHEN YOU'RE SELLING IT OUTSIDE OF THE UK. If I had this super rare thing that was only available in Bakersfield, California, USA, and I only sold it to people in Bakersfield, California, USA, THEY WOULDN'T CARE. I'd get it for retail because if I asked more, they'd walk down the street and get their own. But if I offered it to the whole world, I'd have a fight on my hands that would drive the price through the roof.

Are you getting "through the roof" prices for your UK-Only faceplate? Yeah, I've seen them close for £3. Is that what you want instead of £30? Alrighty then...

[hellonearth159]

I have to agree with you. It took me months to get the Modern Warfare 2 faceplate and all the sellers that didn't want to ship to the US ended up selling their plates for a lot less that I would have been willing to pay.

[Variation-XBA]

You think you got it bad? Try being Canadian and not being able to bid on half of everything on Ebay for the same reasons cause they don't want to ship across the border.

[SpaceGhost2K]

Yeah, but you're Canadian. That's like Nigerians, but with a "Canad" in front.

[Fargoth]

I really think it's the whole pride thing if you ever notice on XBL, people from the UK and people from America are always fighting and insulting each other. I really think the reason people like that won't sell it to you is because he doesn't like Americans.

This is only a guess though so if there is anyone from the UK that I have offended sorry.

[Rlvers]

I really think the reason people like that won't sell it to you is because he doesn't like Americans.

That is 80-90% of the world out of North America.

[SpaceGhost2K]

I did have a gentleman contact me after I sent him a link to this rant. He was in the UK and agreed to sell a plate to me. He was avoiding selling outside of the UK due to one bad experience. He seems like a very nice guy and didn't know that his item wasn't available outside of the UK. So to him I say, thank you

[mrpunchy]

I have had terrible experiences selling to people in Canada from Ebay. I mean terrible for both me and the buyer. It doesn't appear that customs has any set standard to what they audit or state is unacceptable. I had sealed xbox games returned to me after a month or taken two months to get to a customer. Then they give you bad feedback.

I no longer ship outside the USA and I literally live 3 hours from Toronto.

[Andreas]

The problem goes both ways. There's been plenty of times I found items from the US that i wanted to buy and ended up not beeing able to, due to the fact that they don't ship outside of continental US. Some of the sellers are willing to change this if you ask nicely, while other don't.
I think many sellers do it because it's easiest to set up to only sell domestic.

[Steeps5]

Lol I remember this rant from a couple months ago

[HaZarD SFD]

Yeah, but you're Canadian. That's like Nigerians, but with a "Canad" in front.

I suggest from that comparison you stay on your side of the border till us "Canad"ians calm down lol.

[angeto]

i here ya i live in the uk ,
and tried to get a modbook there ending in the us for (less)ebay wouldn't even let me send a msg .
ended up getting one for (more )in germany .
anyway if any ones needing anything from the uk bought and posted over just let me know
i'm an ebay seller and live on ebay 24/7 send me a pm if you need anything

[SpaceGhost2K]

i here ya i live in the uk ,
and tried to get a modbook there ending in the us for (less)ebay wouldn't even let me send a msg .
ended up getting one for (more )in germany .
anyway if any ones needing anything from the uk bought and posted over just let me know
i'm an ebay seller and live on ebay 24/7 send me a pm if you need anything

Thanks. I've purchased stuff for Pierre in Italy and Tom in Italy, and I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting. I've been helped out a number of times, too.

[12buckmafia-XBA]

A lot of sellers are turned off of shipping internationally for the simple reason of the increased amount of chargebacks from impatient buyers. Sellers end up in a bit of a conundrum because eBay's chargeback policies require a seller to provide proof of shipping via a tracking number, and most international buyers are not willing to pay the extra for tracked shipping for the seller's benefit. Tracked shipping is cheap in the US. You can get first class with a tracking number for next to nothing compared to what it costs up here in Canada. They don't offer tracking unless you pay for registered or express post shipping, at a minimum cost of $8 for shipping within your designated "region" with Canada Post. The minimum jumps up to $12 for within the country but outside the region, and $15 to ship to the States. Registered shipping is the only way to send tracked outside of those 2 countries, since the Express premium is often into 3 digits.

As a hockey card collector dealing with other hockey card collectors, who in their right mind would pay $15 shipping for a card they won for $1? Most buyers are not even willing to take a $1 hit nowadays, so they forgo the drama altogether. Conversely, many top sellers get burned by these $1 buyers, whose chargeback is just as damaging to their eBay profile as a $200 chargeback in the grand scheme of things, even if they refund the buyer. These sellers then just say the hell with international shipping and only ship within their country.

It's a fairly vicious cycle in the end.