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Being an International Buyer
#11

RE: Being an International Buyer
Another international collector here - Dutch, living in Spain.

1) You're excluded from good purchases
True. Most offers are US territory, which is fair because we are dealing with a primarily American product based on an American sport with mostly American players. Most of those US sellers, I'd say about 70%, don't ship internationally. I can understand it because mail does get lost more frequently on international shipments and additionally this has been an excuse used by scammers. It's a price we the honest collectors pay for those who abused the system.

That said, there are many Asian sellers on eBay that have great items. We non-Americans have somewhat of an advantage on those American collectors who prefer to stay away from international transactions. Let me add I have dealt with quite a few of them and have never had an issue.

2) Shipping costs
Shipping costs are a bummer and something no-one can really do anything about.

What does annoy me is when I'm charged excessively much (US$ 10 for one card). That is simply unfair and at some stage becomes illegal. It's a bummer when I pay 8, 9 bucks for a shipping from the US when a guy in Hong Kong gets it to me for 3 dollars.

The new eBay system is great - except for that SPAIN IS NOT INCLUDED! This is effing Europe, helloooo!!

5) NO LCS
It's a curse and a blessing. If there were any LCS's here I would probably have spent so much I'd be living under a bridge by now.
And if it comforts you somewhat, many American collectors don't have an LCS either.
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#12

RE: Being an International Buyer
I'm also an international, i found most of the time when i ask a seller to ship to Australia they will if i pay $45 for EMS shipping, i don't mind doing that on the high end stuff like $500+ cards, but sometimes on the $100-$300 cards it's simply not worth it...

I have seen a lot of cards sell for less then i would pay and it seems like a lot of cards are not getting to the prices we would normally expect...

Maybe part of the reason is because the shipping doesn't make it worth it for internationals collectors and i believe that without us, this hobby will suffer...

The mid range cards seem to be suffering the most and that makes sense....


Not really a hole lot we can do about it until we have a reliable system in place to accommodate international shipping, i for one believe it would only help to increase card value across the board.
Collecting BGS 9.5 MJ 90's inserts

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#13

RE: Being an International Buyer
Let me start by thanking you all for all the comments. When I sat down to write the post I'd just come to terms with having to drop five cards due to not being able to get the sellers to ship the cards my way.

I posted the thread at 11:47pm Swedish time, just before I went to bed. When I woke up at 5am the following day I had the entire thread full of ideas, recommendations, and "I know the feel bro'" comments.

From all of the suggestions I gained some much needed knowledge.

Tbarn291: Your suggestion on family/friends who could help me out is sadly not something I current posses. Well, I have friends, but not good enough to ask them to accept 10 packs of cards a month and send them my way. But I'm working on that.

Kstjst: Please, let us know how things work out for you. The more I know about the many ways that Ebay might help out, the more leverage I have when talking to sellers

Commonguysports: The second I read about this I was on Comc.com. It seems to be a pretty nice solution. And those five cards that I had to drop, are now on their way to the Comc.com office. Since it is pretty cheap now I'll hold on to this solution for now, and let the future be the judge.

Folkertino: I couldn't agree more about the status of LCS. I'm already spending money on overseas purchases, if I had one close by - i'd probably spend even more. But, it would have been great when you needed to buy top loaders or magsafe holders. Now, I have to buy 30 mags at a time to "break even" on the purchase. But, I always throw in a little wax box when I do - for fun. Doesn't make it cheaper...but! Smile

Once again all of you how posted on this thread - Thank you! This was one of the many reasons why I started "hanging" on this forum.
PC - Jeff Taylor #44 Charlotte Bobcats - 42/110 = 38%

Also looking for Jim Jackson autograph cards.
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#14

RE: Being an International Buyer
(06-18-2013, 07:59 PM)TBarn291 Wrote: Do you have any family or friends in the United States? If so have your auction winnings shipped to them and once they have a nice package for you pay them to ship it all in one package. It might still be a high shipping cost, but at least you are only paying it once instead of on each item.
Well that sounds like a good idea! Tongue

Regarding the topic, yes this is pretty frustrating. I live in Saudi Arabia and have to pay a dookie load for shipping even though I get 1/2 packages a month from my buddy TBarn. The lack of a LCS though is a killer. I would kill to go hang out with some friends and break a few boxes!
PC Players: Damian Lillard, Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala
Currant set chase: 12/13 NT Dual Matchups Prime (71/100), Absolute Team Tandems Prime (12/25), Innovation Stat Line Prime (7/25)
PC: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28871127@N03/sets
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#15

Being an International Buyer - Update 6/26/13
I had to post an update on all this. The Mailbox service that is offered through COMC.com is, hands down, amazing.

Last weeks I ordered some cards from Ebay.com. The last two days I've recieved e-mails with the following information:

Quote:

Johan,

We received your package with tracking number '######'. This package had 2 items and was assigned to mailbox #####. See the attached image for a picture of what we received. This mailbox now has a total of 2 items. The items are scheduled to be added to your 'johanolsson' account on July 30. We will start processing your mailbox on July 23. Until then, you can continue to add more items to this mailbox.

If you would like us to start processing the items in your mailbox now, simply reply to this email, and specify if you would like One Week or One Day processing.

Please note there is a $5 minimum processing fee when processing the items in your mailbox.

If you have any questions, we would be more than happy to help.




~ The COMC Team
http://www.comc.com



Follow us on Twitter

http://twitter.com/checkoutmycards

They also include a picture of each card, thus I can asap go to Ebay and let the seller know that we're all OK.

That is a service I will pay a measly $5 for to get. No problem.

Now, off to see the Man of Steel - in the mirror. Then I'm off to see the Man of Steel, the movie.
PC - Jeff Taylor #44 Charlotte Bobcats - 42/110 = 38%

Also looking for Jim Jackson autograph cards.
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#16

RE: Being an International Buyer - Update 6/26/13
(06-26-2013, 08:54 AM)johanolsson Wrote: I had to post an update on all this. The Mailbox service that is offered through COMC.com is, hands down, amazing.

Last weeks I ordered some cards from Ebay.com. The last two days I've recieved e-mails with the following information:


They also include a picture of each card, thus I can asap go to Ebay and let the seller know that we're all OK.

That is a service I will pay a measly $5 for to get. No problem.

Now, off to see the Man of Steel - in the mirror. Then I'm off to see the Man of Steel, the movie.
I am glad that little bit of info was of help. I hope it all works just as good for having them shipped to you. Unfortunately the USPS has screwed us for shipping out of country so this may be a option for more people so make sure you update this when you have it all shipped to you.

Jeremy
CommonGuy Sports
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#17

RE: Being an International Buyer
I'm always trying the Mailbox now, I live in the UK and shipping and customs costs are a right pain in the backside. Hopefully Mailbox will help lower these and make collecting overseas easier. I'll post when I get my stuff too, this thread was a great help
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