20 replies to this topic

[Dusky]

Hi all :)

 

Im always buying parts in the UK because they are way cheaper than in Belgium ( people here still think their engine blocks are made of gold instead of iron).

But I see a lot of people who won't post to Belgium  'because they had problems shipping overseas'.

Surely there is a bunch of liars between them who just heard some story about a friend of a friend of a nephew of a collegue?

I honestly don't get why people are making so much trouble about shipping abroad.  I've bought and sold 30+ items in the past months and I NEVER had a problem.

And I am just using tracked+signed shipping.

It's quite irritating when you see a beautifull weber carb, but they don't want to sell it to you. I declare this as pure racism ;)

 

cheers

[The Matt]

It's just a lack of understanding of the costs involved.  I think people assume that it'll be a load of hassle and cost a fortune.

[The Matt]

I'd happily ship to anywhere in Europe (apart from Belgium)

[Tamworthbay]

And there are a few rip off merchants around, but I have sent parts to Holland, Italy, France, an engine to Australia! And load of stuff to the states and only ever had one problem which was due to customs being clueless and it was eventually sorted. But what I have had is a few times where people are massively interested and then you spend ages working out the postage costs only for them to go HOW MUCH?, so now I give them a list of who I deal with and get them to do the quotes. That way we both know there's nothing dodgy and I don't waste time.

[firstforward]

Why don't you purchase an item and ask the supplier to hold the item for you to get a courier to collect on your behalf.

[The Matt]

Why don't you purchase an item and ask the supplier to hold the item for you to get a courier to collect on your behalf.

 

The problem with that (for some people) is that you then have to be in for the courier to collect it.  If you work away, or work varied hours, it's a lot easier to pop something to the post office or a drop-off point than it is to wait around for a courier that someone else has arranged.

 

I can see why some people don't want to ship abroad.  To me, it's not a problem.  To others, it is.

 

Maybe they just want to keep the parts in the UK due to some form of twisted Vehicle Parts Patriotism? Haha!

[vx220]

It's not racism, it's anti-chipsandmayoism...


...which I am strongly against! Long live chips and mayo!

[darkcat]

I have been asked to ship to various countries, and have - part of the problem from a sellers' perspective is that often buyers don't understand the cost...

Several times I've been asked to quote for shipping to europe, and on telling them the actual cost of P&P, I get no response, or the buyer tries to negotiate some sort of discount... why should i absorb some of their P&P cost?!

Some sellers have never posted outside the UK, so expect there to be a mass of issues with currency, tax and customs (which there isnt)

So sellers generally just blankly say uk only. its less hassle (a bit)

 

Edited by darkcat, 06 December 2014 - 09:45 AM.

[Black.Ghost]

It depends who it is. If it's someone through here or Mg-Rover forums, I wouldn't have a problem. If it's a random guy on eBay, I'm often more reluctant. I do tell people I will ship it to a friends address in the UK or something though.

Even if you work regular easy hours, waiting for a courier is just a pain. It's much easier just to drop stuff off.

If you have trouble getting it shipped overseas, I am sure there are people on here who would post it on for you. It will obviously cost you a bit more as you are paying for two lots of postage but might be worth it for some rarer parts. Also, you could get loads of bits all left at one place and then just come over and collect them all?

[Harrison541]

Sometimes when I've had to send something outside of the UK the buyer gets a shock when I tell them the postage costs as I post most things on a service that requires a signature for my own security.

 

Having said that there is a lot of stories about things going "missing" when sent to Italy, I've seen some sellers who will post to Europe but excluding Italy.

[darkcat]

which do-gooder just deleted my post?

[Steve220]

It's usually due to the misunderstanding of shipping costs. I used to send lots of items to Greece as their modified car scene is pretty big. It cost a fair bit more to post but I got quotes from shipping companies rather than just guess... Which seems to be what most people on eBay are doing. Trying to make more profit by charge ridiculous shipping costs.

[Guess-Works.com]

As you can imagine, I ship all over the world, so I have an account with a courier which makes quoting easy and also prices competitive, however, for the occasional seller, usually through ebay, the system promotes the use of Parcelforce for international carriage, which is dreadfully expensive compared to other mainstream couriers, and also they normally rely on the local postal service to do the delivery which can be a bit hit and miss.

Best option is to get a courier which will do Door to Door.

[darkcat]

I've found DHL to be very reliable for big/expensive/heavy items, particularly when shipping from the US (Cylinder heads in my experience)

[Cooperman]

I use 'Parcel-Hero' for shipping stuff to my son who lives in France and for sending Mini bit all over the place. I've even sent stuff to my buddy in California for his 1071 'S'. Excellent service and good pricing. tracking is also excellent.