question for vintage sellers

[Former_Member]

Why do I get the idea that most of the American vintage sellers are selling only in America and Canada? Transport? Taxes? ....

[Former_Member]

I've often thought about that - and I have come up with a couple of thoughts:

* America and Canada being such big places, maybe they think they don't need to look elsewhere?

* Etsy is still a very 'American' entity despite having lots of 'foreign' stores like mine.

* I get the feeling the USPS charge more to send a packet to, say, Europe than the Royal Mail charges me for a similar weight and size packet to the States.

* Fear of items going missing overseas and having to refund etc. Probably reasonable think to think if you get an order from a part of the world where things are less than stable - but certainly not the case in places like the UK.

I am based in England and about 96% of my sales are to the USA. If I get an order from a Brit its a rare occasion!

Emma

[FabulousWire]

Not only vintage sellers, actually.
Almost 99% my orders from US and Canada.
Selling in US and shipping to US, it's cheap and comes with tracking number.
Selling in US and shipping to other countries, the postage alone, is more expensive, if add tracking number, the shipping cost is at least $10 someting.
Does anyone will buy a $8 items then pay $15 shipping? Not likely.
Consider the shipping time: it processed by USPS first (couple of days), then dispatch to foreign country customs (couple of days, and at this time, the US buyers receivd their orders already), inspected by foreign country customs (some days to a week, or two week or more), then released by foreign country customs to local post office, then transit and deliver.

[PorcelainJazz]

I'm not a vintage seller but international shipping is a problem for all of us. I just shipped a teapot to London today. I'm based out of Lubbock, Texas. It was an expensive item so I insured it and had to use express mail international to get enough insurance on it. SO I paid 66.50 to get it there. Which was about 21 more dollars than I put on it for shipping. (Live and learn...sigh!) So I have just finished upgrading international prices.

[Former_Member]

I ship everywhere.
However in order to keep shipping cost low for International buyers everything is sent surface which means 4 to 8 weeks to arrive. Items are insured against loss or damage. I do offer Priority shipping but it is costly for International buyers to choose this method of shipping.

[EleanorsVintage]

I ship everywhere, too, and have to. Am a small seller here, as I was on ebay,but 30-40% of sales are international, so I don't want to lose out on that.
It poses extra difficulties, though. As others have say, it is expensive to ship, and somewhat unpredictable - I have often lost money on shipping. Since vintage items all have different size/weight, it is impossible to give an accurate quote for all countries. The lithographs I am selling right now are so easy, it's a joy, but even just clothing is tricky. Unless it is as lightweigt as a summer blouse, the mail carrier won't take it because of security issues (I could be sending a bomb, I guess...), so then the package has to be taken to the post office, which is a real hassle, if you are selling and have a day job.
Having said all that, years later it still thrills me to think of certain favored garments now being worn in Sydney (or London, or Berlin)!

[Former_Member]

I agree Claudia!

[EAGERforWORD]

Freeman - they do.

I regularly ship, particularly to Australia, things with a much higher shipping charge than value.

[Former_Member]

I list prices for USA and Canada, and would love to ship overseas, but I'm clueless as to what I would need to do & how much to charge. If somebody was to convo me and ask I would be more than happy to look into the costs for them, but I would rather do it one item at a time (or order) rather than just jump right in. Maybe after I do a few dozen I'll be able to do it with no hassle, but right now I'm more than a smidge scared!