Urgent help from American retrobikers for small ebay purchas

[Jamiedyer]

Morning all
Really hoping someone can help me out here.
I wanted to buy a waterbottle, not just any waterbottle but a Ned Overend team stumpy watterbottle
I have contacted the seller twice, once to ask to bid as he stated he didnt sell overseas - no sorry - was the reply
Then I asked if he would allow me to bid and have it shipped to a US address - again I got a no sorry.
I have money in my paypal and my feedback on ebay and here is great, so if someone could bid on my behalf That would be great. I could put the money across to their paypal before or after, either way suites.
problem is it ends in 4 hours.
Late run I know, its not life or death but it would be nice.

Anybody?
Thanks in advance
Jamie

 

[Err]

Too late i think, but i would help.

 

[konahed]

I find american sellers can be quite irritating. If it isnt ridiculous international postage, it's no paypal for international bidders, or they wont even ship international (even if it's an easy enough thing to package).

 

[cornholio's RC200]

Be careful what you say here, there are a lot of very reasonable sellers that visit this site. Some US/Canadian/Aussie people even offer to get things and send them to you at their own trouble (as ernestrome on this thread would have done).

Have you ever tried to send anything to the US? Then you'll know how expensive it is to do it. If it isn't couriers it's the 'Royal' mail charging a fortune for it. It works two ways you know....

I can only suggest that if you want it then you're going to have to go out of your way to get it or find someone decent and friendly enough 'over the water' I'm afraid.

 

[stew-b]

when i was on holiday in california last year i bought a picture,rather than shoving it in the plane hold we decided to post it to ourselves,i have to say,it was just as easy,if not easier than sending something overseas from the UK :? and a darn sight cheaper...

 

[konahed]

Yeah I just mean some sellers on ebay, not all US sellers.

 

[Jamiedyer]

Thanks guys

Thanks very much ernestrome, but alas too late. I would have missed it as I have been stuck at work with an urgent rescue so I would have recieved your offer too late. :cry:
Its really appreciated and its indicative of this site that, with the odd exception, the level of mateship and willingness to help each other out.
Long may it continue.

I should also add that I have had more than my fair share of help from US ebay sellers.
One seller who has become a friend had a stumpjumper for sale, it was too big for me, but in his add he mentioned he had a couple of others. In an off chance I mailed and asked if he had a steel in 16 inch. Sure enough he did, 94 blood red, usual scrapes etc but solid, he sent a load of pics. He sold it to me for £30 + 30 postage. He sent an email before posting saying he was servicing it and was having trouble getting the bottom bracket out as the collar was tight but he didnt want to ruin it with his old BB tool. He offered a full refund or £15 off. I wasnt sure what to expect so I said give me £10 refund so I can get a new BB tool and I will take my chances.
When the frame arrived, in the box came 2 extra bottom brackets, 1 specialized stem with the cable hole and a tioga stem. The bottom bracket was servicable and if the collar wasnt damaged slightly I would have left it in.

So while I would have liked the Ned bottle, I cant really complain.

Thanks
Jamie

 

[utahdog2003]

I find american sellers can be quite irritating. If it isnt ridiculous international postage, it's no paypal for international bidders, or they wont even ship international (even if it's an easy enough thing to package).

Whoa there big fella...

As an american ebayer, I can tell you that shipping large and/or expensive stuff overseas is a pain in the ass. If I'm selling a frame, then its USA shipping only. If I'm selling a $200 crankset, then again, USA only. "Gift" on customs documents doesn't always pass, and for some reason, the good faith effort on my part to agree to international shipping, doesn't always get reciprocated by the international buyer when an uninsured item with improper paperwork goes missing. Sorry. :cry:

I know it's disappointing to you guys, and when its something that I know euro-folks would love to get their hands on, then I'll make an exception, but the general rule is USA lower 48 only. :cry:

Ebay isn't much help with their shipping estimate software either. That crap is never right even for Lower 48 packages only! I shipped a NOS Suntour Superbe Pro rear derailleur to rural California and got NUKED by a gas surcharge over 5 bucks! Where the hell was ebay on that one?!? :shock:

I guess what I'm getting at is in general, shipping crap aint easy, and the simpler I can make it the more likely I am to list stuff in the first place. I don't do VRC stuff to get rich, I buy it and sell it because the goodies is cool! I know you international buyers sometimes get stuck without options, but then again...LOTS of cool German Ebay stuff won't ship to the states, for many of the same reasons as I listed above I'm sure....It comes around.

 

[Fat_Bloke]

right, Konahed, you're not really helping yourself are you mate?

below is a scan of my receipt for shipping one MTB frame to Shropshire from Houston Texas. I used FedEx Economy (5 days) (FedEx Priority is 2 days).
As you can see the actual weight was only 7 lbs 14ozs (the frame, rigid steel forks, the box, the seatpost, the boat load of bubble wrap!). But because of the box dimensions, FedEx god bless 'em, apply what I’ll call an FFF or FedEx Fudge Factor. For international shipping the FFF is 164 (domestic USA is 196).
And the calculation goes like this…

40.00 x 25.00 x 10.00 (box dimms, inches) divided by 164 = 61 lbs !
FedEx use this 'rating' weight for the actual cost calculation.

I insured the frame for 1500US (it was a perfect condition 1991 15" Merlin Ti, probably would not find one like it in a while, if ever, so you can look at the insurance a couple of ways).

The insurance calculation goes like this…

1.75 USD per 100 USD. So 1500/100 * 1.75= 26.25 USD.

Sooo, the cost to ship w/o insurance is 348.05 USD, with insurance you can see it is 374.30 USD. For a freekin' 8 lb box!!!

They gave me a 20 USD discount because of the ridiculous shipping price.

To add insult to injury the lovely folks at Customs stiffed my bro for 194 UK pounds.

I have no data for the US Postal Service. FedEx here in the US is great. I'm not convinced it is the same in the UK. I believe FedEx in the UK is a franchise, and maybe the reason the service is iffy. Abysmal communication on the UK end and dodgy delivery service, I may have been unlucky though, who knows. I may try UPS next.
Anyway, gives you an idea for shipping. Remember this is from Houston to the UK, nearly twice the flying time as it is from NYC to the UK.

You see the box size took up valuable cargo space on the plane, yet actually weighed bugger all. So as FedEx look at it they are getting stiffed out of some revenue because the box was occupying space that could have been allocated to something smaller and heavier. This is how it was all explained to me by a lovely FedEx agent about an hour ago.

And I have to agree with utahdog2003, there are a number of UK ebayers that wont even ship within the UK. What's up with that? So I can't buy bits I want and have 'em shipped to my brother in Shropshire and then on to me. I works both ways chief.

 

[ridevintagemtb]

Just bike parts guys. This game is about timing, patience, and luck. Dont feel entitled to international shipping. I certainly dont feel offended when someone wont ship back across the pond.