Anyone ever shipped an amp to Europe?

[IceGator8]

I have a guy in Belgium that wants to buy my Champ. He has 100% positive feedback but only has one item of feedback.

He does have Pay Pal which is a plus and says he's purchased a couple of other amps from the states.

More than that I'm curious what it would cost to ship something like this to Europe. He claims that shipping on a champ sent via priority mail would be $98.70. Does that sound like it's in the correct ballpark?

Thanks guys.

[Steve McGinnis]

Originally Posted by IceGator8

I have a guy in Belgium that wants to buy my Champ. He has 100% positive feedback but only has one item of feedback.

He does have Pay Pal which is a plus and says he's purchased a couple of other amps from the states.

More than that I'm curious what it would cost to ship something like this to Europe. He claims that shipping on a champ sent via priority mail would be $98.70. Does that sound like it's in the correct ballpark?

Thanks guys.

They generally take about 140 for a fully insured guitar with case at about 30 pounds so he sounds like he is in the right ballpark. I use Air but not Priority. The downside on paypal is the fees from Europe are generally about twice what they are in the US (so paypal will take 6% instead of 3%). If the price is right, I would do it.

[IceGator8]

Originally Posted by Steve McGinnis

They generally take about 140 for a fully insured guitar with case at about 30 pounds so he sounds like he is in the right ballpark. I use Air but not Priority. The downside on paypal is the fees from Europe are generally about twice what they are in the US (so paypal will take 6% instead of 3%). If the price is right, I would do it.

Thanks Steve. Maybe I'll tell him he will be charged a little extra to cover the extra fees.

[Telelicious]

Hold On! There is more to an overseas transaction than that>

USPS Global Priority is the only, even semi-affordable way to send anything to Europe.

Also, Paypal will charge YOU a foreign transaction fee. This is tied to the exchange rate and you wont know what it is unless you look AFTER the transaction is complete.

Some countries dont offer mail protection services or allow any company to use their own services such as insurance or confirmation tickets. Once the package leaves the States.....

Some here may remember a fretless P-Bass that I listed here in the classifieds.
I ended up selling it to a guy in France outside Paris.

$83 foreign transaction fee from Paypal
$165 shipping cost
No insurance possible
No delivery confirmation available.

He took the risks and thankfully reimbursed me for the added fees.

It took 17 days. He loved the bass by the way (for $970 final cost to him) and told me it was still 1/2 price from what was available to him there.

[Flat357]

I think you would get charged fees regardless of the buyers location , so it would be unfair to ask the buyer to pay for the paypal fees , as it is both of you who are benefitting from the service .
At worst , you may ask him to contribute , but it depends if you have already gotten a good price for your gear .
If you didn't offer paypal , and he suggested it , that's different , but if you offer it , then you offer it in the knowledge that they are greedy bar stewards and put up with it .

The guy already has to face import duty which can be steep , and shipping , so why should he cover your costs too ? You really need to state in the add if you require paypal fees to be covered .

All part of being an ebayer

[Guitarslinger1]

Originally Posted by Telelicious

Hold On! There is more to an overseas transaction than that>

USPS Global Priority is the only, even semi-affordable way to send anything to Europe.

Also, Paypal will charge YOU a foreign transaction fee. This is tied to the exchange rate and you wont know what it is unless you look AFTER the transaction is complete.

Some countries dont offer mail protection services or allow any company to use their own services such as insurance or confirmation tickets. Once the package leaves the States.....

Some here may remember a fretless P-Bass that I listed here in the classifieds.
I ended up selling it to a guy in France outside Paris.

$83 foreign transaction fee from Paypal
$165 shipping cost
No insurance possible
No delivery confirmation available.

He took the risks and thankfully reimbursed me for the added fees.

It took 17 days. He loved the bass by the way (for $970 final cost to him) and told me it was still 1/2 price from what was available to him there.

I have shipped several amps and guitars to Europe, and agree that Global Express is the way to go.

I don't recall this foreign transaction fee, is this new?

[Telelicious]

It was new to me. I was surprised to see my paypal fee pushing $100 for that transaction.
I just sold a Tube tester to a guy in Italy and got the fee again. Not near as much this time since the amount was way less but still there. $92 shipping by the way. Ouch!
I think that Im finished selling out of the country. Just explaining the fees to the buyer is becoming a PITA.

Speaking of... As Im sitting here Ive got the TV news on and they just said that as of Feb 22, Ebay is raising all its fees. Specifically concentrating on final values fees with the largest percentage increase attached to final values below $25.

Its not enough that they rake in a million or two a day as it is.

Two words. Craigs list.....