I was thinking about selling some of the yoyos I don’t get around to using any more but I’m based in the UK. I’ve had a few people in the past not want to sell to me because of this. I’ve also seen on a bunch of BST posts that people will only sell to people in the US.
So I was just wondering if putting them up on eBay would give people a bit more peace of mind when dealing with a seller not in their country?
I’ll take a bit of a hit when ebay takes a cut of the sale but I’m fine with that if it means someone gets to actual use these yoyos.
there are other members here who are not located in the CONUS who do sell on the BST. For me, if the seller is transparent about their location and shipping costs, I would have no issue buying or trading with them, if the deal made sense financially.
the big issue is the added cost of shipping. i haven’t looked at current prices but I know historically, they have been high enough to be prohibitive. if the throw is rare and the price is acceptable, then shipping costs may not be as much of a concern. if however, the throw is pretty common then the shipping price would likely preclude an overseas sale. why would someone here pay a bunch of money for shipping a throw across an ocean when they can pick it up domestically for a few dollars shipping?
i don’t know that eBay would ease anyone’s concerns. personally, i would rather deal directly with a member of this community through our BST than deal with eBay. though, i suppose ebay does offer some form of insurance, so that might be something for the buyer to consider.
thanks guys, yeah shipping these days will probably be a lot. some of the cheaper/still in stock yoyos probably wouldn’t be worth it. I did consider maybe putting them in a bundle together. might make it more worth the shipping cost.
@NitroBobby916 I haven’t finalized which ones I want to sell but there is at least 1 monkeyfinger, 1 G2, some yoyofriend and YYF. I think people might be interested in paying the shipping for 1 or 2 but the rest i might have to do the bundle option
I would say be transparent with shipping cost and may be split 50/50 if you are looking for quick sale.
Also from UK to US might not be a big issue in shipping cost comparing to South East Asian countries like Singapore, Vietnam or Indonesia, where shipping cost might be at least 30-35 and could be 40-60 or more for international carrier like DHL.
I do not think that putting stuff on eBay will make a difference. It will only force you to raise your prices, to compensate fees, or deal with lesser income from selling yoyos there.
I bought and sold quite a lot of yoyos internationally during past years, and never heard about issues with shipping to UK, or from there. Never lost any of parcels as well, even in 2020 (they were awfully delayed, but still arrived).
If buyer really wants to get your stuff, he pays for shipping. Maybe negotiates a bit about price on yoyo, to compensate high rates. I guess, you simply received a lot of messages from people who had not had a strong will to buy your yoyos.
I think about 95% of my BST trades and sales have been from the USA to the UK.
It can be expensive but like a lot of you have already said, if you want something you will pay a little extra to get it.
I don’t know how tricky it is to post from the states but all I have to do if I want things sent abroad (not just USA) is fill out a small label saying what is inside the parcel. There’s not much to it really so I have no issues.
International shipping from the US is mostly the same. You just fill out a customs declaration form and that’s kind of it. It adds like an extra 5 minutes at the post office.
I ship to Japan fairly often and it’s always 15-25 dollars. Europe can get a lot more expensive, but if the buyer really wants something, they’re gonna pay for the shipping cost.
I think the hesitancy for people to not want to ship outside of the US stems from a combination of being ignorant of how little extra effort it is, combined with not knowing how to determine shipping prices. Ignorance of the process/price definitely seems like the prime factor. See: how many people don’t like shipping to Alaska/Hawaii even though the rates are the exact same as ConUS via USPS (private shipping company rates are a very different story however).
If you’re using something like Pirate Ship it’s even simpler — the shipping label that prints for an international label is the form that you would fill out at USPS. So there’s actually no added time, the only difference is shipping cost.
I can’t recommend Pirate Ship enough, it’s free, you save money and time, there’s no downside. All you need is a ruler, scale (a food scale works fine), and printer.
I’m not sure if my experience is unique or not, but if you’re in the states USPS First Class international seems like a good option. I’ve shipped 4 or 5 yoyos now internationally using the service and its a $15 flat rate. two or 3 other selections for customs are the only difference between generating any normal domestic label.
my most recent one is going to the UK, shipped out on the 3rd and its already in the UK.
Edit: not $15 flat rate, just what I’ve spent multiple times.
Just FYI it’s not a flat $15 fee, USPS charges based on weight and destination. For example, First Class International is about $15 to Canada like you said, but that’s for a package 8oz or less; it’s a couple more bucks to England, Spain, or Japan and ends up $5 - $10 more expensive to those places if you’re over 8 oz (but 2lbs or less), which isn’t hard to hit in my experience.
If you want to play around and see how weight/destination affect the shipping rate, Pirate Ship (here we go again lol) has a simple shipping calculator:
In terms of selling, it’s the same as what people said above, shipping cost disincentivises them to buy from sellers outside US. I try to match the BST price in US in most cases, but that means I have to lower the price for throws.
I’ve used eBay since they have a reliable global shipping programme. To my understanding, with a £30 throw + £4.45 local shipping you get £28.75 payout, and yes, eBay takes fees from shipping. The payout is also not instant, it takes a day or two, which means you have to ship before you receive the payment. This excludes the extra fees and taxes that they buyer has to pay. Also the global shipping programme cost for buyer is a bit more expensive than Royal Mail international tracked. So I wouldn’t recommend it.
In terms of buying, same story, sellers don’t want to ship international I think most ppl here know I use consolidation services, but that’s the easiest way to buy throws from US and Canada.
Also PayPal takes fees on international transfers + additional currency exchange fees. I’d say revolut is better than PayPal, but not many people uses it…
Edit: a note for US sellers, PayPal friends and family option is not available if the buyer has a PayPal account in some Asian countries. So Please don’t misunderstand that we didn’t want to pay with F&F when you requested, we simply can’t…
I had no issues or concerns when I bought 2 yo-yos from you @Niki. Sure the shipping was a little higher since I’m in the US, but I was so willing to pay the extra shipping since I really wanted the yo-yos. The package from the UK actually took a shorter time to get to me than some domestic packages.
I’m all for receiving and shipping yo-yos anywhere in the world.
But this is just getting pedantic lol, the takeaway is that it’s only about $15 to send a single yo-yo internationally if you can keep the package 8oz or less.
I think most ppl here know I use consolidation services, but that’s the easiest way to buy throws from US and Canada.