When looking to purchase a card there are a number of
things that I review before I bid. Obviously the price is an important starting
point but I check a collector’s feedback, shipping cost and the seller’s
location. Normally I do not have a problem with a seller’s
location as long as everything else seems right (feedback and shipping cost).
In the last few months I have picked up items from England, Canada and
Singapore but I have heard horror stories of cards never being received, seriously late, high shipping charges or mangled when received due to the long distance shipping.
So I throw out a question to the readers
Will you skip purchasing a card/item if it is a foreign
dealer?
Like you, I take the location of the seller into consideration but I've never passed on an item solely because of it.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I'll think twice and look again if the card is being sold by a foreign dealer -- especially one with a long transit distance.
ReplyDeleteI will do a double take if they're not located in North America, but I'll still bid/purchase if their feedback shows no mention of shipping hassles.
ReplyDeleteThere are two basic things I consider on eBay: total price (including shipping) and feedback. I've never had problems with international shipping, though I have seen a package come from Australia for a coworker that had gotten quite wet before it reached Japan. I've had a few lost packages with the USPS, but no problems with Japan's postal service. I know from experience that Taiwan and Japan are both big countries when it comes to US baseball cards so I'm more trusting of those countries than others in Asia... but then I never really have had issues with anyone.
ReplyDeleteWith eBay I don't consider it at all. PayPal makes it to easy to get your money back to concern yourself with it. In the past couple months I have got cards from England, Serbia, and Liechtenstein. (the best deals on vintage boxing cards are overseas) They took a little longer to get here but I had no problems.
ReplyDeleteThe only time I do look at it is when ordering something off of Amazon. The reason is they advertise 7 day shipping but it ends up being month and a half shipping. Never had that problem with eBay though.
For me, I will filter down to the US/Canada listings on eBay. Not that I have any personal horror stories, it really just comes down to the sometimes ridiculous shipping charges on cards coming from Europe/Asia.
ReplyDelete