Foreigner, contributing member and classifieds

[wcdurand]

Please don't see this as a bashing as it is not so intended. Anything but. Terry if anything is out of line please edit.
I am a contributing member for more than one reason. firstly as a contributing member I give support to an amazing forum and secondly I can also buy from the classifieds.
I just want to share some of my frustrations as a foreigner on buying from the classifieds. I was successful in buying two blacktail take downs in the past two years without any hiccups and the persons whom I bought from was incredible!
I have a huge collection of bows (50 plus) and as it is, I have been wanting to buy one of Big Jims thunderchild takedowns.Because the wait time on Big Jims bows are quite long I of course seen the opportunity on the classifieds as a faster option. So I have been watching the classifieds and every so often there is one!
Now  the frustration! It have been unsuccessful on buying one on six attempts now. I know it is any ones privilege to sell to the person whom he wants  to and feel comfortable with. The first two bows I offered to buy was completely ignored by the seller. Not even a courteous PM to say that they are not interested to sell to me. The bows was listed at least another two to three weeks after I showed my committment emphasizing that I will pay shipping and would not hold sender in anyway responsible if something happens to the bow.The next bow's the guys were not prepared to send to me. (no reason given but as I said it is the seller's decision)
Then the final straw was the last try a few days ago. The  person accepted and said he will send me the paypal invoice with shipping in the next hour or so. I waited! Nothing! Watched the listing on classifieds and suddenly it was marked "sold locally" Send an PM to asked what the situation is and eventually got an reply which said "sold to my brother, family comes first"
Well ... that's it then I thought.
You must remember that most of my archery supplies are sourced in US. I get a parcel almost every month, arrows, broadheads feathers  etc. I ordered bows from Ron Laclair, Bear, Bigfoot bows Timberpoint in Estonia supplies from 3rivers binghams and in twenty years have not lost one parcel so far. I also took part in Bow swap and was really happy with what I got.
So, my question would be two bows successfull out of eight offers to buy? Is the problem, me or is my money not good or how should I see these experiences. Should I not even try to buy from the classifieds or was I just unlucky?
The forum is brilliant and I find the guys on here always very helpful. Regards Willem

[mec lineman]

Wiillem, I think if folks are not willing to sell outside the U.S. they should list it for U.S. buyers only. Thanks for supporting this great site.

[Bud B.]

My wife is an artist who paints plastic and resin horse figurines. Search images for "S Blaylock horse" and see some of her paintings. She occasionally buys raw resin horses from sculpters in Europe. Shipping them here to the US has not been a major problem (a few have been broken in transit). Shipping painted horses to Europe has not been a major problem. She has even shipped to Russia! Many of these horse castings have wire skeletons. X-ray imaging in customs can be brutal for nervous security folk. They see wires and think the worst. The main problem is the risk. Are any laws being violated here or there? Will customs open the package and inspect the figurines and repack them with the same care? Does the buyer accept that the horse may not arrive in one piece? Insurance for such items is almost non-existant, except my wife's assurance that she will do what she can in the event of loss or damage. And then the buyer must pay customs taxes in most cases.

Then add the fact that some woods are illegal to import/export. Whether or not this is true, the rumor of illegal woods alone might deter many sellers from selling overseas.

My advice would be to keep trying, Willem. And sellers, if you read this, in your advertisements please declare if you ship US, CONUS, or otherwise.

Also, Willem, call Big Jim and ask if he can find you a good used one. I'd bet he would ship to you. His used inventory is huge as are other used bow retailers, such as RMSG and The Footed Shaft.

Good luck and stay safe over there.

[nineworlds9]

I have sold to Canada, Europe, Hawaii, South America and even South Africa!  I have only had one buyer refuse to pay any additional charges on top of the basic fees and so far, and, thankfully, every transaction has been flawless.  

That being said, I live in the U.S. and this is a U.S. based site, so I feel no automatic obligation to make stipulations in my ad whether my pricing TYD applies internationally...the one person I had refuse to pay extra complained "but your ad said TYD and didn't mention overseas" and my reply in kinder words was "quit being a dreamer".  Anyway, as the seller, I reserve the right to ship where I please,

However, it sounds like you've been dicked around by a few folks with poor communication skills.  Sorry you've had to deal with that.  I will say it can be just as frustrating for sellers, people change their mind about buying, or are bad about communication.  It is what it is.  I will say this, me personally, I will not accept standard paypal for an international sale, my policy is once it leaves our shores and customs has to deal with it in another country it's not my responsibility, there just isn't enough recourse for a seller when shipping internationally if something goes wrong.  I always warn my prospective buyers about that and I have never had a problem knock on wood.

My best advice is keep trying.

[kadbow]

I have sold to overseas buyers on 3 or 4 occasions, never had a problem. It is a little extra work but the buyer has always been willing to pay the extra shipping costs.  Keep trying.  People should be courteous whether they want to sell or not.

[wcdurand]

Thank you guys for the replies. I do understand the issues sellers have with international parcels, and that is why I do my best to try and assure the sellers that they can add shipping to me and only send as soon as payment is received. I don't mind if someone are not prepared to ship here, but please then just communicate that to me if and when I offer to buy! It is just common courtesy! Just received a parcel from Big Jim for three dozen blems, excellent service!!!! When I receive parcels from US, I have to pay 25% import tax as well, so expensive to get any thing to here, but I have to feed my passion and if I make an offer I know precisely what I am in for in money terms!

Suppose I just really really really wanted that last bow!!! usually I just accept it and don't say anything    

[ARCHER2]

Bottom line is, some folks lack common courtesy.
They think nothing of not responding back and completely ignoring folks. I don't agree with it, but not a lot you can do about it. Sorry this happened. Hopefully you will be successful on your next endeavor.
         

[The Night Stalker]

I have shipped a bow to some obsolete place in China. That was fun but required extra paperwork.
 
South Africa , I heard timberpoint bows kracken is a shooter.

[sonofabuck]

Sorry for your experience with these type of people. If it makes you feel any better they do it to people here in the USA all the time to. Personally, it's never bothered me to ship to anybody, anywhere if they paid for it. Hang in there and have a great day.

[ChuckC]

i think it is merely the current ability we have to put out info on the internet and say / do as we please without repercussion.  We have, in a sense, lost our ability to interact.  So... folks see a response that they are ...I will use the word " afraid" of, just as one of several similar words, and instead of simply saying "I prefer to not deal with the uncertainties of shipping it abroad" they simply ignore.....you, me anybody.

[wcdurand]

Night Stalker, the Kraken is an awesome bow. Jaco Wessels moved to Estonia and I have ordered a bow from him which he build and shipped in three months!!! Excellent service!!!

[Gil]

I totally understand how you feel. When i joined TG, i was living in the Philippines, there was no paypal yet but i was able to buy some stuff from Tradgangers who were very patient in waiting for my check and mailing the item to me. I got burned by someone on AT doing this. With paypal, things got easier and also, having found a US based shipping company where i can have the things i bought here sent to their NY adress and then aent to the Philippines where i pay their shipping cost when i get the item .
When I moved to Canada in 2015, i bought some pants, jacket and even a one pc longbow here and had it shipped.  But there was someone who wouldn't ship a pair of boot gaiters to me and someone who like tou experienced, agreed on a sale then sold to a family member.
Now i live in Texas and could buy anything i want, but I don't have money to buy.LOL
It's just the way some people are. Most are straighforward and great to deal with. Others, ,maybe because they have not shipped anything outside the US (have experienced this but they still agreed to sell to me)are very hesitant to ship outside.
Maybe you can find a shipping/consolidating company that is South african owned and has a US office that will accept whaetever it is you buy here and aend it to you. It's like having your own PO box here in the US. I know there is a similar operation that my friend in Quatar has fishing gear he buys in the US shipped to here , and then receives them in Quatar .

[wcdurand]

Thank You Gil! That's a good idea.

[Danny Rowan]

I have sold bows to South Africa, Spain, France, Italy and Austrailia. I always stipulate that the TYD is for US and shipping will apply to overseas. Never a problem.

[McDave]

There's no excuse for being impolite to someone, and keeping them hanging without a response is impolite.

That said, this is not Amazon, and most people selling a bow are not that anxious to sell.  Some need the money, and that's a different story.  Most people just want a hassle-free experience, where they get your money and you get their bow.  If they have any doubts about that, they'd just as soon pull the bow off the market.  They know that if they get a USPS money order, there's very little chance of getting stung, but any other way, they're not sure of.  Paypal is fine for transactions, but if the customer complains, PayPal will freeze your funds.  We've all heard stories and have received our share of scam emails, and we really don't have the time or the inclination to figure out how to separate the bad guys from the good guys.  Sometimes this is difficult to explain to a buyer without sounding offensive, which may lead a seller to just stop responding, which creates a bad impression of its own.

I really appreciate the international presence on TradGang, and hope that ways can be found, like the idea of an intermediary mentioned above, to expedite transactions with foreign members, so you don't feel excluded from our community.

[alex321]

I have bought on here several times, once from Big Jim and others.  I have never felt any resistance in selling to me... in Germany.

Maybe you were just unlucky...
Cheers
Alex

[wcdurand]

As mentioned I had some very good transactions and received two incredible looking blacktails as well as a Super shrew and bigfoot hybrid and at least another $50 000 of various equipment, bowbuilding materials and of course I will buy a lot more!I Have an itch that must be scratched every so often! Maybe I will just order directly from Big Jim and do the waiting thing again! Orrrr maybeeeee someone see this and wants to sell his Thunderchild     I am just sharing some of my experiences! Thanks for all the positive replies! Willem

[Obe-Wan]

Just bad luck I think Willem. Im in Australia, Ive bought a couple of bows from members without issue, and Ive had a couple that werent interested in shipping internationally. Ive also bought a couple of bows from RMS Gear, theyve been excellent to deal with. Theres quiet a few shops that have good stocks of second hand bows, although a takedown thunder child isnt going to sit on the racks too long I reckon... coincidentally, I just bought a Big Jim Thunder Child off another forum.... 1 piece though.

Cheers, Scott.

I've sold several bows and risers out of the country; Australia, Canada, Ireland and Germany come to mind.  I've never had an issue at all.  Payments have been made with International USD money orders and Paypal.  

I'm always amazed how these folks are always willing to pay the shipping fees, cover the Paypal fees and accept all responsibility is something goes haywire.

I would encourage everyone to be willing to accommodate these folks.  Their access to this hobby isn't nearly as extensive as ours.

[McDave]

Willem, I expect that by the time your name comes up, you're going to be ready for a new Big Jim bow.  You probably will have bought and sold 3-4 other bows by then. I think Big Jim will allow you to change the specs when your name comes up, if you've changed your mind by then.