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Ordering from USA and ebay


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Hello all - much as I'd like to think of myself as computer savvy and perceptive to the crafty sods in the world, I cannot be complacent - here's my situation:

Checking a bass from America. The owner will only accept paypal, would prefer me to get more expensive shipping (as it fully insures instrument), has added a couple of specific pics at my request and it currently sorting a video demonstration of the tonal capabilities of the instrument in question (also at my request). Checking the name of the owner he is findable on the internet as a USA Sgt of the airforce who returned last year from Iraq, and also has a profile on 'Talkbass'. All the ID check point to INdianapolis which is where his ebay ID also suggests.

He hasnt avoided my emails, the pics don't appear to be lifted, and he has been compliant to my requests.

Is it possible someone would go to the lengths of finding and researching someones elses ID and pretending to be them in order to set up scams?

I'd like to think not but maybe I could fall for what everyone else would consider the most obvious trick in the book! Or maybe I'm hugely paranoid.

I'm assured by a friend that paypal covers loss but again, I'm skeptical - how can they do that? And are they easy to deal with as I don't like the online factor of not being able to speak/meet companies directly when faced with situations like such.

Also (more?!!!) - on the note of shipping a bass from the USA, what sort of customs fees are expected? And can this be avoided by the means of the item being sent as a 'gift'?

Hopefully someone out there has dealt with all this and is willing to give me some wonderful advice...pleeeeeease!

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[quote name='steverickwood' post='639853' date='Oct 29 2009, 10:56 AM']Hello all - much as I'd like to think of myself as computer savvy and perceptive to the crafty sods in the world, I cannot be complacent - here's my situation:

Checking a bass from America. The owner will only accept paypal, would prefer me to get more expensive shipping (as it fully insures instrument), has added a couple of specific pics at my request and it currently sorting a video demonstration of the tonal capabilities of the instrument in question (also at my request). Checking the name of the owner he is findable on the internet as a USA Sgt of the airforce who returned last year from Iraq, and also has a profile on 'Talkbass'. All the ID check point to INdianapolis which is where his ebay ID also suggests.

He hasnt avoided my emails, the pics don't appear to be lifted, and he has been compliant to my requests.

Is it possible someone would go to the lengths of finding and researching someones elses ID and pretending to be them in order to set up scams?

I'd like to think not but maybe I could fall for what everyone else would consider the most obvious trick in the book! Or maybe I'm hugely paranoid.

I'm assured by a friend that paypal covers loss but again, I'm skeptical - how can they do that? And are they easy to deal with as I don't like the online factor of not being able to speak/meet companies directly when faced with situations like such.

Also (more?!!!) - on the note of shipping a bass from the USA, what sort of customs fees are expected? And can this be avoided by the means of the item being sent as a 'gift'?

Hopefully someone out there has dealt with all this and is willing to give me some wonderful advice...pleeeeeease![/quote]

Mmmm, have a look at the first post of:

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=3439"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=3439[/url]

I'll never buy another bass from the USA unless it's from a BIG name dealer. Paypal and ebay were no help, law was no help (US law is state-specific, complex and expensive)

Good luck

Chris

Edited by Beedster
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Unfortunately the whole deal is based on trust.
I would say this all sounds pretty legit to me though.

As for Customs charges, etc it works like roughly like this:
Combine the item cost and shipping cost and the charges applied (Import Duty, VAT & Handling charges) will be about 20% of that total.
Don't know if the old 'Gift' option will prevent this charge.

Hope that helps?

Regards,
Jon

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[quote name='jonthebass' post='639859' date='Oct 29 2009, 11:02 AM']Unfortunately the whole deal is based on trust.
I would say this all sounds pretty legit to me though.

As for Customs charges, etc it works like roughly like this:
Combine the item cost and shipping cost and the charges applied (Import Duty, VAT & Handling charges) will be about 20% of that total.
Don't know if the old 'Gift' option will prevent this charge.

Hope that helps?

Regards,
Jon[/quote]

No the gift option only takes the customs "no duty" limit up to about £40 quid (from about £15)

ie if it cost more than £40 then you pay the duty.
It's not worth it to pretend a bass is only worth £35 and a gift. They are not daft in Her Maj's customs and excise, and you'll probably negate your insurance unless you declare it at something pretty close to believable.
And it sound sliek you are trying to avoid a dodgy person yet you want them to lie for you to save a few quid?
Sound to me like this is too uncomfortable for you ...

Buying from individuals abroad is a nail biting exercise sometimes ..

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Cheers guys - well I'm confident I've researched a lot of info regarding the instrument itself and the owner and there are no alarm bells ringing (compared to previous interests where I've spotted 'lifted' photos and had the seller not reply anymore one I offer to collect in person) but having never shiiped in I just want thougts/experiences. Some people seem to import on a regular basis.
Any recommended postal services?

Oh and the gift thing was mrely a question that someone had said was a means of avoiding high fees - I thought I'd see if anyone had successfully tried that.

Edited by steverickwood
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Ive bought a few instruments from the states, a couple of jo osbournes, a thunderbird, and several musicmans/men and never had a problem.

+1 dont try to fiddle the duty, if you do under declare, the carriage insurance wil be invalid and customs are not daft.

Pay pal do offer various guarantees which may or may not be worth anything, but if you pay your paypal from a credit card, I think you will find that in the event of a problem, your credit card issuer is jointly liable.
Under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, customers who have a claim against a supplier for breach of contract or misrepresentation will generally have an equal claim against the card issuer.

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And don't forget the handling fee that Parcelforce will charge you if you use USPS to ship.
That's about £18 .. you have to pay them for paying your duty bill for you. Aparently...

And the seller may ask you to pay the PP fee as well.
best to know exactly how much you are likely to be spending before saying yes ...#

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I've bought a few amps from the US. Some Yanks have a negative view of the US Mail (damage, etc) and so will only ship using fairly expensive couriers. Always worth getting stuff sent using a service which supplies an item tracking number, so you know where it is in the system.

The only real nail-biting I've experienced is the wait from US posting to arrival in the UK. And then it can sometimes take a week or more to get from the UK airport to your local courier depot. :)

Edited by skankdelvar
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USPS (i.e. the main US Mail) are staggeringly slow and totally uninterested in anything being shipped abroad - they know perfectly well that no complaint from overseas will ever reach them and no foreign recipient will ever sue them. No amount of emailing or telephoning will get you anywhere at all with them.

The main reason for using UPS or similar is simply that the waiting time is massively reduced.

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I've had a couple of basses shipped USPS and they got here in one piece, at a reasonable price. Other couriers were something like double. It will take about 3 weeks though. Part of the problem is when it gets here, ParcelFarce take it over and they bill the customs charges by letter post. So it can be sitting in their warehouse for a week before you find out it's arrived.

The only problem I ever had was a seller who wanted to use a company called Bax Global, who he said he used at work. He said it would cost $85, which I thought was cheap, but assumed he had some kind of bulk discount. When it arrived I discovered he'd shipped it "door to airport", which meant the handler this end billed me for the rest of the journey, which with customs and handling charges came to £155.

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When i had a bass shipped over here from the states, it was marked up as a gift, but i still had to pay £89.00 in Import Tax and Fee's, your guy sounds legit, it also sounds like he's going to great lengths providing you with additional photos and a recording! so i would like to think you had nothing to worry about when buying from him, as someone else said above me its built up on trust really, take the plunge if you're 100% sure.

Best of luck.

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I've bought... *counts on fingers* .....umm... loads of basses from overseas and been OK so far. Thanks mainly to doing a lot of research, and a huge dollop of luck.

If buying from overseas is your only feasible option, then I'd definitely consider it.

All the advice on the thread is very useful so far, but bear in mint Chris Beedster's experience too.

And... +1 on the tax thing. Don't fiddle it, but fear the worst.

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Guys - knew I could rely upon the close-knit bass fraternity:)

Yeah the guy sounds cool - he posted pics for me and sent me vid clips demoing the bass. I asked if I could pick up at airport hotel in USA as the cost of a return flight is only about 100 quid less than postage (and stress pills!) and he's fine with that too.
At least that way I don't have to wait and worry for the post, or pay parcelfarce any extra dosh.

Yeah, I guess import tax is just how it is.


Really appreciate your thoughts and experiences -

Steve R

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Ive had disputes with E-bay and pay pal over tickets,and while it was eventually sorted out, they both were very reluctant to help.it was threats from the financial onbudsman that got them to pull thier collecive finger out.
so a US based thing I would be careful however, if this guy is in the military there are other sorts of comebacks you can have, if not least, contacting his C/O!!

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