International shipping from U.S.

I just sold a camera on ebay and someone from Argentina bought it. I have zero experience shipping anything out of the country and therefore I had specified that I would only ship to the U.S.. The person that bought it said they'd be happy to pay the shipping costs so I'm going to try to accommodate them, but when I checked on flat rate priority mail through USPS it's around $60 which seems awful steep.

Anyone have recommendations? Thanks.

Actually, that sounds pretty reasonable.

gjl711 wrote in post #15786165
Actually, that sounds pretty reasonable.

DANG !!!! I could kinda' see paying that much if it was a great deal on an upper end camera, but that's gonna' be an awful expensive XSi.

groundloop wrote in post #15786173
DANG !!!! I could kinda' see paying that much if it was a great deal on an upper end camera, but that's gonna' be an awful expensive XSi.

Speculating, but the prices or supply for DSLR cameras in Argentina may be bad, so it may still be a good deal to them.

Asterisk wrote in post #15786218
Speculating, but the prices or supply for DSLR cameras in Argentina may be bad, so it may still be a good deal to them.

It was a good deal for me too.... I used that XSi for nearly a year and sold it for $10 less than I paid for it.

60 to Argentina for a camera? lol...I paid 47 to send a lens ($235) to Canada from NJ.

ptcanon3ti wrote in post #15786336
60 to Argentina for a camera? lol...I paid 47 to send a lens ($235) to Canada from NJ.

I was really surprised how much less the US Post Office was than either FedEx or UPS. UPS was $236, FedEx $193, and as I mentioned the USPS flat rate priority box is $60. The Post Office flat rate boxes seem to be a bargain.

Whatever method you use, put insurance on it, and try to get tracking and delivery confirmation. Might cost a few dollars more but worth the piece of mind.

That price sounds right. I shipped something to South Africa recently and it was about $60 using the flat rate box.

Make sure you get tracking and insurance when you ship, I believe USPS flat rate priority mail don't provide any international tracking, you may need Express international mail. Tracking is a must for ebay seller protection.

I have found that USPS international tracking has always been spotty at best. It's not the tracking on the USPS side but the tracking on the postal service at the other end. Insurance is a definite though.

Try not to use the flat rate, but instead take the package to the USPS counter and see how much that would be. You might save a few bucks.

Now the buyer has sent me an email asking that when I ship it I state a value for it a good bit lower than what he paid (about 45% lower). I'm assuming he's trying to reduce the amount of import duty he has to pay, and I'm also assuming I'm committing a crime if I lie about that (on the other hand I guess technically 'value' and 'price paid' could be 2 different things). I'm tempted to refund his money and re-list the camera even though his winning bid was higher than I've seen any XSi sell for lately and I'll likely lose a few bucks if I do that. (I had even stated in the auction that I was only shipping to the US, but figured I'd go to the extra hassle of finding the best shipping price etc. as a courtesy to him).

Thoughts?

you will need to fill out a customs form at the post office (and I assume any where else you will be mailing it from), and on this form you have to declare the invoiced amount, and sign the form stating all the information is correct.

Also, I think you will only be able to insure it for the declared amount.

Dont' think you would go to jail or anything ..but, I am barely a photographer, sure not a lawyer :>

groundloop wrote in post #15789720
Now the buyer has sent me an email asking that when I ship it I state a value for it a good bit lower than what he paid (about 45% lower). I'm assuming he's trying to reduce the amount of import duty he has to pay, and I'm also assuming I'm committing a crime if I lie about that (on the other hand I guess technically 'value' and 'price paid' could be 2 different things). I'm tempted to refund his money and re-list the camera even though his winning bid was higher than I've seen any XSi sell for lately and I'll likely lose a few bucks if I do that. (I had even stated in the auction that I was only shipping to the US, but figured I'd go to the extra hassle of finding the best shipping price etc. as a courtesy to him).

Thoughts?

If it was me, I would refund and run the other way ...... if you state less value I dont think you can insure for more then what you state, so you could end up loosing money if he files a claim. Sounds a little (ok alot) fishy to me. The fact he is paying more then the going rate, asking you to ship international, and claim 50% value .... to many red flags.