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"I don't trade internationally I've had too many problems"

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"I don't trade internationally I've had too many problems"
Loomi

Loomi

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(This is a bit of a rant I'll admit, and I'm sure the topic has been covered, but I am feeling some rage!)

So the topic of this title is a phrase I am getting SICK TO DEATH of hearing. It is a favourite excuse of pin traders on Facebook pages it seems. A trade or purchase is going well until you drop the bombshell "I'm in the UK" and suddenly it's all called off. It is starting to get to me! :(

I think what I find most annoying is the "I've had too many problems". Problems with what? The postal service? That's not a new thing OR area specific. The British posties don't just kidnap all the mail to America in some kind of sick gleeful joke just to wind you up. The postal service can fail you no matter where you are or where you are posting to! Problems with sellers or traders? Well I can understand your trepidation but I'm sure we have all been burned before, and it seems strange to deny trading with an entire country just because you encountered one or two bad eggs.

These people don't even want to see my feedback for trades, they don't care that I've traded high value pins that always arrive, they don't care that I always posted tracked for my own peace of mind (and we're not talking customs number tracking, we're talking actual paid for tracking). They just will not do any business with me because I am in the UK!

I am so glad I have this forum and open minded people to trade with! It is just a shame I can't expand half the time because people don't trust the UK :rofl:

*end rant*

P.S. I am fully understand of people who just don't want to trade overseas or don't wanna pay the hiked postage because they're saving up, or who have an actual genuine reason other than lumping all their issues with previous deals on me :rofl:
 
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You know I lose a ton of mail to paris more then anything. I don't know if people just never tell me it arrives or what...but when i send to anywhere else it seems to go fine ):
 
I have no problems trading with anyone from the UK. I, personally, have had more problems trading with Canada.
 
To date I have not had a single pin go missing in any of my various pin trading/selling adventures! I don't think location should be the sole decider on a trade :) I think I was more annoyed that they just would not even consider me despite a good trading history?! :(
 
About 1/3 of my trades fall through when I tell people I'm in Canada. :(

Of all the packages I've sent to the US, I think only one got lost. Three or four being sent to me have gotten lost. I've probably received 4x as many packages as I've sent, so it seems about the same either way.
 
It's definitely hard. I haven't refused any UK/overseas trades yet, but I have had really bad luck with the UK postal service. I lived in England for a year, and have a lot of friends still there. About half the packages that were sent to me while I lived there or I've since sent over there have had items stolen out of them by the postal service. I know they have to be stolen because the package arrives looking just fine to my recipient but they open it up and half the items are gone. They aren't items I'd expect customs to be against either, because it's always trinkets. Costume jewelry, small collectables - the exact realm pins would fall into. So I do admit I feel nervous when dealing with sending items to the UK. I haven't had this problem with friends in other countries overseas, either. I'm still open to trading there - I just sent a trade to a user on the forum in the UK - but I get REALLY nervous.
 
I really wish I could say that I don't mind trading internationally, aside from Canada, but since being on DPF my international trades have been 1 - scrappers, 2 - scammers, 1 - I never received the package. The person paid me for the pins I sent, but it's still a bummer when you get excited about receiving something and it doesn't come, and 2 trades with the same person that went off without a hitch.

But right now, my trading is mostly on hold, because I don't know when and how long I'm at home, with my pins, vs dealing with stuff with my Mom in FL. If something goes wrong, I don't really have the time to track down "issues." If it's someone from DPF, I'm more likely to accept an International trade, than a Pinpics trade, but based on recent past experience, I am gun shy. 2/3rds gone bad is not a good record.
 
Interestingly enough, the only problems I've had with pin trading online have been within the US! Like the post office finally delivering one package that came from Florida when the tracking says it was delivered two and a half weeks prior!
 
I get a lot of the "I can't ship internationally"... When I finally got fed up enough to ask on here, one honest DPFer said it was because USPS will pick up domestic mail but you have to actually go down to the post office to ship internationally. Wouldn't surprise me if that was at the root of a lot of your problems too.
 
I sent my first package to the UK last year, and had no issues thankfully! I was extremely nervous about it (mostly that they would not receive theirs, while I received mine), and although I got my package a lot faster than they did, they did get theirs safe and sound in the end! So I would totally trade with someone overseas again!

In fact, I've never had any issues with receiving overseas pins to date (I have bought a few more from the UK, Tokyo and Australia). But I always check feedback before dealing.
 
I adore UK traders, and personally, I have never had a problem. :dunno: #knockonwood

But at times I do have to limit my international trades, or take a break from sending anything to my friends in the UK, because shipping adds up. :( In fact, I'm on an "international break" right now. :dislike:

As much as I love trading globally, I totally understand people who choose not to. Shipping a package from California to New York or Alaska or even Hawaii is less than 2 dollars. The same package going to the UK can be like $8-10, without any tracking number to show for it. It can be a little scary, especially when you're dealing with a stranger from Facebook. :anxious:

I would say having positive feedback definitely helps your case, though. :) I wish more people used Dizpins. Almost no one on Instagram has any idea what it is. :(
 
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CoryTheRaven said:
I get a lot of the "I can't ship internationally"... When I finally got fed up enough to ask on here, one honest DPFer said it was because USPS will pick up domestic mail but you have to actually go down to the post office to ship internationally. Wouldn't surprise me if that was at the root of a lot of your problems too.
Click to expand...

This used to be me. I hated going to the post office to mail stuff overseas. The clerks at our 2 post offices are slow as heck and dumb as a rock. Now I have found Stamps.com and love it!!! for 16.00 a month I can print everything at home and just drop them off at the post office. You can even track the customs numbers to most places. Best 16 dollars I spend a month!!!

sorapandora said:
I adore UK traders, and personally, I have never had a problem. :dunno: #knockonwood

As much as I love trading globally, I totally understand people who choose not to. Shipping a package from California to New York or Alaska or even Hawaii is less than 2 dollars. The same package going to the UK can be like $8-10, without any tracking number to show for it. It can be a little scary, especially when you're dealing with a stranger from Facebook. :anxious:

I would say having positive feedback definitely helps your case, though. :) I wish more people used Dizpins. Almost no one on Instagram has any idea what it is. :(
Click to expand...

Sara, if you use paypal or Stamps.com you can track the packages to most places overseas. It is a great added feature that is free.


I love trading overseas!!! I always get great pins and have (as Sara said "knock on wood") had very few problems in the 14 years I have been trading online. Is it more money, yes, but less money then if I tried to buy those pins on the bay. Plus people forget that those same overseas people have to pay to ship pins to us. I am always looking to trade, especially if you have UK, Paris or Hong Kong pins!!! Pm me anytime!!!
 
I'm laughing on my grave for how many times I've gotten rejected on my first year of trading. Especially when I tell people I'm from Canada. From 2012 to now, I've noticed people are better trading with Canadians because people in the US uses a special label they created using PayPal (USPS) online & makes the cost way cheaper than it should be. Cause the cheapest I've received some pin mail was $2!! & it was quite heavy & it was with tracking too! So I don't get how people are still not quite comfortable trading overseas or even to Canada. It's like hello, we are your neighbor country to you guys & we're also right on top of you too lol.

But I do understand how people in the US get upset or not "comfortable" at all to trade internationally because of a "few bad apples". It could be because postal issues & the whole price jack up if you wanted to do with tracking. I've never had any bad experience with anybody from the UK, US, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Hong Kong or anybody outside of Canada. If I wanted to trade/purchases with someone in the US, I actually have the other person to usually send it to my close friend's address that's in the US. Then I usually pay on my behalf, the extra $15 for tracking to send to them. Now if I wanted them to do a straight trade with me, then I make sure right away to ask if they're willing to send stuff to Canada before making anything confirmed. If I ever do trade/purchases with people overseas like UK or Hong Kong, I usually ship as a regular domestic mail. Meaning there's NO TRACKING what so ever. & I've never had any lost mail to them nor vice versa. Usually we both have an agreement that it's alright we both send as regular mail. Plus it'll be cheaper as well.

But sometimes I feel like Americans have it so easy when they ship out pins to each other in the US because I've seen deals like if you spend over $25, shipping will be free or its only $2 shipping for how many pins you get or something. Then again, most of our favorite pins are coming from the US. Then I feel a little offended of how many more trades/purchases I could do when I use my American friend's address compare to if I tell people I live in Canada. But this is just my two cents.
 
The only time I wont trade out of country is if I'm really strapped for cash. Shipping can get pretty pricey if its going overseas but I've had some of my best trades with people from Europe. So I have traded with them. I also have no problem buying things from the US and sending it overseas. I've truthfully only had problems with trades from people in the US.
 
I don't know about you guys but I really enjoy buying/trading internationally! It's a great way to get pins that are harder to obtain for whichever side of the planet you're on as everyone who trades internationally knows. Plus, I love getting packages that aren't in your typical bubble envelopes and postages, especially the different ways addresses are formatted (but that just might be the geek in me lol) I was once super giddy to send and receive mail from a trader in Belgium! And the packages from Hong Kong! Super cool haha. It really amazes me how global this hobby is and it just makes me feel so happy to be a part of it :) I just believe that a lot of the traders who don't do international just don't fully understand that this hobby is about BOTH the joy of receiving but also the giving, rather than if paying that little (or more) shipping is really worth their time and money. I mean, come on, you've gotten someone interested in your pins, why not seize the opportunity when you can?

But that's just a penny for my thoughts :)
 
PrinceAli said:
I'm laughing on my grave for how many times I've gotten rejected on my first year of trading. Especially when I tell people I'm from Canada. From 2012 to now, I've noticed people are better trading with Canadians because people in the US uses a special label they created using PayPal (USPS) online & makes the cost way cheaper than it should be. Cause the cheapest I've received some pin mail was $2!! & it was quite heavy & it was with tracking too! So I don't get how people are still not quite comfortable trading overseas or even to Canada. It's like hello, we are your neighbor country to you guys & we're also right on top of you too lol.
Click to expand...

Neighbour* you are Canadian :lol:

GreyWyvern said:
About 1/3 of my trades fall through when I tell people I'm in Canada. :(
Click to expand...

These +10000000000

I mean it is Canada! Not like New Zealand...
 
Brutally honest, I understand people who say it. If all of my favourite traders wouldn't be in US I'd probably refuse to ship there as well. I'm mildly disappointed in USPS because in the course of one year they have been sure to lose 1/2 of my packages and have done nothing about it (and I know it's USPS to blame, since I can always see whether my packages left country or not). That is why I NEVER ship without tracking now, it makes everything very expensive for me as well so I'm very selective about what I trade and buy. The tracking allows me to put a trace on it when it's lost, it proves to a US trader that USPS is to blame and not Europe, etc... So if someone buys from me and thinks it's too expensive so they ask without tracking? Nope, not gonna happen. (Partially because some people also lie about whether a package arrives or not, one trader once wanted to screw me over and say it never arrived, but he didn't know I added tracking and confirmed delivery to my trade part. Never heard from them when I said he signed for it two days before.)

That being said, people who refuse to trade with EU are missing out on a lot of pins for good trades. If someone refuses to trade with me because I'm EU, I'll just go to the next person who has what I want.
 
Frankly, I have no issues trading with people internationally, even if the s+h is a little on the high side. I might sound a little cheap here but if I'm trading with someone for a pin that's going for quite a bit on the secondary market and shipping is half or less than that, then yeah, I'm gonna trade. I've only turned down one international trade due to the pricing and that's because the shipping costs came to almost fifty dollars, the pin was going for less than that online.
 
I always turn down international trades! LOL! no I have yet to find another pin collector in Sweden so all my trades is always international. :D

I do get people who turn down a trade because of high shipping costs. It is expensive to ship to and from Sweden. But if the cost is not an issue they really should look at feedback. That people would say not to a trade with me just because they got scrappers from a UK traders ones or did not receive a pin ones feels sad. Im sure that the same problem occurs with US traders. Actually I have had problems with only US traders. I have had 2 packages to me lost, and 2 that just dissapeard and never sent my stuff.

But of course I won't say I will never trade with US people because of them :D

Im so lucky that there are lots of traders here that will still take pity on a Swedish girl and trade with me :D

But I really want to say that turning down a trade because of shipping costs is totally understandable! I actually got really surprised the other day when someone wanted to make a really low end trade with me. A HM for a booster pin. I mean Im sure the shipping was way more than the value of the pin. But Im very happy they did because my Ida have been wanting that HM for so long!
 
I am happy that all traders or sellers are not acting this way.
I had also sometimes this answer as i am in France but i think as soon as you send the package it reduce the risk...
For my side hopefully i never had problems with receiving pins tracked or not tracked...and when i send pins i send them always with tracking to be sure...
Some of the people, i think are either afraid to try or too lazy to do it...
O as other said, the best is to find another friendly traders who will be happy to trade... there are many friendly people on this forum opened to international transaction... :)
 
I love trading internationally and it usually isn't a deterrent for me. Here are my concerns when I trade: shipping costs add up, no real tracking option that's relaible without spending literally $70, delays in getting pins due to customs, more potential for things to get lost/stolen simply because it's going through more hands, harder to resolve problems with post due to jurisdiction issues.

I've *yet* to have an issue but with any sort of trading its all a matter of time before you inevitably run into some manner of trouble. I have one France trade out now I'm biting my nails over (both their and my packages arriving safe) and another Hong Kong trade scheduled for this week. All mail based trading comes with inherent risk so I just take what precautions I can and hope from the best. I don't like to tell someone no just because they live abroad. If the shipping is truly cost prohibitive to their country though then I have to say no (like for larger packages with sets).
 
Same with David, I love trading overseas. Bigger variety of great pins. The cost is a factor, so I'm always looking for larger trades. Cost per pin of $2 on larger trades is not much different than domestic (say 10+ pins). Plus, I get to trade for pins you rarely see here (US).

Bring on the trades.
 
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