Sunday, September 13, 2009

Apparently We've Been Discovered In Sweden

We sell stuff on eBay.   A few days ago we sent our first item to Sweden this year, and tomorrow, we'll send off the 3rd item in a week. The first couple of items were postcards, and that's no issue mailing wise.  We send out hundreds of them monthly, a sizable number go to Canada, Europe & Asia, and we've got it down pat.   But, we sell things other than postcards, and the item we'll package up and send off to Sweden tomorrow is a pair of women's eyeglasses.  They're very vintage, very cool, and very nice.  You know the type, from the 1950s, look kind of like a cat's eyes, thick plastic with a little bit of gold thrown in.   A little guady, probably expensive and stylish in their day & very interesting.

I always worry about sending packages overseas.  Postcards are no problem - we package them up securely, mail them in a regular envelope and they'll get to France as quickly as they'll get to California.   But packages are a different story.  I once sent a pretty nifty Porsche key ring set to South Korea. It took so long that the buyer & I both assumed it was lost and I refunded his money.   It apparently showed up a week later (about 6 weeks after I sent it) and he was honest and kind enough to refund my refund.

So this will be a package, going first class international (I'd much prefer priority, but it's very expensive overseas), and I don't know how long it will take to get there.   I don't know if it will be subject to extra tarriffs, or customs handling because it is a package.  And it's a bit fragile, so it'll have to be packaged carefully.   And I really hope I charged enough for shipping - the easiest way to lose money on eBay is through shipping charges.

It'll be fine.  We've never really had a problem.  I just wonder about this little spike in sales to Sweden.   Interesting.  

2 comments:

Jude said...

I thought about selling on e-Bay, but it all sounds very complicated. I don't think I would want to mail anything out of the states, Good-luck with that. We love exploring Gettysburg it's such a cool place.

A Valdese Blogger said...

Jude: Shipping stuff internationally can be a bit more involved, but it's not that difficult.

Also, there's a really nice restaurant on the square in Gettysburg where you can sit and watch the world go by.

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