US only sales WHY???

It works both ways guys. Every problem that exists in selling to somebody outside of the U.S. also exists when selling to somebody in the U.S.

Buying or selling internationally is not a problem if both sides know what they are doing, especially with regard to the extra costs. The extra paperwork is trivial, just five minutes to fill out a customs declaration. It's the extra costs people don't know about that causes hassles such as refusals to accept delivery. And that's the problem. Being in Canada, most of my transactions are international transactions with U.S. residents because of the size and proximity of the U.S. market. So when I buy something, I negotiate a price and shipping costs. I get the money to the seller. I then take care of brokerage, customs and taxes on my end upon delivery. No problem for me. No problem for the seller. He doesn't even see these things that happen in my country. It's my job to know these things when I buy internationally. I know what I'm doing and what all the extra costs are. Unfortunately, I find it often doesn't work this way when I try to sell internationally. I negotiate a price and shipping and the buyer asks me what the brokerage, customs, duties, taxes, etc. and whatever will be. First of all, this presumes he even knows that these things exist, which is often not the case. Well, how the hell would I know what your government or the shipping company charges for these things when something is delivered to you in a foreign country? You live there, not me. You tell me. It's not something I see or have anything to do with at all anyways. It's something you pay someone else upon delivery. It's not money that comes to me and it's not something I can pay for on your behalf in my country, except possibly brokerage in some circumstances. Do your homework.

I find that everything goes fine in international transactions so long as I don't have to babysit someone who doesn't know what they're doing. I've had people sending me domestic U.S. money orders printed with a statement: "Only negotiable in the U.S."...Duh...Where on the common sense scale does a person fall who sends a negotiable instrument to a foreign country that's only negotiable in their own country? They don't know what to do. So I have to tell them.

From the comments above, you can see it's a hassle to buy/sell internationally. It doesn't have to be that way. It's the people you deal with. As a result, I try to buy and sell domestically before I even advertise anything internationally. When I do buy/sell internationally, I try to ensure that I'm dealing with someone who knows what they're doing. Most of the time it works out fine.

As a practical tip, if someone says that something is only for sale in the U.S., ask them anyway if they will sell to you. I've never been turned down when I've done this. Sellers are not a problem. It's the buyers who are the problem because most don't know the extra charges at their end that the seller has no involvement with whatsoever.

There. I've had my rant for the day. I feel better now.

Selling high end audio internationally comes down to taking more time (how much varies), more work (how much varies), added risk to the shipment (how much varies), in order to make a sale. If you have a sizeable buying audience in the US, what would be the motivation for adding more variables to the sales process by selling outside the US? For most I'd say the motivation just isn't there.

Markphd,
I have only been refused by "US-only" sellers. I will, however, make an effort to try again, and educate sellers that it does not have to be a problem.

Just curious and please don't take this question wrong ... do you sellers that restrict your sales only to the U.S. ever buy from international sellers or do you only buy from the U.S.?

Taylor514,

To answer your question: "Do you sellers that restrict your sales only to the U.S. ever buy from international sellers or do you only buy from the U.S.?"

The basic answer is: No, I don't buy "equipment" internationally, and Yes, I only buy from U.S. sellers.
I do make a small exception, as I will buy LPs from international sellers, but that is it.

It really is a matter of how much hassle and risk one wishes to put up with when buying and selling gear. Personally, I will take a lesser price and sell domestically, rather than make a bit more money and sell internationally. And to take it a step further, I also further discount my equipment sales when the seller is local and I can eliminate shipping althogether!
(Man, I hate shipping large items, especially speakers - although, I will admit, that I did sell and ship speakers recently, and actually had a semi-pleasant experience, unlike my first time!) And conversely, I much prefer to buy from local sellers to eliminate the hassles of shipping (incluidng the shipping costs, insurance costs, and of course the possible damage from shipping). I have had enough insurance hassles to last me a lifetime, thank you very much!

I look at this as a hobby, and as a hobby, I want to enjoy it, and not spend time fretting over shipping charges, shipping insurance, shipping damage, insurance claims, fraudulent buyers and sellers, and all the other potential hassles that are involved in the buying and selling of gear. (So adding another layer of potential problems by including international buying and selling is just not in the cards for me!) Perhaps that is why I tend to hang onto gear longer than most people. The average lifespan of the gear (in my system), is somewhere between five and ten years. Well, except for cartridges, which tends to be about eighteen months. But now that I have found the Dynavector XV-1S, that is going change! I'm done looking! :-)

Anyway, my two cents worth!