CONUS only???

G

gkanakis

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Oct 11, 2004
Messages
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This is something I would like to get people’s opinions on.
I have been seeing a lot of CONUS only sales/trades in the forums lately. I understand that to ship a package to Alaska or Hawaii is expensive.
If you are selling an item with shipping included, then you are willing to pay a certain amount for shipping. Why can’t there be a compromise.

If it cost $12 to ship an item to other side of the US and $20 to Alaska or Hawaii, then the buyer should be willing to pay the $8 difference.
I don’t think anyone would have an issue with this, but to exclude us is quite insulting.

Also, UPS and FedEx are not the only way to ship a package. USPS has these awesome flat rate boxes. If it fits, it ships, up to 70lbs, tracking number $2.

As for the people that live in Alaska or Hawaii, don’t be rude and try and take advantage of someone who doesn’t think of us.
We have been playing the shipping game for as long as we have lived in our states. Be up front with the seller and work out a deal that works for both parties.

Hate to rant, but I have purchase well over $2,500 of stuff in the last 3 weeks here in the forums and have been more than willing to kick in a little cash to cover shipping.
But on the other hand there have been some items that I would have bought, but CONUS only.
 
I think most postings with CONUS only are actually trying to state they will not ship outside the US. shipping to Canada is a pita and often includes the request for "gift" or reduction of the declared value of the item(s) etc....if you have sold long enough you have run into one hassle or another shipping outside the US.

I for one prefer to ship to CONUS, as it is just easier. having said that, Hawaii and Alaska are not excluded, just have to get the shipping sorted out and agreed upon. just as you noted, shipping to Hawaii and Alaska cost a bit more. my prices when i sell include shipping for CONUS, and i only mean to say that Hawaii or Alaska would be a bit more as reflected in the increased cost of shipping.
 
How hard is it to shoot the seller a PM? Some might not even be thinking and only be putting CON US in their thread not thinking of Alaska/Hawaii because that's how they see it done in other threads. Most people will be willing to work with you I'd bet if you've got good refs and are willing to cover the few bucks extra..
 
I'd like to chime in as to my rationale here.

CONUS only for me is pretty important. In order for me to ship outside the US I have to use the USPS post office counter-service. Where I live it's an additional 15-20 minutes just to wait in line to send an international package ~ I'm a fairly busy guy and to do this is a PITA.

Then there is the issue of estimating the price. The USPS website SUCKS at estimating international shipping costs, usually it bites me in the ass when the estimate is $10 short etc. To estimate the actual cost would require to wait in line as above ~ then tell the buyer a price ~ then wait in line AGAIN. Again, major PITA.

One time an address was relayed to me incorrectly by the buyer. The process literally took 2.5 months to work through as China's return to sender service is terrible. Oh yeah, shipping internationally is also super stressful in this regard; as the address is often much more difficult to verify ~ they are formatted differently depending on where you live!

Sorry for my rant, one of my most recent international sales was a $50 3 week old incase macbook hard case I sold for like $10 on eBay to someone in Russia. Believe it or not I LOST money in the transation after ebay, paypal, and shipping overage.

I have nothing against folks in other countries; it's simply shipping to them is NOT fun.
 
Neither Alaska nor Hawaii is international MrSneis. Your points about shipping internationally are 100% valid and are the same reasons that I won't do it either.

OP you are right about flat rate boxes but that means a physical trip to the post office. UPS and FedEx are not flat rate and only mean 3 minutes online to print a label. I do see your point but the fact is Alaska and Hawaii are an extra headache. Nothing that can't be worked out in a PM though.

CONUS is hardly rude or taking advantage of anyone.
 
I do Priority Mail, usually flat rate boxes - so Alaska or Hawaii are never and issue. I have shipped to Canada a couple times, but it's a bit more of a pain and requires me to make a trip to the counter at the post office to do the customs forms, so I just prefer US only since it's simpler. But there is nothing preventing the buyer from shooting a PM asking for a shipping quote to whereever.
 
I don't normally ship outside the Continental United States. It gets too expensive especially when everyone tries to get free shipping on everything you sell.
 
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I'd have to agree. Alaska,, Hawaii, APO/FPO, and US territories like Puerto Rico I will only ship USPS Priority. Anywhere else outside the US is a major pain in my ass. Average time to go to my local post office is about an hour and a half total. I charge $75 per hour for graphics design work here at my shop - if someone really wants me to ship international I expect at least an extra $25 for the pain in my ass to make it happen.

MrSneis said:
I'd like to chime in as to my rationale here.

CONUS only for me is pretty important. In order for me to ship outside the US I have to use the USPS post office counter-service. Where I live it's an additional 15-20 minutes just to wait in line to send an international package ~ I'm a fairly busy guy and to do this is a PITA.

Then there is the issue of estimating the price. The USPS website SUCKS at estimating international shipping costs, usually it bites me in the ass when the estimate is $10 short etc. To estimate the actual cost would require to wait in line as above ~ then tell the buyer a price ~ then wait in line AGAIN. Again, major PITA.

One time an address was relayed to me incorrectly by the buyer. The process literally took 2.5 months to work through as China's return to sender service is terrible. Oh yeah, shipping internationally is also super stressful in this regard; as the address is often much more difficult to verify ~ they are formatted differently depending on where you live!

Sorry for my rant, one of my most recent international sales was a $50 3 week old incase macbook hard case I sold for like $10 on eBay to someone in Russia. Believe it or not I LOST money in the transation after ebay, paypal, and shipping overage.

I have nothing against folks in other countries; it's simply shipping to them is NOT fun.
Click to expand...
 
i usually put "shipped CONUS" on everything, but thats just to indicate that shipping to the continental US is included. anything after that the buyer pays. if i can tell easily what its gonna be like a flat rate box to hawaii (my post office usually only takes 5-10 minutes) then ill tell them. otherwise i offer to ship it at the asking price and them have them gift me the extra shipping cost after i send it. that way no one gets ripped off. unless i know its gonna be like $2X.XXX dollars then ill ask for $20, and have them paypal me the $X.XX later. i like using paypals gift option for little stuff like this even though i dont recommend it for whole transactions.
 
To be honest, I think a lot of sellers are poorly informed about shipping. Thus, as they create their threads, they do so by rote, and thus, having seen other sellers put CONUS only, they do the same, even if they're willing to ship to AK/HI/PR. Somehow they don't even know that CONUS means 48 states, not all 50. It's already been demonstrated in this thread

For people who ship FedEx or UPS, it's always far more expensive, so, it's understandable in those sitautions. But for USPS shippers, it is especially puzzling to me for the following reasons:

1. 1st class and USPS Flat-rate, and 1lb Priority are the same cost to everywhere, and this is what many are offering as shipping.

2. If you're on the west coast, most east coast destinations are zone 8. And major destinations in Alaska are zone 7. So, it would actually be cheaper to ship to Alaska than to, say, Maine, from the west coast. Likewise, if you're on the east coast, all west coast destinations and Alaska and Hawaii are going to be zone 8 for you anyway. Unless you're literally smack dab in the middle of the country like Kansas, there are going to be Zone 8 destinations that are not AK/HI/PR
http://postcalc.usps.gov/Zonecharts/


MrSneis, the USPS online postage is not an "estimator". It is a calculator, and draws from the exact same rate information that is in the printed ratecase, and used at the counter when you go to the post office. If it's shorts, it's because you're either misunderstanding it, or you're putting in weight that is too low. You do have a scale, right? (not a bathroom scale)

And as for international shipping being a huge pain... Well, you can fill out all your customs forms online and print them out to bring with you. Or you could just grab a few extra from the PO next time you're there anyway, and have them on hand.
You can ever print postage for Priority/Express/GXG online, and drop them in a USPS box or hand em to your postal delivery worker (the restrictions printed on blue USPS boxes for international only apply to stamped mail, not postage from online). The only time you'd have to go in-person would be if you were shipping 1st class international, and if you have your customs forms filled out, it takes no longer than shipping domestic.
 
When I sell something with shipping included I will put "$XX.XX shipped to the lower 48 states".
I will ship elsewhere at the buyers expense.
 
by CONUS, do you mean continental US, or contiguous US?
People often get confused, and think they mean the same thing.

Contintental US = all states on the North American continent, which would include AK, HI, Puerto Rico, since they are also on the North American continent.
Contiguous US = all states that border with another state; ie, not AK which borders with another country, not HI that borders with the ocean.

:D :p
 
Hawaii is not geographically on the North American continent, anyway.

CONUS always means contiguous.
 
Yeah I bet there are a lot of fools who don't even know that CONUS means the lower 48 :rolleyes:
 
On the other side of the coin, I'm an international buyer. I try to buy only things that ship in small packages (CPUs, RAM, etc) and I don't buy PSUs and cases, etc. I am always reasonable and try to work with the seller to arrive at a reasonable shipping fee. I have never asked anyone to lie about values on customs forms, and I am always patient with shipping times. Of course, my local postal service have never screwed up on a delivery (Fedex and DHL both have, but that's another story). So all you CONUS-only sellers out there, spare a thought for the international buyer. Our paypal is just as good as everyone elses'.

Although I can understand that if I were a seller, and I had a ready CONUS buyer I'd much rather ship domestic than some weird international desitination :D
 
being a canadian, I understand the pain you sellers have to go through but I would truly hope you guys would rethink this ban on selling to canadians, having a population of only 10% of you guys means we rarely run into any great deals you guys often offer. Besides, COMON!! Our two countries are practically one and the same. Show your siblings some love.
 
CONUS shipper here.

I've sold hundreds of items on eBay. I've been burned with no recourse by two people in Canada and I'm no longer interested in shipping outside of the country. I was burned by one person in the US, but SquareTrade contacted the person and resolved the issue within two weeks.

If someone from Alaska or Hawaii PM'd me, I'd probably do it. I don't offer it because additional shipping costs are a hassle I'd rather not deal with.
 
I would only say CONUS if I was paying for shipping. If the buyer is to pay shipping, then I'd ship to all 50 states. Shipping internationally is a PITA, tried it once - never again.

However, I usually include shipping in the cost of my FS items so I say CONUS but not CONUS only - just PM me if you're in the other 2 and we'd work it out.
 
IMHO...it's not the Canadians that's the problem shipping to Canada, it's the customs thing, whether it be on the U.S. side or the other. I've had computer items held-up almost a month in customs going from the U.S. to Canada. Then I've had items shipping from Canada to me take almost no time. Makes no sense to me but the last two shipping's to Canada I did a couple of years ago left a most foul taste in my mouth.
 
eth3ton said:
The difference in shipping blows any great deals imo & the fact paypal won't offer buyer protection to sells outside the US.



No. No they aren't. Not yet anyway.
Click to expand...

Damnit, now they know our plan!
I was going to ship a computer internationally once, till we both saw the shipping prices. Yeah... not ever gonna try again.
 
haha ya I'm not talking about big items but more like smaller items. For example, I recently was looking for a reservoir for my water cooling rig and was glad somebody was selling one for a very reasonable price. Good thing he was willing to ship it to me. Then again, this customs thing is very annoying, almost 2 weeks now and still haven't received it (He shipped it last week Monday morning from a place a couple hours away from me)
 
CONUS only also blows for the military serving overseas. I have been stationed overseas for a total of 8 years in my career, and lost out on more deals than I want to remember.
 
toddw said:
CONUS only also blows for the military serving overseas. I have been stationed overseas for a total of 8 years in my career, and lost out on more deals than I want to remember.
Click to expand...

I'd ship to someone serving in the Military if they PMd me...
 
This Alaskan would like to reiterate and paraphrase what's in the thread:

1. Some geography-ignorant people think Hawaii and Alaska are not part of the USA.
2. Many people put "CONUS" only shipping in their threads because they see other people do it.
3. Many people are not aware of USPS Priority Flat Rate, which simply blows away UPS and FEDEX. (FEDEX and UPS rape and pillage for long distance shipping.)
4. Alaska is part of the contintental US. It is not part of the contiguous US (or 'contiguous 48 states) and is not part of the "Lower 48."

I don't work for USPS but I laud them for the superb service and bargain of Flat Rate. I've probably got about 200 shipments (recieved and sent) through Flat Rate comprising everything from RAM, to motherboards, to large PSUs. My experience with USPS Priority/Flat Rate shows it to be almost as reliable as FEDEX and superior to UPS. (your experience may vary)

-- No, Flat Rate won't work for monitors and computer cases. :(
-- FEDEX and UPS have superior tracking, USPS is accurate concerning final disposition.

For those small number of you who missed out on primary school education: Alaska and Hawaii are two of the 50 states that comprise the USA....and have been for half a century.

I have found that most tradings stating "CONUS" in their trading threads are good, honest people who will be happy to work out reasonable agreements with traders from Alaska and Hawaii. Some traders are simply unaware of Flat Rate.

OK, I feel better now. :cool:
 
I'm one of the people that list CONUS only. I also prefer to ship fedex as tracking information is consistant, where as USPS I had a few packages go MIA for 15 days via priority mail. Just this week I shipped 4 things via USPS as they were small items and figured I would give them another shot. All 4 were dropped off and had the same options (ie printed label, priority, and etc). 3 have arrived and had tracking information the entire way, the other one has no tracking information available and who knows where it's at. It's hard enough being the seller knowing you dropped it off but concerned if it arrive, but another for the buyer wondering if you shipped the package at all.

The OP and others appear to be honest, but you have to admit there are other people on the opposite side of the spectrum. I had 2 different transactions early on where I listed "shipped" and the buyers held me over the barrel only after I realized the location and shipping differences (alaska/hawaii). This was prior to the flat rate boxes and one I was able to refund as the buyer was unwilling to pay for the difference, and the other we split the difference. Both were a little upset that shipped should be shipped, regarless of cost, so to avoid these scenarios I list CONUS and always ask for shipping zip code prior to any payment.

I'm pretty sure the buyers knew that shipping charges were more expensive, however I think they were trying to take advantage of a new trader at the time. So I list my prices shipped to CONUS, always ask for shipping zip code, and check shipping charges prior to receiving any payment.

I have no problem shipping to Alaska or Hawaii, but I don't include them in my pricing by default.
 
I just recently shipped a few items to Belgium and the UK...Other than filling out the customs form it's really not that bad...as long as the people are paying for shipping (about $50 to send a 10 pound package USPS Priority International with Return Receipt)...IT IS more time consuming than using the automated machine but how many times am I going to ship international? not many so I do not mind helping out our foreign folk...The first time I filled out the form I was like WTF THIS SUCKS...only by the 2nd one it was not too bad once you go through it once..However it DOES take the postal worker a long time to enter it into the system.

Note: I reserve the right to change my mind if these items go missing.
 
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