Look for lower prices at eBay’s foreign sites
Items that may be rare and expensive at eBay’s United States site may not be as rare and expensive in other countries. Your lesson as a savvy buyer is that you shouldn’t restrict your search to the eBay US site only, especially if you’re a buyer of foreign items, antiques, or collectibles. Sometimes a better deal can be found at eBay Canada or eBay UK, even after including the more expense of overseas shipping.
An easy way to find items sent from other countries is to click eBay’s “Search†link at the top of the page, then click the “Advanced Search†tab then change the drop down selection near the “location†label to choose eBay items at eBay foreign sites.
If you select “Items available to United States†you will only see items for which the foreign seller has elected to allow shipment to the U.S. If the item you are searching for is very rare or desirable you may want to select the “Items located in†option and select countries other than the U.S. It is a good idea to contact foreign sellers in advance to confirm that they will be willing to ship the winning item to the U.S.
eBay now operates auction sites in 38 countries. Follow the links below for the most popular English-speaking eBay sites:
eBay United States: www.eBay.com
eBay Canada: www.eBay.ca
eBay UK: www.ebay.co.uk
Look for lower priced foreign sellers at the eBay US site.
I recently bought some computer components directly from an eBay seller located in Taiwan. He was selling his goods at the eBay United States website, but he didn’t hide the fact that he would be shipping the item from overseas. This seller had an excellent feedback score, with a more than one thousand positive feedback ratings. I paid him for the item using Paypal and his item arrived in my mailbox several days later delivered by the US Postal service, with stamps from Taiwan.
I understand that it may be more difficult and costly for me to return this item if it doesn’t meet my needs. However, the incredible price that I paid greatly outweighed the consequences of having to send it back. You can often win items from foreign sellers at lower prices because competing bidders often have a fear of the unknown and won’t risk bidding for items that are not being shipped within the United States.
There are some Central European countries that have gotten a bad rap for high levels of eBay fraud by sellers. Personally, I place more value in the seller’s feedback and other assurances than I do in his worldwide shipping location. I have purchased items from eBay US Sellers that were shipped from Central Europe and the items have arrived as promised. The most important rule is that you buy from reputable sellers.
By the way, eBay and Paypal rules specify that a seller may sell an item that is not in his possession, as long as the item is shipped to the winning bidder within 20 days. This is sometimes called “drop shipping.†I have had a dozen or so transactions involving shipments from abroad and all of them have been completed without a problem. I always consider other information about the seller, like eBay Feedback and Paypal reputation points, before buying from any seller.
