early911s reg is worldwide or is it

[advtracing]

I have been thinking whether to post an issue i find on site which is caused by me being on the other side of the world. After a bit of contemplation i decided to put keyboard to thread ( rather than pen to paper) and run this past all.
Early911s reg is truly an international group but i find due to the majority of members being in the USA this fact is sometimes forgotten.
Where this arises for me is the for sale section. Over the last few months i have missed out on a number of items due to sellers either dismissing my PM's as the good's were stated as shipping USA and going to the next guy or not allowing time for me to get back to them and transfer funds with paypal.
Now shipping oversea's is a pain but i ( like others ) don't require this as i have a shipping agent in Carson,CA Just because my profile say's i am on the other side of the world doesn't mean i need shipping there .
Now because i am in a totally different time zone there will always be a delay in discussions and confirming payments plus hay people work and are not alway's in front of a computer.Is it really that much of a issue that funds might take 24hrs to get to your account when it's only $150?
So guy's please work with us poor people stuck on a rock in the sth pacific miles away from anything and thanks to all those who have had the patients to do so.
P.s love the site and the members it's what inspired us to put together www.early911nz.org

[Soterik]

This isn't just an off topic thread, I think you should re-start it over in the General section. Certainly an issue for many members!

Eric

[72targa]

If I was selling something on the site and the buyer was international, I would work with them on the sale. I have purchased many items from all over the world with success. Hopefully other would help fellow board members.

John, one suggestion would be to get a "US buddy" to bid/PM for you and then work out the details if you/your buddy was the successful bidder.

[Greg D.]

It's probably because for a lot of sellers, most of whom are not used to dealing with shipping overseas, a shipping agent kinda rhymes with a Nigerian scam. We get bombarded daily with spam such as "My shipping agent will take care of this and I will overpay you, send me back the difference in cash" - you know the drill, I bet those reached NZ too... I am sure (certain, even) that it's not your case at all, your name is quite recognized on the forum by now, but it could explain why you lose out on some transactions. It's safer/easier when it's local for most folks. I don't have a clever way to fix this, I'm sure you already put that disclaimer about your location on the table right off the bat... All we can do is confirm John Gausden is a standup guy ;-)

[advtracing]

Thanks for the kind words. I guess with the www comes world wide scams and everyone has to be careful. This group has proven to be the safest operating i have found , but even some groups that appear to be sound can get the odd bad scam on an item. I got burnt blind on a car earlier this year through a longtime member on another forum. So guy's i don't blame you for being careful but a quick search can often give you confidence that the person's legit

[Longballa]

Maybe if you add Carson, CA to your location along with New Zealand that would help.

[Harvey Weidman]

John,
I share your greif from a sellers point of view.
I ship to Australia and it sometimes can be a little daunting. All countries are different to deal with and some are more complicated than others. Those who have a USA agent are much easier to ship to for us. Many of my European customers have a USA contact and that helps with my shipping and their customs. Please share your contact with others on your side of the world..
H

[advtracing]

Thanks Harvey, In setting up my group one of the main things to achieve was to give good ref. to shipping agents / suppliers / forums to our members to help them source parts etc... and not get put off owning / restoring there cars. I have heavily promoted Kiwishipping in Carson,CA as they combine items for clients (small and large ) and ship in one go charging only for M3 used in a container . Very economic .

[Milou]

Living in Geneva, I've purchased items from California and never had any issues with shipping. UPS and even USPS have been amazingly reliable and a lot easier to deal with than the UK for example where I've had a lot more trouble finding decent shipping. Not everyone feels comfortable buying or selling things internationally but honestly it's based mostly on subjective perception. Often it's at the expense of the vendor who restricts himself from international buyers who could pay a higher price.

[Fishcop]

Hi John

I've had similar issues with getting stuff to Oz as well. Getting a buddy/contact in the US definitely helps and that's what I do now for big ticket items.

US/Euro friends, don't forget the Aussie "sister" site www.typ901.org is a good spot to check out the bonafides of us AU/NZ 901 nuts... most of the Antipodeans on here are member on that site