International Ebay Seller & Shipping Question(s) - Italy

Meatloaf

I have an ebay buyer interested in purchasing some sports memorabilia items from me. However, the person is located in Italy. I have completed solid sales to individuals in Canada, Scotland, Ireland, and Germany before with 100% success and no issues. The items I want to ship weigh less than 1 lbs, but are worth close to $1k. The transaction is via ebay and the buyer has 1000+ feedbacks w/ 100% + rating and mulitple purchases from the USA. My concern is getting the item to Italy with little or no drama and getting full insurance coverage in the event everything goes to hell.

Are there customs issues to be worried about w/ Italy?

Does the buyer have to pay import duties? What are the rates like?

Which is the best shipping carrier to get stuff to Italy consisitently w/o drama at reasonable rates (USPS express or priority vs UPS vs DHL vs FedEx).

Any input, experiences (good or bad), or recommendations would be helpful.

Meatloaf

vladguerrero

Notorious for mail disappearing within the postal system, break out the aspirin.

TonyC

In order to be covered by Paypal, you need to have a service with tracking info, so for USPS that is Express Mail International. Since you will have to claim a value to get the necessary insurance, customs in Italy will see the value and levy a duty against the buyer.

Big80s

Not to scare you, but I've had more issues shipping eBay items to Italy than any other country in the world. It's pretty much the Bermuda Triangle, as far as I'm concerned.

brendanb438

As mentioned you will want to ship the item with legit tracking and declaration of value when dealing to Italy. Make sure the buyer fully understands they will be liable for any customs fees and you will not split them in any manner. Make sure you discuss this also via eBay messaging so there is a papertrail of them agreeing if they do agree to this.

EagleEyeKid

I don't understand the point of having an item fully insured outside of N. America.
You will not get the full insured value if the item is lost depending on that country's
maximum indemnity policy.

Sent a package to Germany years ago for over $200 insured. Package was claimed lost
which is BS. They don't scan in some country. I got back a whooping $48 from the post
office cos that was the maximum for Germany. I no longer ship outside of N. America because
of that experience.

JoeBanzai

I have had three separate people email me about shipping to other countries. When told what how much eBay approved shipping was, they complained bitterly. I replied that if they wanted to pay for the auctions with a international money order, I would gladly ship their items at a more reasonable price, all three declined, saying they were afraid to lose PayPal protection.

One of the bidders (from France) did bid on my item after I added a higher shipping charge for international shipping, but he did not win.

Not to much trust out there anymore. Anyone who sells internationally without using the proper shipping is taking a big chance. PayPal just kills the international market. Would be nice to get the rest of the world.

I cannot afford to risk it.

Joe

Sean1125

I ship to almost all Asian countries, and most of the UK, but I do not ship to Italy.

Your buyer isn't the problem, their postal system is.


If the item can be sent inconspicuously and look cheap then you might be fine... But if its in some huge marked insured etc package it will probably disappear.

jay0791

why not just ask the potential buyer what he usually does when he buys from usa.
he might be willing to bend a little to make it easier for you.
Buty do not send anything without some kind of protection.
Over $250 requires a signature for PP protection.

YogiBerraFan

Italy is tough. I ship there all the time but their customs can be a nightmare. Packages can only be certain sizes and they don't allow certain things to enter the country. Most of the time I have to stretch the truth a bit about what is really in the package. If you don't fill out the forms right and know what is allowed your package could end up sitting in customs until it gets lost. I do everything right and still occasionally something doesn't make it. I ship to places some of you probably never heard of and find Italy the most problematic.

Southsider

My worst ebay transaction ever - $400 loss - also came from a buyer in Italy. It was some kid and I eventually scared him enough by threatening legal action (local police called him at home) that he returned my cards, but I was out a lot of time and frustration. I will NEVER sell anything to Italy. They can't even figure out trash removal, how are they going to track a package?

jimrad

I won't ship there but Giolitti's in Rome has the best gelato in the world

Meatloaf

Thank you all for your outstanding input on this subject. Italy seems like a blackhole...I don't want my items to get lost there. Looks like I am just going to wait for a better offer from someone CONUS USA. Meatloaf