RadioBanter - View Single Post - What is wrong with Hawaii, Alaska, and Canada

Dave Oldridge

(Geoffrey S. Mendelson) wrote in
:

Brenda Ann wrote:
Don't feel too bad, Paul. You'll often notice in the same listings
that (even if they ship solely by USPS) they will not ship to US
military APO/FPO addresses, either. We get left out in the cold even
more often than any of the above named locations. So much for
supporting the troops as it were.--

That's because shipping to an an APO/FPO is no longer a service
provided by the U.S. government. At one time mail to an APO/FPO was
delivered to a U.S. millitary post office that then shipped it using
U.S. milltary transport, There was a good chance that the mail would
actually arrive and it would be undamaged. Now APO/FPO mail is sent
via the regular postal system, but the U.S. government picks up the
tab.

Now, the chance of the mail arriving is much less as it stands out.

As for Paul's comments, they really don't hold any water. Small
sellers don't ship outside the continental U.S. because they don't
want the risk.

If an item is lost, stolen, damaged, or takes a month or two to get
delivered, they can't afford to replace it, or "eat" the loss. Paul
even has more problems because Canadian customs may hold an item to
determine its value, or if it can be legally imported as long as they
wish. They can also assess the value for sales and other taxes.

The only possible problem is loss or damage. USPS air delivers in a few
days and for a reasonable border fee, most of which is sales tax at this
end. If the customs declaration is made out properly, stating that the
contents are amateur radio equipment and if the eBay auction price is
stated as the value, there is rarely any problem unless the merchandise
is misrepresented in the first place. There is no duty on amateur
equipment entering Canada from ANYWHERE, just sales taxes.

--
Dave Oldridge+
ICQ 1800667