Here's a Thought

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Author Message Jeffsailor (Jeffsailor) Posted on Thursday, March 11, 2004 - 8:51 am:    Has anyone on the board given any thought to acting as a shipping proxy for international guitar buying? For example, If there's something here in the States that you gentlemen overseas just have to have, but the seller won't ship internationally, why not have one of us here in the US receive it on your behalf and forward it on over? Of course it would mean extra shipping costs, but sometimes the price isn't always the foremost consideration. I know that I would certainly do it for someone (as long as it doesn't become habbit forming) for the possibilty of having it reciprocated sometime down the line (Whenever the USD gets a bit stronger and the overseas markets become a bit more attractive). As I said, its just an idea. js Meranti (Meranti) Posted on Thursday, March 11, 2004 - 9:56 pm:    JS, Thats a very good idea however be warned it can be very troublesome. I live in possibly the worst location in the world to buy guitars from anywhere and have tried all sorts of ways to ship these purchases back to me here in Indonesia and the use of proxies. Whenever I write to the sellers I am always open to the sellers that I am writing from Indonesia. Many a times I don't get a reply back unless I give them some references. However, I am glad to say that most deals have gone well (except the odd mis-representation and one case where the seller did not refund the balance) but I have made many good friends. What I had previously done when I bought from the US is that I get the seller to ship it to my brother in law in SF. After he had accumulated them he would bring them to a freight forwarder company and ship them by air to Singapore. Then I will fly to Singapore and the local agents will clear customs for me and I only pay 4% GST. I then bring them back as check in luggage to Indonesia. The whole process took a few months though. The point I am making here is if the proxy is willing to do it, it will be great but it can be very troublesome. I have done this many times and I do appreciate the guys that help me on this. For example, I still have a couple of guitars in a friend's apartment in Sydney waitng for me to collect them. One of the guitars was recommended by our Great Captain Ibanez. Captain, I know I still owe you a shipping address. Will send it to you today. Sorry about that. Six, the exchange rates have gone crazy and everything is now too expensive. The Euro and Au$ have reversed their positions 12 months ago and it is now really expensive from a US$ point of view. From a shipping point of view for me couriers like Fedex etc are out of the question (for me) as they cost US$100 and above to ship to this region. The best alternative from Europe and Australia is by the postal method. They are more generous in their size allowances and cheap as well. For Australia, I suggest the economy air parcel which is cheap but takes a few days longer. Germany also has similar shipping facilities and it works great! From the US internal shipping by US Postal Service is more generous in size but for overseas shipping the guitar & case will not be allowed because of size restrictions. Hence I have to use the proxy service for purchases in the US and sometimes in Australia (some Ibanez cases exceed the size limitation). The other alternative would be to use the proxy method and like me use a freight forwarder to ship them. It can actually work out pretty cheap if you know the freight forwarder. However for those of you living outside the US and would like to ship guitars from the US to your country there is a way. If you know someone in the US embassy of your country (I mean someone really close) they have a post office in every embassy and is treated like a US territory. Hence the mail is treated like shipping within the US. Presto, you can ship your guitar and at approximately US$25 to your country. In most cases, I believe the mail is delivered a few times a week by US military planes!!! Let me qualify this again, make sure you know the person well!!! Hope my 2 Rupiah input can help you save some shipping costs. Regards, Meranti Sixvsix (Sixvsix) Posted on Friday, March 12, 2004 - 8:06 am:    I have made a good contact in the States who ships small items to me if the sellers won't take foreign bids. He has been a real help to me over the past year or so. I have noticed that US sellers are more willing to ship out to Europe these days. However, they need to be happy that you have good feedback. I ALWAYS drop the seller a line first asking if I can bid. If they agree then I start asking my questions. Most of the sellers I've conversed with are pleased that you had the courtesy to ask before you started bidding and will generally acknowledge your good manners. To quote my Dad as I was growing up, “Civility goes a long way and costs nothing son.” six

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