Buying/Selling/Trading Overseas

[b33r]

hope to get answers from those who have dealt overseas via websites like Talkbass, etc.


i'm just wondering, how does dealing overseas work? let's say i want to buy something from the classifieds section on TB. so...

1. i tell the seller to ship it to my vPost address in US.
2. pay the seller the price of the item+the cost of shipping it to the vPost address via Paypal.
3. seller confirms the transfer, ships out item.
4. send Paypal invoice to vPost.
5. vPost ships it to S'pore.
6. pay vPost shipping charges.

amirite? k now for selling stuff.

1. be a supporting member.
2. post item, buyer contacts you, sends you money via Paypal.
3. uuh now what? how do i ship overseas, let's say US?

ok now for trading.

1. both parties agree to trade. let's say it's a direct trade.
2. so...who ships first??
3. i ship first, other guy decides to fly aeroplane = GG?


i find the local buy/sell scene too slow...either that the recession is killing us all.

 

[shinobi]

first of all, i have very very little experience with talkbass classifieds though i've been snooping around for awhile and roughly know how stuff is done.

just a note on buying. sometimes, shipping isn't that expensive. you can also negotiate with the seller what kind of shipping you want. if it's not gonna cost that much, you might want to forgo vpost.

i have discovered the opposite to be true: when you buy from an overseas dealer, they usually charge a specified amount for shipping. however, from my experience, the shipping that they charge you tends to be more than the shipping cost as indicated on the package itself. i don't know if they actually profit from 'overcharging' on shipping. but that's another story.

to ship overseas you would need to use a shipping or courier service of some sort. if the buyer requests for a shipping quote then you would need to get it from the shipping company.

trades are risky. talkbass users are usually ok i guess... and the forums are very well regulated

 

[5stringwonder]

Ok let me add my 2 cents worth.

Done a number of deals on Talkbass/TGP/HCFX. I've not had any problems so far with buying/selling/trades.

Buying : Shipping from the US is fairly cheap (US$10-$30) if it is a small item like a pedal. Most people prefer not to ship big items like amps or basses because of the difficultly in packing and the cost of shipping. That being said you can usually find someone who is willing to ship international. Just be prepared to pay for the shipping. Most accept Paypal.

For bigger items, it may be cheaper to ship through vPost/Borderlinx. I got my Thunderfunk shipped in from the US at about S$80 through Borderlinx.

Selling : I always get people to pay by Paypal and ship to them by registered mail (SingPost). It's the cheapest way to ship and I've had no problems at all with the packages reaching their destination. Usually ship pedals so the cost is around ($15-$30) depending on the size/weight of the pedal and the destination.

Trading : Here's where is gets a bit tricky. Essentially there has to be an element of trust between both parties. Usually both will send the items out at the same time. May sure that communication is clear and that the other party keeps you updated ie when they send the item out, how long it will take

In general I try to drop people a note when I receive the item just to close off a transaction. In the same way, I ask people to do they same when they buy from me.

Talkbass has a transaction rating system similar to eBay so you can see how many transactions a person has done and if they have positive or negative feedback.

 

[VinOnBass]

You will have to consider the GST charges for your selling cost.

this will likely be the situation.

Cost of bass

1000USD X 1.5 = 1500SGD.

Lets say we go by TT.

1500 + 40 (admin fees) = 1540SGD

Shipping fee (without hardcase)

1540 + 60 = 1600SGD

GST charges

1600 + 112 = 1712SGD.

yup! something like that.

 

[shinobi]

are shipping charges taxable? or does tax only apply as per the declared value of the goods shipped? i was told that if the shipping carrier is outsourced by the person selling (the dealer), shipping charges would not be included in the value of the item. as such shipping charges and the actual goods are taxed seperately, and since shipping charge won't exceed S$400, it would not be taxed. effectively, shipping would not be included in the taxable amount.

 

[shinobi]

oh yeah and just an extremely generic question, how do u guys pack the stuff for shipping overseas? as in what kind of packaging, boxes do you go for and where do you get them from

 

[VinOnBass]

hmmm if im not wrong, shipping charges are included before taxes are impose. haha! Not sure though, doesn't really matters much. haha

And also shipping charges various alot from time to time. It can be as cheap as 60 bucks or up to 200bucks. haha~ weird, but I never care to understand more. lol

 

[5stringwonder]

Shipping is included in the calculation for tax. It's CIF (Cost-Insurance-Freight). Anything more than S$400 in total is taxed.

 

[VinOnBass]

Shipping is included in the calculation for tax. It's CIF (Cost-Insurance-Freight). Anything more than S$400 in total is taxed.

Yup, thats right. =)

 

[choopin]

how to calculate CIF for GST

I've been looking to buy a Gibson SJ-100 Acoustic online, so I have done quite a bit of research online. On shipping, i found that onenow.com offers the lowest freight rates to sg. I've also spent a good 15mins with their customer chat online to find out how to calculate the CIF for GST.

Here's what I gathered.

Before I was baffled until i found out that sg customs uses their own formula to calculate CIF. So even if you pay lower insurance or freight fee it doesnt really matter. You can go to this link to see what is sg custom's exchange rate http://appm4.internet.gov.sg/scripts/customs/exc/exrate.asp

GST applies if CIF is above S$400

C: cost of goods.
I: insurance. [1% of C+F] you need to use 1% even if you pay a lower insurance (onenow is 0.3%)
F: freight [weight * SGD$9.85] divided by SG custom exchange rate

so, your GST is CIF*7%
(onenow also charge a 5% service fee on the GST amount)

Hopefully its useful for you!

 

[b33r]

ok, i've gone by the "buy from TB classifieds" route. i've sent the payment via Paypal and told the seller to send it to my vpost address in california. now i've got the Fedex tracking number, but then i realised something.

how am i supposed to notify vpost of the incoming package? since i didn't buy from an online shop, i don't have an invoice. and if it changes anything, i made the Paypal payment in two seperate instalments. would some form of documentation from Fedex work?

 

[Ratboy]

Just print out the "for sale" thread from TB Classifieds to a PDF file
and email that as the invoice to vpost

 

[b33r]

seriously? i thought it would have to be something more official than that. i'll call vpost to ask them later.