Ebay has changed for me - an Australian. A very reliable buyer too I might add.

It used to be the case that I could still contact a seller who listed their stuff as 'US only'. Now I cant even contact them. I think the new policy is that when a seller says, 'US only' it also means you have to be in the US to be able to contact them.

What this means is I can't "encourage" someone who is a bit frail on the issue of overseas buyers.

What it also means is that the product will sell for less than it should've if left to an open market. Sometimes the difference can be more than 50% on a lot of LF gear. The decision to sell to the US only is amost invariably a financial decision. "Should I get half the money I could?"

Needless to say there are some who like it that way !! (You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink...)