Shipping to Malaysia & PayPal?

[Ivan J. Eberle]

Got an offer on a Super Graphic camera I've got listed in the FS section, potential buyer in Malaysia. Any pitfalls to shipping there via USPS with tracking, and/or accepting PayPal payment, unique to that locale, (not just general rants about PP)? What about Customs, is it a hassle and delay?

[Steven Tribe]

After Nigeria, Malaysia is the most common country excluded in ebay listings.
No personal experience - problems may only exist with high value items.

[Ivan J. Eberle]

I see the postal regs on with some restrictions on high value items... does it apply to 50-year old used cameras?

[messar]

I lived in Malaysia up until last year. I never had any issues receiving packages, although it did sometimes take a bit.

Customs shouldn't be your problem - just mark whatever value you choose (I guarantee a buyer from there will appreciate a lower value to be marked, but up to you). If the item is held at customs, they'll have to go to a post office to pick it up, and pay any duties owed.

USPS tracking works, although not as clear once it's handed over to the local post - it may be worth looking at Fedex depending on the size and value of the item.

I don't know if there are risks to paypal - you may prefer to get paid via a bank wire transfer (this is a very common way to transfer money in Malaysia - little or no chance of fraud - it'll go directly into your account. Just make sure that they pay the costs, otherwise, you could be out a fair bit).

Matt

[lordmint]

I dont think there will be problems at the customs. Me and a couple friends buy LF and MF stuff from ebay and keh. Shipment from keh takes between 2-4 weeks to arrive to destination. Possible delays might be caused by custom clearance or they live outside of big cities. Custom clearance is faster if the buyer goes to the customs office to get their item themselves (if the item is being detained). This applies to those who live in the kuala lumpur area. And, please dont declare the camera as 'antique'. Antique items are subjected to tax, while 'used photo equipment' is not.

The large format community is small here in malaysia. Theres no shops here that sells LF gears, so we depends on ebay and other online shops to get our stuff.

[Ivan J. Eberle]

Interesting first post. Are you acquainted with Altair with zero postings here on LFF?

No way in Hades would I provide direct routing numbers to my account to anyone I don't know personally, foreign or otherwise. That's why PayPal exists.

[photobymike]

I would never send anything to Malaysia Philippines Nigeria. Local laws are have not caught up with International sales by credit card. Also international shipping is rather limited with insurance, so that can be a factor. With that being said check with FEDEX or UPS, I know USPS insurance options are limited. Look at the buyers feed back, has he bought camera stuff? Check with ebay to see if the sale qualifies for buyer protection.

http://www.mikepic.com

[Ivan J. Eberle]

Selling it here on LFF, and accepting PayPal. (Malaysian offer was not for full price, and I didn't accept it).

[toolbox]

I've been buying and selling on ebay for more than a decade now, and I've shipped camera gear everywhere from Ukraine to Peru, and aside from having a couple packages held up in customs I've never had a problem yet. At some point I probably will, and I'm actually ok with that...I've made way more money selling stuff overseas than I could lose. In the past year I've shipped a couple packages to Malaysia, without any problems. Italy seems to have the slowest post of anywhere I've mailed things too oddly... If they pay through paypal, be sure to ship through paypal! It gives you the best protection as a seller. USPS used to require 1st class airmail only be shipped through a post office, but sometime earlier this year they switched to allow online processing, which is a big help. The tracking isn't as good as Priority Mail, but it's a lot cheaper. If it's a bigger dollar item, Priority Mail is a good idea. When I sell on ebay, the buyer pays shipping, so I just let them choose how much they want to spend on it.

[c.d.ewen]

Selling it here on LFF, and accepting PayPal. (Malaysian offer was not for full price, and I didn't accept it).

Low bid? Not the standard con, where the scammer often offers to pay a premium.

Charley

[messar]

Ivan,

I'm assuming your comment was for me - not sure what you mean by Altair.

Direct account to account transfer is very common in Malaysia. The risk is actually very low despite the account information shared. (I know this is somewhat counter-intuitive - I was suspicious at first as well....). My comments were meant to provide options for you to conduct a safer transaction if you were concerned about fraud. (bank transfer is safer for you, although leaving the buyer with less options for recourse if there were problems with the item).

In any case, was just trying to be helpful - you've received several other comments, and may draw your own conclusions.

[B.S.Kumar]

I have sold a couple of items to Altair, and he's a very honest and dependable person. He got his stuff quickly, and I would not hesitate to deal with him again.

Kumar