US only sales WHY???

All my Gon purchases have been from the US, I am in the UK. Most stated US buyers only. I contacted them and asked courteously if they would consider a sale to the UK and I have not been turned down. I usually only buy US gear, where the price advantage is very real. For me, also, there are opportunities I could'nt get, except in the US, Conrad Johnson for example. You almost never find for sale in the UK, but many tempting adds on audiogon.
I would never criticise a seller for limiting to local buyers only, but I have found they can be persuaded if approached reasonably. Oh yes, I am VERY AWARE of shipping and customs problems, they are my problem, not the sellers.

It is buyers like David12 that I would, (and have on the rare occassion), sell to who are outside of the U.S.
I like buyers who understand that there are hassles in selling internationally, and they, as the international buyer, assume all the responsibilities for the hassles, problems and costs associated there with!

Good Job David!

I'm always amazed at buyers in the US that are confused and shocked that there would be Duty on an item they are buying from or was manufactured in, a foreign country. Like, you have never traveled outside the US and had to fill out a Customs Declaration on your way home or going across the border?!
I thought it would be obvious...
In any event, I have a copy of the US Harmonized Tariff schedule, the 8500 series pages, that I copied off of the Internet. That covers all the elctronic stuff we're concerned-with in Audio. I can see what the Duties are, if any, and I tell the buyer at the beginning when doing a shipping quote. If you call FedEx or UPS and ask them what the Brokerage fees will be (usually based on the value of the item that is being shipped), they will tell you - another mystery cleared-up.

I have shipped overseas many times and have never had a problem. I have never had a buyer request a zero value, and I wouldn't do it anyway, as that is ridiculous and bound to attract attention at Customs. We work out a realistic value that will allow it to slide through Customs and the buyer has to understand that the package cannot be insured for a value higher than the declared value. So if it gets lost or damaged, they are assuming that risk.
I also get them to pay by wire transfer - no PayPal unless they have a ton of good feedback, and no Money Orders.

It's a hassle and a lot of paperwork.

Funny enough, but nearly only those who do not sell outside the US comment here. In my eight years here on audiogon, I have bought and sold from and to the US as a German living in Moscow, now having moved back to Germany), without any problem whatsoever, so my advice is to buyers from abroad: ask courteously, be able to pay by cheque, bank transfer, or Paypal, and more often than not it works just fine.
Regards, Florian Hassel