Seller has an item I want but won't ship to the UK (only US). Is there a US intermediary I can use?

[kurkos_dr]

As the title says, a seller has an item I want but won't ship to the UK (only US). Is there a US intermediary I can use?

The idea is that the seller will ship to the intermediary's US address and then the intermediary will ship it to my UK address. I understand that this will mean extra shipping costs, but assuming I am fine with it, can it be done? Does such a service exist? I have found some "forwarding" services online but they seem to deal mostly with business customers.

[deserdog]

I know that companies do exist that do this. I have had several buyers use these companies. Be forewarned however, once the package is delivered to the forwarding company, assuming that the item is as described, the seller has responsibility after that.

[kurkos_dr]

Do you know of such a company? You can PM me. Yes, I am aware that the reason the seller isn't shipping to the UK is because they don't want to take the risk of international shipping, I am ok with this risk.

[the_fancy_fox]

Google parcel forwarding US to UK.

[ms.rodriguez*]

BE aware that some sellers may still refuse to ship to a re-shipper. SOme of these companies are scammers.  Also, the seller gets stuck with an extra 1% fee so they might still cancel the transaction especially if it's a pricey item.

[krazzykats]

Have you ever asked the seller themselves?  And is the item allowed to be shipped into the UK?  Many items are restricted by country.

What Can't Be Sold on eBay

Regulated and Restricted Items - Overview (ebay.in)

It may be legal in one country to sell (USA) the item, but possibly illegal in another (UK).

[kurkos_dr]

"Have you ever asked the seller themselves?  And is the item allowed to be shipped into the UK?  Many items are restricted by country."
I asked. The seller doesn't want to deal with non-US addresses and international shipping and says they will only ship to US. Item is a laptop.

[kurkos_dr]

"BE aware that some sellers may still refuse to ship to a re-shipper. SOme of these companies are scammers.  Also, the seller gets stuck with an extra 1% fee so they might still cancel the transaction especially if it's a pricey item."
That's my problem, don't know how to find a trustworthy person to do it. Where does the extra 1% fee come from? Seller will ship to a US address like they normally would.

[richard1rst]

Are you aware that U S use 120 volt while the UK uses 240 volt?  Are you able to buy a converter locally?

[pargran3]

Where did that come from? 

Sorry if I am missing something. I must have missed that the OP is looking at an electronic item. Huh?

[freefall401]

Ebay used to do this for us. I thought they still did.  We ship the item to a US address and they forward it to the foreign address and collect the additional shipping directly from the customer. But to do it this way, you would need to change the shipping in your listing to include shipping to UK.

[freefall401]

Sorry I just read your post again and you are the buyer in the UK. As long as it's an item that can legally ship overease, the seller should be able to enable "ships to UK" in his listing and Ebay would take care of it and charge you directly for the additional shipping.

[richard1rst]

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@pargran3 wrote:

Where did that come from? 

Sorry if I am missing something. I must have missed that the OP is looking at an electronic item. Huh?

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Message 7 on this thread which was a follow up post by the OP:

Item is a laptop.

[pargran3]

Thank you. I completely missed that...twice. Time to take a break. Sorry.

[lacemaker3]

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@richard1rst wrote:

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@kurkos_dr wrote:

"Have you ever asked the seller themselves?  And is the item allowed to be shipped into the UK?  Many items are restricted by country."
I asked. The seller doesn't want to deal with non-US addresses and international shipping and says they will only ship to US. Item is a laptop.

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Are you aware that U S use 120 volt while the UK uses 240 volt?  Are you able to buy a converter locally?

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@richard1rst,

Laptops run on DC power from their battery. The chargers use an adapter, and every one I have seen can be used on a wide range of power supplies. You just need a converter to allow the local style of plug to be used, which are easily available.

I just looked at the adapter for my laptop, and it is good for input:

• AC 100 - 240 V
• 50 - 60 Hz
• 1.5 A