Why does the message "This item does not ship to US Protectorates" even exist? We're USA!

[lattestones]

Been shopping online since it was even possible. But more and more, the term "This item does not ship to US Protectorates" pops up on listings! It makes it impossible to shop for even the most basic of items. 

Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and American Samoa are 5 of the unicorporated USA TERRITORIES. I live in Guam, USA. Am born and raised an US American citizen, use US Dollars, and all the good (and bad) that comes with being American. Territories are not foreign. Without getting political, we are completely US, without being an actual State.

I get the message "This item does not ship to US Protectorates" even when buying things from Hong Kong and China! There are Military bases here that can receive a lot of mail (via USPS!) that the rest of us civilians cannot simply because we're treated as second-class citizens. Help me understand why.

Guam USA takes USPS mail very seriously. Its pretty much the only (affordable) way to get things in and out of here. UPS and Fedex are extremely expensive to/from here. Everyone (in the USA) has USPS right? Please help your fellow American in Guam USA out. Ship to here.

[friskya]

USPS requires customs forms for Pacific territories. Many sellers don't want the hassle. https://www.shipstation.com/blog/shipping-to-us-puerto-rico/

(ignore the URL description - this page also covers Guam and other US territories)

[rock.star]

Many sellers only ship by UPS/FedEx  .

[friskya]

Yep.

And that's covered on the linked page, too.

Customs forms required for UPS/FedEx for all territories.

[johnrj1226]

Have shipped to Guam, North Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, etc via USPS Priority Mail - not once did I file out a single Customs Form.

[glasser · Accepted solution]

This is crazy. My guess is when some people do exclusions they don't even know what the phrase US prectorates even means and they think wow probably shouldn't sell there.

eBay should do better education on this. Let people know what, if any, may be required or encourage use of USPS over FedEx and UPS if the require customs forms. Over may career have worked from time-to-time with folks from these areas. Being able to access things from the mainland at less expensive prices should be a wide open market for these US CITIZENS. 

[wastingtime101]

I ship to all territories on a regular basis.

I understand that not all sellers do because:

• They ship UPS or FedEx Ground which may not offer an affordable service to those locations, or may not deliver there at all.
• They use flat rate or free shipping, and the territories could be in zone 9 meaning it's cost-prohibitive for their set up. (They could get around it using rate tables and setting up a surcharge for territories, but I don't think many sellers are willing to do that or even know the option exists.)
• They don't realize that USPS ships to those regions just like they do to the rest of the US.
• They ship heavy items and the cost vs risk factor is too high for them with the number of claims sellers deal with these days.

[johnrj1226]

One more thing - once upon a time I shipped a few things to European countries  and had to fill out a customs form - this  is not a major task - your local PO has them - takes less than a minute to fill out and stick on the package.

FYI - Now I only ship to  all 50  United States and US Protectorates - all items go via Priority Mail.

[johnrj1226]

Some sellers are not well informed about shipping to  US Protectorates and even to Alaska and  Hawaii.  And some even wish to not ship to certain of the 48 mainland  states.    eBay does give sellers a choice on  various exclusions. It is what it is.

As Billy  Currington sang  - "God is Great, Beer is Good and People Are Crazy.

[hillbillymedia]

The main reason I don`t ship to US Protectorates is problems in the past. Since Oct/Nov. of last year I`ve had nothing but problems with the USPS. More specifically: certain USPS sort facilities across the US.  I`ve had more missing items in the last 10 months than in the last 19 years total. While these problems have improved recently, the problems with these problem sort facilities still exist. Being I`m accountable for late deliveries, missing packages etc....I`m going to limit my risk factors where I can. UPS and Fed-ex aren`t options for me or many other sellers, so, here we are.

[tanarri69]

Just speaking for myself here, but I often have to cancel these transactions due to Ebay's own failures.

When someone lists, for example, Puerto Rico as their country (not province/territory/state), then Ebay doesn't let me print a shipping label, it doesn't let me fix the address to make it work, and there is no other way to create a "standard trading card envelope" unless it's through their system. And if I try to send it any other way, I am penalized by Ebay for having a package with no tracking.

So unfortunately, I have to cancel and apologize to all of these buyers.

[lattestones]

Its such a strange conundrum.  Whenever I log in to any where, I get the "Country" drop down:  United States is listed, but (sometimes) Guam  USA is listed as well. What to do? I always choose United States by default. This usually clears things up. 

Many good replies here. I appreciate it. I get it, some sellers only know UPS or Fedex, or don't want to hassle with a customs form. But Guam USA is USA.

We're listed as ZONE 8 for USPS, the same as Hawaii. 

Most things that are super expensive to ship via UPS or Fedex will fit fine in a USPS Flat Rate Box. 

[mrmac1903]

Use PayPal shipping instead of eBay. They have everything screwed up.