Shipping Abroad, bla, bla, bla

Thought I would toss out some of my experiences with shipping out of the country. I've sold a few items to various people in other countries (not all computer stuff though). Only problem I've had was waiting for payment. Sometimes it's not sent, sometimes it get's lost. The buyer covers shipping and any taxes/duty when they get delivery. Japan: I sold a couple old Apples as I think they're pretty popular for collectibles there. Hard to find. Some people I sold to were US citizens living there. Shipping is cheapest via USPS slow boat and the customs paperwork is one small form. Australia: Sold some small stuff. Payment arrived faster than most US mail. Shipping is cheap for under 4 lbs "small packets" via USPS and again Customs is a piece of cake. Europe: Austria, Italy. They seem to have a problem with the mail. I sold some cheaper stuff so the buyer sent a money order - lost. Then he sent cash - lost. Ended up wiring the money. According to him he sent out 12 payments at one time and 5 never arrived at the destination. I'd say wiring money is better. Again customs is easy. USPS tells you what to fill out. Canada: Piece of cake. Just be honest on the contents/value. Guam: Shipping is really cheap because its serviced by USPS. Like mailing within the continental US! There was some controversy a while back about exporting collectibles. Supposedly you could buy a concours collector's car for $20k, ship it to europe or Japan and sell it for $50k. Some collectors thought this was treason or something. I really don't know. What I usually sell doesn't fall into any "rare" category and most of it was sold all over the world anyway, just in lesser quantities or slightly different versions. One guy I sold to was in the US. I asked him why he was buying a pile of old Apples, he was putting together complete systems and shipping them to Japan. Funny, Apple had/has a ton of manufacturing in Japan. I wonder if they limit sales there.