29 Jun
2004
29 Jun
'04
6:26 p.m.
The eBay "will ship to <insert your country of
choice> only" is
something I do not understand. Why reduce your potential market? An
international buyer knows they will have to pay for shipping and that
might put them off but why shut them out completely? The extra
hassle of an international shipment cannot be that great, at least it
isn't in my experience here in Europe.
Europe is civilized. Europeans understand that the world is a
patchwork of many countries and many societies and are prepared to deal
with that.
The US is not so lucky. Yes, there are plenty of people in the US who
are internationalized - but there are a depressing number to whom the
world (apparently) consists of the US plus assorted debris not worth
bothering with. An overseas buyer yes, is perceived as "just one o'
dem furriners", and the potential market is seen as so small as to be
not worth the hassle. (The problematic people most likely have never
even tried to ship internationally and perceive the hassle as far
greater than it actually is. I'm talking about the sort of person who
thinks of euros as play money because they're colourful instead of
being "good honest greenbacks".)
It's a baffling mindset to wrap your head around if you're not trapped
in it yourself. But I've become convinced that something very much
like it is all too real.
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