DX sales

 Don Lancaster says this about DX sales on ebay:

source: https://tinaja.com/glib/myebays.pdf

But I ignored his advice with my kit sales for many years.  For one thing the need to fill out the customs form and use lots of stamps went away with online label generation.  The USPS also added tracking of international parcels (although at a hefty price).  Also, from the start I took the advice of a fellow internet seller and always priced the kits and the shipping with even dollar amounts.  Many DX customers in the early days would mail US Currency so even dollar pricing made this easier.  

But in 2021 I stopped selling to DX customers.  The pandemic made mail delivery and tracking overseas unreliable.  I was frustrated having to resend items.  Customers were frustrated due to slow delivery times.  The breaking point was a parcel sent to Australia.  A ban on certain mail to Australia went into effect right after I sent the kits - I did get the parcel and my money back but it was irritating for both me and the customer.  DX sales just weren't worth the hassle.

The weird thing is that even during the worst of the pandemic, sales to the Netherlands went out just as they usually did, maybe there were a lot of empty planes flying over for flowers ? 

I still have a few overseas customers but this is more of a business to business thing with folks who are buying in larger quantity and are savvy to the realities of international shipping delays.

It's a real shame though.

Best Regards,
Chuck, WB9KZY
http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm