As the title suggests,why should I....they don't support me! Neither Performance nor Nashbar will supply outside the USA and Performance will not accept a 'foreign' debit or credit card. OK they can run their businesses any way they like,just don't expect any business from outside of the US....Nationalistic or what! There is a great big world outside of the 'continental United States' and they both might like to consider the fact that whether they like it or not MEXICO IS IN NORTH AMERICA. Not Central America, or south America. We are in the same continent as the USA and Canada,which is why we are in NAFTA (fat lot of good that does us!).
Thats my bleat over with, have a good day all

NAFTA is not all that everyone thinks. We still must pay pretty large import fees to ship something in to Canada and Mexico.

There are various companies that will provide you a USA address, and then reship the item to you anywhere in the world. One is a UPS store or similar that lists the service with ebay.

PBK in Britain has better prices on most stuff anyway!

I agree and their shipping is faaaaaaaaasssssst ...and free!

Shipping outside the U.S. is a hassle. Do I do it? Yes. Would I prefer not to? Yes.

Jim: Can you define "a hassle"? I have shipped stuff to the US with no big issue (I am setting aside the trouble actually packing something suitably). I walk into the nearest postal office, fill in a form, pay some money and they slap on the customs sticker, postage, and address label. Pay and done....

Is it that much different going the other way?

I find that OP's situation is common - vendors in US not wanting to ship outside US because it is too much trouble (or insisting on UPS - who I cannot support). Yet vendors all over the world outside NA have no issues at all (I tend to order bike and motorcycle stuff from all over - Australia is especially friendly to deal with).

Mark

According to the USPS there are only 6 countries with 'open' postal service with the U.S. Those 6 countries will take any package just as if it were being shipped within the U.S.

For all other countries there are a variety of package size restrictions and the fees to those countries vary greatly. As an example I just sent a frameset to China for $97. That same frameset to Australia is $350.

How many countries are there for a U.S company to ship to? For each package sent, a company like Performance would have to weigh each individual package and check for shipping rates. I haven't shipped one package to Canada where I didnt have re-quote the rate because the recipient was looking for something cheaper (less secure).

Keep in mind that each countrys own postal service is responsible for delivery of a package. How safe and secure is the Mexican or Honduran or Croatian delivery service? How many packages would 'disappear'?

Italy makes everyone's "Will not ship" list because postal theft is just too high. I have never lost a package anywhere else, but have lost two there. I will not deal with the Italian post any more.

Yeah, I'd like to get one of those Mercurio cargo trikes- understand they're about $250 down in Mexico. But to get 'em here, they're double that, and branded differently.

Jim: thanks for the clarification - I had no idea how bad it was for you guys. I have bought stuff from Italy (I am heavily into classic Ducatis) with no issue other than payment - ended up using Western Union.

Just been lucky I guess!

Mark

Mark,

its not bad at all, its just a hassle.

Lets take 4 countries that have been mentioned and we'll ship a simple 1 lb package containing a pair of brake calipers. The box is 6 X 6 X 6 and weighs 1 lb.

U.S.: $4.75 anywhere in the continental U.S. I charge a flat rate of $10 amd ship 2-3 day Priority mail and have never had a single complaint. $10 is a good deal considering USPS's least expensive 'flat rate box is $12.95

Mexico: $8 with an unkown delivery date. $17 Prioirty mail 6-10 buisness day delivery or $23 6-Prioirty mail 6-10 buisness day delivery. What the difference between the $17 and $23? The $23 package is a flat rate box upto 20lbs.

Canada: $5 $17 or $23

Italy: $10 $24 $39


So, you want a tracking number? Fedex:

Mexico: $64

Canada: Dam...I need a postal code.

Italy: $71

Hong Kong: $72

Same package - Canada post:

Italy: $8/15/33/60 (last with 7 day guarantee)
Mexico: $8/15/34/50 (none with guaranteed delivery)
US (FLA): $7/9/15/25 (last two with 8 and 4-5 day guarantee)
Canada: $8/$9/$20 (with guarantee 3 day/1 day/next day am)

All CAD.

Interesting comparison - and we have "post offices" in the local mini-marts and drug stores so it is easy to do any of these.

Mark

here may be a solution .
Wait until you go on holiday . choose Mexico .
Go to Oaxaca have a nice time for a couple of weeks or so , then on your last 2-3 days go to Mexico City D:F and find one . im sure you can find one !

Cheers
T

Mark it easy here as well......but when I sell something on ebay its impossible to quote international shipping so I simply say, "For all other destinations contact me before bidding." A typical responce is, "How much is shipping to XXXXX?" or "How much is shipping to YYYYYY?"

Jim: "Shipping to XXXXXX is $23 via USPS Priority mail."
bidder: "Thats alot can you do it cheaper?"
Jim: "Sure, its $13 with an UNKOWN delivery date." Which would you like, $13 or $23?
bidder: I'll take the $13
Jim: "OK, as soon as payments received I'll get it sent out."

This entire process can take days depending on time zones and work schedules.

If I'm selling 10 items that are all ending at the same time, in most cases they're all paid for within 24 hours and I can pack them and ship them all at the same time. I sold an item last Tuesday and its still sitting on my counter because it was paid for on Saturday and I was working all day yesterday. In reality there's only a 1 buisness day delay in shipping, yesterday, but it appears much longer to a buyer and I risk negative feedback due to 'slow shipping'.

As I said...international shipping is a hassle. Not difficult or hard.....just a hassle.

To get back to the original question, it sounds like you attempted to support the sponsors. I don't think anyone blames you for choosing not to avail yourself of their services. No biggie.

Even just clicking on their web site from BF helps the cause.