I've made mention of this issue before, prior to the new auction site's launch. Having made my first purchase there, and perusing the current offerings, I have the following comments:
If we don't get more USA sellers, I'll never be able to purchase 99.9% of what is being sold there due to the cost of shipping overseas. Had the seller in my initial purchase not had a very favorable starting price (or if I had been outbid), and also had he not worked some shipping magic that made the total quite palatable, even that transaction would have never happened. I was going to do it anyway, to test the new site; but I did a search for the same item elsewhere, and the total including shipping was very close. In other words, this transaction was "stretching the envelope" for me, price-wise.
I don't envy anyone, but the Brits on the site obviously have a huge leg up on the rest of us, for now. What is a good or great deal for you, is overpriced for others in most cases. Am I whining and complaining? By no means! Just stating a fact. Am I begging? Yes!
We need some more American listings (and more listings for all countries), as I believe there is no other solution to this issue.[Edit, for more comments I forgot to include] There seems to be no easy way to determine the seller's country on the landing page, unless we could assume the country or region by the currency displayed. That will make for a lot of searching and clicking. I know this is probably impossible, but it would be great to have a flag displayed for each country next to the lister's item.
All this applies to sellers too, as they will usually be unable to competitively sell overseas either.
And, my above comments don't relate to extreme rarities, of course. If the only one available is in New Zealand and you want it and have the means, you're going to do the deal.
Thanks,
Alan
