Hi everyone, there is a discussion over in "Interesting eBay auctions" thread about international shipping that I am continuing here.

http://www.tolkienguide.com/modules/n ... t_id=12119#forumpost12119

So the question is, is there interest in having a support network of people in various countries who can potentially help out with international shipping?

The very basic idea is that you want to buy something in a foreign country, but they (a) charge too much for international shipping, or (b) don't offer it at all. You reach out through "the support network" in that country, the seller ships to that address, and the "supporter" then ships it on to you and gets reimbursed for the cost and effort.

For this basic idea, are you:
[1] Very interested and would be a supporter
[2] Interested, would use the network but would not help others
[3] Indifferent
[4] Not a good idea, would suggest instead [your suggestion goes here]
[5] Horrible idea, don't think this should be done at all.

Feel free to reply here, or message/email me privately if you want to vote but don't want to do so publicly.

I have a feeling that if this were set up we would want some sort of filtering/trust/vetting process rather than have this just be a wild west bulletin board / Craigslist approach where you have no idea who the intermediary really is.

Good points Laurel,

I have acted as intermediary for international shipping before (X buys something on eBay, has it shipped to me, I repack for international shipping and send it on) and I have paid friends (here on TCG!) to receive items in the UK and forward on to me as well. Also I have had someone (here again) hold on to a few packages for me as I was going to travel to the UK and could bring things back in my luggage.

I am going to move this to another thread because I want to get more feedback from regulars.

Yes, I noted also that he dropped shipping by about 33% (for me, to USA) and also took off £25 from the bidding price/BIN price. Coming closer to a really good deal for this boxed set!

Re: combining shipping - I would have no problem aggregating a couple of people's orders in the USA and then shipping an M-Bag to a foreign location, but have so far not found the right people to make the economics work out. When you combine (a) all the piecemeal shipping from various sellers to me, (b) the M-Bag costs, then (c) the piecemeal shipping from the recipient of the M-Bag to all the various buyers, it gets close enough to not be worth the hassle. For a single buyer (for example) who wants to combine a bunch of small orders to me then get the M-Bag, it would make a lot more sense. If this is you, contact me and we can discuss (and then report to the larger group if we try it and it works).

Set of deluxe UK books (including the slipcase it appears) for a reasonable price. Includes an Alan Lee signed Tales of the Perilous Realm.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/J-R-R-Tolki ... ilmarillion-/111066841925

Probably the only difficult US HoME title - the first book, with pages printed in Great Britain. Not affiliated with the seller, just don't see these turn up on the market very often (seems like many went straight to libraries).

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI. ... 85&lgeo=1&vectorid=229466