No €'s
Archive: Online bookselling
Damned foreigners!
Actually on the days when Americans aren't spending I'm grateful for the orders from Japan and the UK. But some overseas customers have been frustrating.
When we get an order that doesn't specify shipping we used to email to ask if they wanted surface or global priority. Many overseas buyers would never reply. Foolishly we'd wait so long that we'd decide to not ship the book. Besides the silence made us nervous. Now if we don't get a reply we ship the book surface (or faster if the book is so small that air mail is cheaper than our default surface rate).
I think the euro may be proving a small problem for us. I spent several emails explaining to a woman in Spain that she couldn't just stick euros in an envelope and mail them to us. US Banks charge too much to convert foreign currency or cash checks from outside the US.
Today a lady at Oxford sent me a personal check. I cancelled the order and threw the check in the trash. It may be easier for Brits to buy from France and Germany but the US isn't part of the European Union.
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My thanks,
Richard