Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2004 11:33:34 -0000
Reply-To: Tony Polson <tp@WHSMITHNET.CO.UK>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Tony Polson <tp@WHSMITHNET.CO.UK>
Subject: Re: Need German resident to help with ebay.de purchases
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Westyman wrote:
>
> I'm in need of someone reliable in Germany, willing to
help deal with
> sellers of parts on ebay there. My German language skills
are poor, most
> folks only deal in bank transfers, and then are reluctant
to ship to the
> USA. I'm trying to gather misc. parts for my TDI-Quattro
conversion. Please
> contact me directly if you might be able to help. Thanks!
Hi Karl,
I buy a lot of VW parts from eBay Germany. I live in the UK
and speak virtually no German.
Before bidding I email the seller to make sure that they
will ship outside Germany and that they will accept payment
in cash (Euros). Only if they agree will I bid, and I make
sure to send payment quickly. I use Registered Mail, the US
equivalent being USPS Global Express Mail which is an
excellent service in my experience - I buy a lot of
(non-Vanagon) items from eBay USA and USPS Global Express
Mail works extremely well.
People in mainland Europe generally pay for their eBay items
using electronic funds transfer which literally takes
minutes. Cheques are a no-no in Germany, and credit cards
are rarely accepted except in tourist businesses. The UK is
outside the Euro currency zone and doesn't operate that
zone's electronic funds transfer system. So my best option
(and yours) is probably to pay cash. Germans find pounds
sterling irritating, so I send Euros which I get from my
bank or Post Office. Don't assume they will accept US
dollars. I know I wouldn't, because of the hassle and costs
of getting them exchanged for my own currency.
To overcome the language problem I use the AltaVista
translator:
http://babelfish.altavista.com/
You can translate one word, a string of text or a whole web
page. The translation is quirky and sometimes very funny,
but it copes well with automotive technical terms, mainly
because those long German nouns are usually a whole load of
very simple words just glued together. <grin>
A typical email from me would read:
"Hi, I live in England and would like to bid for your item.
Please will you confirm that you will ship the items to
England. I would pay you in Euro banknotes sent by
registered post. Best regards, Tony."
Translated:
Hallo, wohne ich in England und möchte für Ihr Einzelteil
bieten. Bitte Wille bestätigen Sie, daß Sie die Einzelteile
nach England versenden. Ich würde Sie in den Eurobanknoten
zahlen, die durch eingetragene Post gesendet wurden. Bester
Respekt, Tony.
I have no idea whether this is good German or not. Probably
not. But German people are mostly patient, kind and
forgiving and it is nearly always good enough to get me the
items I need! Sadly, there are one or two VW T2/T3
(Vanagon) parts sellers who won't ever sell outside Germany,
and I just avoid their stuff.
German Post is more expensive than USPS but cheaper than the
UK Post Office. Always obtain an air mail shipping quote
before bidding.
Hope this helps!
Tony
