Folks,
  Can anyone give me a short course on selling and shipping to France. I had an inquire regarding a riser I have and want to know the easiest way to do it. What is the best way to transfer funds. I don't have a paypal acct. so what alternatives do I have. I know these gentlemen do quite a bit of business here but I am a little aprehensive and need a little guidance. Please do not take this inquiry the wrong way. tom

The safest and quickest way to transfer the money is paypal. Other than that I have no clue.
You can ship via USPS Priority Mail. Takedown bow cost me about $50 with insurance.

Danny

What Danny said, I have several times to France and Denmark with guys on here. Never had a problem. I use USPS it cost me about $45 with shipping and insurance to ship over there, it usually takes around 2 weeks for the items to clear customs and get there and same to here. I think it is very safe to do it this way. When ya fill oput the customs form, I always put that it is Sporting Goods in the box. Shawn

I also have never had a problem, have sold 2 bows to folks in France.  recieved payment via paypal, and used USPS. ran about $40.00 and took about 2 weeks to get there, I guess customs or something held it up some.

Thanks guys,
   Looks like I will have to get a paypall acct. set up. I guess it automatically links up with a bank deposti somewhere down the line. thanks again. tom

Never had a problem with sending via USPS.  Paypal is very convenient for buyer and seller.  Paypal charges the seller 1%-3% to receive an item so buyers like it.  It charges an additional 2.5% for international transactions.  Often, the buyer is willing to share Paypal costs with the seller because the other alternative, Western Union, is less convenient and also expensive, around 5% of amount of money order, I think, maybe more.

I have never used Pay-Pal and it was still fine. Shawn

Shawn, what method of payment did your buyer use? Are Western Union and international money orders a safe alternative to PayPal?

Chuck

I've sold and shipped a longbow to France,he paid with Paypal I had no problems.You can ship USPS International if the package is under 60" max length.That will most likely be the best price with USPS.If it is over 60" you'll have to use a different shipper.I shipped a 70" longbow and I shipped UPS and it was expensive,it cost $122.15 to ship and you'll need to fill out a customs form.UPS got it to him in 6 days with no problems.

They can get postal money orders over there as well and ya can cash them here as well. Shawn

When I sold the bow to some one in France, believe it or not USPS Express mail was cheaper than Priority so check that option out also.

Danny

Shawn,
 Am I understanding you correctly in that I can ask them to get a US postal money order made in France to me for payment. Sounds alot cleaner than worring about negotiating who owes what for the paypal transaction. THe money can be cleared electronicaly very easily here in the states and then I will ship. As long as it does not cost me denarios of the bottom line that would be great.tom

I'm not positive, but it seems like Patrick told me that it was a very long and involved precess for him to get an international money order...and that it costs him a lot of money.  Paypal is the way to go...a MO could be a fake copy...?  Paypal is a sure thing...
Bob

For a french buyer sending postal money order is expensive and offer no guarantee, because if the seller don't send the bow there is no way out. With Paypal it's more safe.

I've bought several bows from the US over the years (I live in the UK). I've always just paid for the bows with paypal, which is by far the easiest and safest way to transfer money internationally IMO. It really doesn't cost much to use paypal, and it's so convenient and safe for both the buyer and seller.
If I was you tukudu, I would just set a paypal account up. It is a very useful thing to have, and I'm sure you'll find that you use it quite a bit!  
Just my $.02 worth.... Good luck with the sale!  

I'm sure that Killy could clarify this but I believe you must use an international money order. I have used paypal with Patrick and it went smooth. But I had to send a money order to Canada and the buyer could not cash it because it was not an international one. I had to have him send it back and go get an international one. It was a pain in the ***. Set up Paypal and you'll use it more than you think. Plus it's insured. My 2 cents.

Mike

I agree, use Paypal, it's usually cheaper and safer than an international check thats about 20 USD.
I was once on the receiving end of a money order I couldn't cash in, bummer....

Know who you are dealing with, use PayPal and USPS. France was no problem, especially dealing with Patric. Other countries will range from difficult to impossible.

I just sent a bow to Berlin, Germany and it ran about $45 to mail it and took about two weeks to clear customs etc. Paypal is the easiest way to get your $.

I shipped a 62" longbow (66" package) to France, cost $65-70 USPS intl priority.

Use paypal, no worries and you got your money NOW.

Eric