Dear MMD -- When selling my rolls to overseas customers, I've found
that their preferred payment mode is US dollars in cash, easily had
from their local larger bank.  This is an inexpensive alternative to
paying $11.00 for an international money order to pay for an $11.00
roll!

Savvy customers know that cash is really only a risk if it can be
detected by an unscrupulous postal employee and pocketed.  If the
money is left unfolded and lightly taped to a sheet of opaque paper,
and then folded like a letter and placed in an envelope, there is
little chance of it's detection.  Maybe even write on the envelope
"Quotation Enclosed" to sway a would-be thief from looking too hard.
Besides, it's mostly packages that are lost, and not envelopes that
arrive in 5-7 days time.

This completely solves the exchange issues of abroad sales.  Sure,
it's a risk on the customer's part, as you could be the unscrupulous
wild card in the sale.  But if the seller is an established business,
or has a good eBay rating, I'd have little reservation doing this
myself.  Otherwise, standard cautions should be taken as usual: don't
send cash; it's just the cost of dealing with an unknown, un-established
buyer).

One thing I failed to mention in my MMD 991120 posting, about M-Bag and
overseas book-rate (AO-Surface) mail, is that it is uninsurable.  Only
Parcel Post mail can be insured in the US.  To partially compensate for
this I fill out the customs forms as usual, and make a photocopy of it
and bring the copy along with me to the P.O.  Then I will have the
postal clerk put the official dated PO cancellation stamp on the photo-
copy, to prove that it was "processed".  If anything should get lost,
the UK at least will accept this paper as proof of it's shipment, and
will work with the customer for compensation.

This still leaves the problems if there's just plain damage, so I make
darned sure the boxes are well padded and no roll sits next to a corner
that can get crushed.  This covers 90% of the risks; the last 10% is a
gamble on my part, which I accept.  Of course, if the customer is not
willing to accept these hassles, they're welcomed to pay 3 times the
shipping fees so that proper insurance can be taken out on the parcels
sent by Parcel Post.

Karl Ellison
Salem, Massachusetts