G'day all, It is now clearer to me what the real and perceived problems
are when dealing with goods shipped overseas, and obviously some are
comfortable with it and others not.

I sometimes buy items under $20 and I pay cash for these -- so far,
no problems.  I never ask the sender to falsify customs documents but
fortunately, most things I buy are old and do not normally attract duty
here.

I did hear of someone in Australia who bought an old telephone for a
high price and then had to pay very high duty because it was treated
like a new one, so I can understand why the concern.  When I buy rolls
in the US, I always mention M-bags for postage, but not many people
know about it, including the post offices!  This was covered nicely on
MMD 991120 by Karl Ellison and I agree with his findings -- it's the
way to go if the post office can be persuaded.

With regard to estimating postal costs, most senders take the packed
item to the post office and get a quote first, but this may not be
convenient if the travelling distance is a factor.  Usually a close
estimate can be made from the published rates (e.g., on the Web) but
mistakes are easy.

I think many good points were made for and against overseas deals, but
I will say this much: I have almost always had extremely pleasant and
courteous dealings with overseas vendors and I hope will it goes some
way to foster better international relationships.

Cheers,
Darrell Clarke
Clarke's Corner, Adelaide
South Australia