Buying from the US is killing me right now - time for a change in collecting?

olisuds

olisuds

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Bought something in the US for $400. Back before the Pound took a nose dive that was roughly £250.

Now with the current exchange rate and throw in the Global Shipping Programme for good measure and it ended up costing me £460!!! WRF!!

The combination of both of these together has just killed my interest in buying anything from the US which is frustrating because most pre production stuff comes up for sale in the US.

Unless it's something I really need for a run or focus I think I'm done with buying from the US for the time being. So perhaps it's time to find a new collecting interest.

Anyone else feel like they've been forced into changing there collecting habits?
 
The todd or iain could forward stuff to you eradicating gsp if you ask them nicely. But i guess its exchange rate thats killing you most in anycase
 
Definitely , I used to buy a lot from USA , but with the exchange rate , it's just not worth it .

Hopefully the £ will come back soon !!!! :D
 
Couple of things I'd love to buy just now and if the exchange rate was better I'd be snapping them up but unfortunately with the weak pound I've just got to add them to my wish list. Bugger.
 
Yep same here not bought much at all from the US since the £ has weakened so holding back on anything for the time being. Im sure it will will return back in 6 months or so....... hopefully
 
There is no one strategy that works forever. I used to buy tonnes of stuff from Europe and the US back in 2005/2006 when both the dollar and euro were almost 2 to the pound. Currencies do fluctuate, so you just have to focus on the places where it makes financial sense to buy at the time. I'm currently buying more UK stuff than I have for years so it's not all bad :)
 
If I hadn't sold a few things recently I probably wouldn't have bought as much as I have done from the US, it's incredible to think that $100 is now about £86! I can still remember when it was more like £50 :eek:

Unfortunately because we had it so good for such a long time, even now I still tend to do my price calculating in my head at pre brexit rates and then when I go to pay I suddenly get a shock.

Like Edd, I've been trying to focus on UK items lately but it's hard to do because I'm the same as you Oli, the things that interest me are usually with American collectors or being sold on American websites :(
 
For me it is great to buy in uk now, but in the usa it is the same taxes taxes and taxes so I try not to buy so much there
and I hate global shipping, many use it in usa.
 
Finally after all these years..I am loving it. Our currency is basically equal. No more $2.00 for £1.00 . I know it sucks for the rest of you though.
 
The frustration is further increased by the huge price increase in the last couple of years. When you see some pre production stuff (particularly first shots and proof cards) selling at 2-3 times the price they were a couple of years ago and with the tragic exchange rate we have right now it means the net effect is like 4 times the price when paying in GBP. The kind of stuff that use to interest me, no longer interests me at this kind of price. I just couldn't bring myself to spend the money even if I had it.

Also I suspect that high profile auctions like Vectis are now drawing in a lot more interest from US buyers taking advantage of the weak £. So even stuff being sold in the UK is getting expensive.

As far as the GSP goes it seems more and more sellers in the US are using it these days. I've been lucky that a few friends in the US have helped with shipping of stuff but I'm careful to not make it a regular occurrence and take advantage of their kindness.
 
My spending has dropped off hugely.

This is mainly because of the exchange rates and high costs (I can't justify some of the prices being asked for relatively common items) but also because it seems to be increasingly difficult to actually do a deal - partly because facebook seems to only show me what it decides I need to see that day, and also because sellers seem to actually be less willing to ship abroad than they used to. GSP is a joke and the 'taxes' are collected fraudulently IMO.
 
Its back to trying to find bargains, a bit like it used to be, now SW trading floodgates have opened and the rates levelling ebay purchasing is a nightmare, ive bought a few bits recently from USA, still decent prices and the seller was great after i had dropped them a PM.
 
Its not just the US that I stopped buying from. Since the £ went down the drain Transformer Masterpieces from Hong Kong have gone up and even the bargains from Australia are gone. The GSP is a complete lottery, few sellers seem to have the right weight/sizes put in so the costs are stupidly high.

I hear stamp collecting is cheap and easy.
 
ODB said:
Its not just the US that I stopped buying from. Since the £ went down the drain Transformer Masterpieces from Hong Kong have gone up and even the bargains from Australia are gone. The GSP is a complete lottery, few sellers seem to have the right weight/sizes put in so the costs are stupidly high.

I hear stamp collecting is cheap and easy.
Click to expand...

Flattery will get you everywhere :!:
 
I just bought my first item from the US this week since "Brexit" - $380 = £329.

Had to do it because I really wanted the MOC but it gutted me with that exchange rate......

And either I'm missing something but I so rarely see Kenner MOC 12/21 backs coming up for sale in the UK at the moment unless they are at the high end of the market / Palitoy. Completing that run for me has become seriously delayed :(
 
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