Perfect_Speed4069
I am the beetle in a box that only you can see
Many FCers are based in countries/territories where it's hard to source particular equipment - glass, devices etc etc. Often this is not because of particular Governmental restrictions but because particular manufacturers or vendors are unwilling to send to other countries/territories. (And why should they - if they have sufficient domestic demand? - international shipping can be a real rigmarole for small businesses, and not worth the hassle.)
Some people already get round this problem by having friends in other countries who send them stuff - this is essentially how the FC Classifieds section works - people with stuff send to other people who dont have stuff. I've lost count of the bits of glass and spare devices that I've sent to Finland, Czechia, Bulgaria, Romania, even Chile.
Recently, I've taken to asking UK based vendors if they're interested in stocking stuff I'm interested in. My biggest success to date is persuading RVS to stock BFG products. (Perhaps they would have done so anyway, but I'll take a bit of credit for that). But most aren't that interested unless there's the chance of volume sales.
So I wondered, is anyone interested helping to think though/set up a system whereby FCers purchase goods on behalf of other FCers, and then pass then send them along at cost, or (if we must charge for being nice to other people) for a reasonable fee?
Done thoughtlessly, such a system could be wide open to abuse. The way I see such a system working, the risk would need to be borne by the person asking for something to be send on to them (and shame on the people who offer help and then rip folks off) but with a bit of thought, a number of us could offer such help to willing participants. We're all grown ups. Noone is going to be daft enough to hand over money they can't afford to lose to a newly created account with no posting history. Many of us do this already with DWMs.
What do you think? Possible? Batshit? Something we could do on FC? I'm based in the UK btw, and would love to get hold of some of the sweet sweet artisinal glass I see in the US.
Some people already get round this problem by having friends in other countries who send them stuff - this is essentially how the FC Classifieds section works - people with stuff send to other people who dont have stuff. I've lost count of the bits of glass and spare devices that I've sent to Finland, Czechia, Bulgaria, Romania, even Chile.
Recently, I've taken to asking UK based vendors if they're interested in stocking stuff I'm interested in. My biggest success to date is persuading RVS to stock BFG products. (Perhaps they would have done so anyway, but I'll take a bit of credit for that). But most aren't that interested unless there's the chance of volume sales.
So I wondered, is anyone interested helping to think though/set up a system whereby FCers purchase goods on behalf of other FCers, and then pass then send them along at cost, or (if we must charge for being nice to other people) for a reasonable fee?
Done thoughtlessly, such a system could be wide open to abuse. The way I see such a system working, the risk would need to be borne by the person asking for something to be send on to them (and shame on the people who offer help and then rip folks off) but with a bit of thought, a number of us could offer such help to willing participants. We're all grown ups. Noone is going to be daft enough to hand over money they can't afford to lose to a newly created account with no posting history. Many of us do this already with DWMs.
What do you think? Possible? Batshit? Something we could do on FC? I'm based in the UK btw, and would love to get hold of some of the sweet sweet artisinal glass I see in the US.
