X-Us Sources

I collect US stamps only and I get most of them from sellers on ebay. So far I have bought only from sellers located in the USA. However, I see a fair number of items being offered from sellers in other countries such as Belgium and others in Europe. With no real reason, I have avoided ex-US sellers as I feared complications in shipping, exchange rates, etc. Is this anything to worry about or is it just as easy to buy from ex-US sellers as anyone else?

I have worked with a few dealers outside the U.S. I've been very discerning, however, and I am thankful all has gone well.

I admit, though, that I often hit the U.S. only button on ebay. More than anything, it's nice to keep the postage and handling down.

I have had somewhat mixed results. With online auctions such as DelCampe and ebay, I have had the most problems with sellers from Spain, Portugal, and Italy but it's impossible to generalize. If you work with a dealer overseas, stick to the largest ones with the greatest presence. You won't find any bargains but they do have material that is very hard to find in the US, and they will be much more reliable overall. I ordered some stamps from PhilDom within the past year which got stolen at the Spanish post office. PhilDom refunded my entire paypal payment immediately.

Might be able to help more if I knew which areas you are interested in?

Thanks to everyone for your feedback. I am a novice collector compared to most visiting this forum. I collect only US stamps and try to limit it to mint stamps. ebay was a good fit for me as I was already established there for other purchases that I had made. Usually I'm just looking for items that I don't have and maybe the occasional bargain.

I also collected and now sell only US stamps. Didn't get many from overseas , but my chief complaint was how long it took for them to arrive.