> And sometimes folks wonder why I order COD from dealer I have not regularly
> done bussiness with in the past. If the dealer won't ship COD, payable by
> bussiness check, I generaly find a different source although I do deal
> regularly with a couple dealers that do not ship COD or require cash rather
> 5than checks.
> Gale Barrows
> Black Hills of South Dakota
> ***WETSU***
Gale
Here's the problem
A) I live in a place called Broken Hill, NSW, Australia. I am 750 miles
west of the state capital (Sydney) and 360 miles north-east of the South
Australian capital of Adelaide, even in Australia, my home town is
regarded as a long way "off the beaten path". I do not have access
to most of the American system eg, UPS Fed EX etc., and in truth
most Australians have probably never even heard of these companies.
B) An Australian cheque whether business or personnal will not be
honoured
by an American bank.
C) To the best of my knowledge there is no such thing as International
COD, if anyone has an idea of how to arrange it PLEASE let me know.
D) I try and use credit card where at all possible, but find (and this
is VERY strange) that America has the least number of suppliers who
will accept one.
WHY?
Everything we have heard/seen on the media for the last 20 years has
told us we will follow the American trend of credit cards. According
to our media the average American uses very little cash and has
~ 18 credit cards in his wallet (must make sitting down
uncomfortable)!
So why do so many American businesses refuse to take credit cards?
In Australia you have to try very hard to find any business that
won't accept the main 4 cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex and our own
Bankcard)? Ideas please?
D) This has left me with no alternative but International Bank
Cheque if I wish to obtain parts etc., out of the USA. Then
to top it all off the only supplier I have seen that offers
the particular manuals I need is - you guessed it -
MTM Enterprises, someone I have never heard of and who hides
behind a front name and a P.O. Box (perhaps this was warning
enough).
Now I either take the risk of being diddled or go without.
Fortunately, I have discovered the Skylee Mil-Veh group
(and Chuck in particular in this instance) and despite
being on the other side of the world can now be part
of the wider military collector scene.
Hope this put things in perspective, I am just as allergic
as the next person to sending money into the unknown.
P.S.
AUD$1 converts to US78c but in buying power is more like
about US60c,
NZ$1 = about US60c - buying power about US50c.
If you are a Malaysian military collector their equivalent
works out in buying power at about US25c. These figures are
all rough "rule-of thumb".
Regards
Doug