Wouldn't buy lamps internationally on eBay any more. I generally ask someone in the US (thanks Tim..!) to buy them for me and ship them privately. Never had a problem that way (yet).

imagine something like shippn would be a "work around" if you can get a USA based "middleman" to purchase it on EBAY and use the shippn "host" as the ship to address and let SHIPPN do the international side
https://www.shippn.com/
they offer a "buy for me" service also
dont know / never tried it but looks to be an "interesting" option one worth trying for a "low value" bulb / item

will say it mostly appears to be EBAY USA going international is an ISSUE RadiantMV has had a LOT of success with MV bulbs from UK to Canada and I believe he is using EBAY / there shipping program
I am temped to order a "low cost" Marc from the UK for a "test" before trying "valuable" lamps

Most of my US to Canada eBay purchases go through a forwarder now. Cheaper than using the GSP (which I never liked) and you don't have to deal with the GSP shenanigans. In eBay's eye, my items are just a domestic US sale.

Wow ebay cracked down? I haven't bought lamps in a long time now.

I guess I waited too long to buy a pair of 250w HPS ballasts and a few 39w MH magnetic ballasts, as well as F8T5, F6T5 and F15T8.

Aside from a few F48T12 tube, that was really all I had on my list left

I really do hope I can buy HID ballasts off ebay at least

If there's the magic words mercury or sodium in the description, who knows.? 

Silly, because I know of no burning up sodium to have brought down a plane. Are SOX lamps now trucked from N.Y. to L.A.? There are too many rules, fees, taxes and really BAD packers on eBay (Amazon too), so I'm heading over to Etsy.

Have ANY discharge lamps ever been the proven cause of an aircraft incident..? I've yet to come across one and as an aviation enthusiast I look at causes of crashes quite a lot.

@ George: With Amazon you have to contend with their 'Fulfilment Centres' where a minion has to pack 70 boxes an hour, so no thought goes into careful packing... 

I've heard even stuff like old computer parts and vacuum tubes/valves get rejected by the GSP too.

Some options to bypass GSP include:
- get the seller to ship direct
- ship to a US mailbox and pick it up yourself
- ship to a US package forwarder
- ship to a friend or relative in the US and get them to reship

As Ria said earlier, we use option four...  Thanks again Tim. 

 No Problemo !!     I personally have seem MANY different ways that sellers have gotten around the eBay "Ban" ! By simple changing one letter in a word seems to get their listing to work : !ncandescent , S@X Lamp etc.

Having a forwarder really makes it more complicated than it needs to be, at least to me. And I do not have anyone who would act as such.

I'm hoping the HID ballasts I need will not be blocked ,I have one ordered as a test so we'll see. If it comes through I'll do more before it's too late.

A shame that ebay has become unfriendly to collections of many things now, I may just close my pong time account on there if it's not going to be of any use to me now, since I'm guilty of the simple crime of being Canadian.

It goes without saying that to start a collection like this today from scratch is almost impossible with all these red tape rules, bans and general middle finger acts by the likes of eBay, sellers and governments as well as manufacturers.

I wonder if this will happen here….. although most of it on ebay is no longer worth buying as most are rip off prices from UK sellers!

I don't think it will effect buying from a UK seller, the problems will only happen if you sell on eBay and want to use their shipping.