...but sometimes a seller will make exceptions if you contact them?
If an eBay seller doesn't specify they won't ship outside the US I agree - it certainly is worth asking. When I've done this in the past, most have agreed after realizing shipping to Canada is no more difficult that shipping to the lower 48 except that (a) it costs a lot more and (b) you need to take the extra step of attaching a USPS export form.
However, if the seller is like the one Terry provided an example for above where the description clearly states at the very top "I will ship this item to lower 48 state addresses only, please, no bidders outside of the lower 48" I don't usually bother asking. eBay sellers that ship outside the US do assume some additional risk by doing so, and given eBay's ever more stringent requirements for "seller performance" I can understand why they may be very reluctant to do so. I suspect a fair number of OGRR FSoT forum sellers have the same concerns even though (assuming they insist on a cash sale) they don't face the same level of risk as eBay sellers who have to accept a Paypal or credit card payment.
