posted on September 1, 2005 12:15:03 PM new
Hi everyone!
I am trying to decide which locations to ship to internationally.
What does everyone do about shipping internationally? What are your "favorites" or "Stay the H**L away from" ideas.
The selections are: N & S America, Canada, Mexico, Europe, United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Germany, Asia.
When the buyer fills out Checkout, and I use the international shipping calculator, do I need to know anything special to ship to these locations? Insurance, packaging, etc. Should I use Global shipping envelopes (my items are small enough for the priority envelopes)?
posted on September 1, 2005 12:31:45 PM new
My advise for what it is worth-stay away from Italy and Mexico. The postal service is terible in these countries
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posted on September 1, 2005 12:56:12 PM new
I think the worst place to receive FROM is the Netherlands. People seem to write numbers a little different. (1's look like 7's, etc). I've had a couple items get lost in the mail. I don't know if there is a similar problem shipping to there.
posted on September 1, 2005 01:00:48 PM new
Why people INSIST on handwriting an address is BEYOND me,,,,,print it out....and LEAVE it ALONE....NO mistakes that way.
posted on September 1, 2005 02:11:47 PM new
One package I sent to Germany in the last couple of years was lost for a while because the way I print a "7" looked like a "9" to the postal folks over there. (I don't put that precious line through the 7 as they do in Europe.)
I've had no trouble with shipping to Italy, oddly.
posted on September 1, 2005 02:36:55 PM new
The only "bad" place I shipped was Malta -- both customer's payment and my package took an incredibly long time. Anywhere else seems to be fine, including a record fast one to Italy the other day.
If your items fit into global priority, that's the perfect way, eliminating packing and pricing issues as they are flat rate.
I don't insure since most of mine go Air Mail Letter Post but haven't lost anything yet. I probably should add that my sales have been limited to Western Europe, Canada, Australia, Japan, and a few Latin American countries. Can't stress enough that your addresses need to be printed EXACTLY as sent to you, especially if you don't know the language.
Depending on what you sell, you may want to stay away from Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa -- electronics especially.
posted on September 1, 2005 04:38:00 PM new
International? Er..um...yeah..but use UPS if you can! Much easier and more secure to track, insure, etc. Air Mail Post takes a really long and is a pain if it gets lost. I only ship internationally on very rare and special items!
posted on September 1, 2005 04:54:59 PM new
Since I only ship internationally on a limited basis, you can take this with a grain of salt, but the best places I have found to ship to are Japan and Australia. Never ship anything through the mail to Mexico unless it's Global Express, UPS Air, or FedEx.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on September 1, 2005 06:06:43 PM new
I agree about Malta. I shipped a delicate Japanese tea set there, and it took 11 weeks to arrive!! I was just about to issue a refund, when the buyer wrote and said it had arrived.
posted on September 1, 2005 07:05:59 PM new
I do a lot of international sales. I do not ship to Mexico or Africa. I have had no problems with packages arriving. The ground option takes FOREVER to Australia and New Zealand makes me crazy but I have had no lost items it just takes forever. I ask EVERY international winner to let me pack it and take it to the PO for an accurate charge. I lost money on shipping overseas before I started doing this... I live close so its not a big deal or major inconvenience for me. I have had several winners put accurate shipping charge in their + feedbacks so customers like it as well. I do this mostly because I do want to be accurate and I have had a devil of a time with the USPS website getting correct info. As it turns out a lot of times Global priority seems to run even with or cheaper than air letter or parcel post. I do require ins on internationals as well... its a comfort to all involved. Hope my experiences help you. Remember the world is ours to sell to!
posted on September 2, 2005 07:49:32 AM new
Italy is very bad. I'm about to start refusing to ship there.
Australia is very good.
Canada is OK, but transacting with Canadians is often troublesome (complaints about shipping cost, sending fixed US shipping payment rather than asking for foreign ship rates, blocked emails, etc.)
Also, foreign shippments occasionally get hung up at customs in the destination country and it can take months for the buyer to figure that out. I had a Japan customer wait 3 months.
