International Shipping

I

inkedpalm

Registered Guest
I have been receiving requests on ebay since posting my vintage items. I have never sold to international bidders before. In trying to find answers to "how to ship" and "forms needed" I found the forums to be vague in info but hearty in verbal swordplay, if you know what I mean. :USEROCKY:

My question(s) is:
Can someone tell me simply how I would go about offering "International" and maybe any pitfalls I may be able to dodge in the process. I do realize things happen, but I believe offering international would be beneficial to me, as well as to my bidders. Also, what do you find most helpful to ship in...i.e. box, padded envelopes???

I also want to say that although it was an exhausting day posting my vintage items on ebay, I LOVED it, and owe you all a big "thanks" for your help. :party:
Nadine

p.s. I want to thank Ms. Denisebrain for enduring my unending questions. :hiya:
 
You're more than welcome Nadine! I just hope you can get some more perspectives here on shipping internationally. I found this page on eBay which has some good information.
 
Nadine, I definitely think you need to ship worldwide. I would say that last year more than half of my customers were non US.

I mainly ship Air Mail Letter Post but I think that has changed now to just First Class. I get a stack of Custom's tickets from my local post office. I know this can be done on line (I think) but I just do it by hand. You also need to have some address labels or you can cut off the priority mail on your priority ones. I always write down at the bottom of the address how I am sending it, ie First Class and highlight it in yellow.

Tell your international customers to email you for a shipping quote.

I have always used boxes but I know a lot of people use envelopes.
 
I have to say, I LOVE my international buyers and so far have not had any problems.

My suggestions are to offer first class and international priority. I haven't offered surface/economy/whatever the heck they're calling it now for several years, and it was the best decision I've made, I think. Economy takes too long and buyers sometimes get antsy waiting, leaving you open to negative or neutral feedback.

Avoid using boxes whenever possible, because they add weight and will raise the shipping cost a lot.

Laura
 
UPs is pricey from a buyers point of view and l rarely buy form sellers (unless l know them) who offer only UPS, as they are pricey and have their own delivery vans, men in sweet uniforms, and of course that costs, the plus is that you can track the item, becos it is essentially a courier sevice like fed ex.etc

ANd of course packing for international post, usually requires boxes etc, but if you are sending fabric items, a grey plastic postal bag, you can get them in bulk really cheap on ebay...and it keeps cost down.... paypal's small print states to recieve the payment protection you must use tracking, but it as stated has its down side..
l would prefer to take risk, as it almost always turns out ok.....and if money is downloaded through your credit card, you are covered for loss anyway.

thats my input....as an international buyer...l do send globally as a seller, l dont charge national psotage anyway, so l can skim my international postages to keep it keenly priced..., but l use Brit post,no couriers, which isnt as pricey as USA's, and has loads of options available, check out our royal mail website for an idea of the options..

l just think it helps to hear from buyers as well as sellers as you want to be able to keep them all happy some of the time????

hope this helps
 
Cross-posted!!

Also, I use the ebay shipping calculator even for international. I just put in the item weight, the shipping method (first class, priority), and my handling fee (if any) and it will tell each buyer the cost to his/her country.

Laura
 
Originally posted by VintageFashionLibrary
I have to say, I LOVE my international buyers and so far have not had any problems.

My suggestions are to offer first class and international priority. I haven't offered surface/economy/whatever the heck they're calling it now for several years, and it was the best decision I've made, I think. Economy takes too long and buyers sometimes get antsy waiting, leaving you open to negative or neutral feedback.

Avoid using boxes whenever possible, because they add weight and will raise the shipping cost a lot.

Laura
Click to expand...

Ok, that was helpful. Do you offer insurance, and if so do you just use the USPS quotes?
Nadine
 
Originally posted by sarasattic
UPs is pricey from a buyers point of view and l rarely buy form sellers (unless l know them) who offer only UPS, as they are pricey and have their own delivery vans, men in sweet uniforms, and of course that costs, the plus is that you can track the item, becos it is essentially a courier sevice like fed ex.etc

ANd of course packing for international post, usually requires boxes etc, but if you are sending fabric items, a grey plastic postal bag, you can get them in bulk really cheap on ebay...and it keeps cost down.... paypal's small print states to recieve the payment protection you must use tracking, but it as stated has its down side..
l would prefer to take risk, as it almost always turns out ok.....and if money is downloaded through your credit card, you are covered for loss anyway.

thats my input....as an international buyer...l do send globally as a seller, l dont charge national psotage anyway, so l can skim my international postages to keep it keenly priced..., but l use Brit post,no couriers, which isnt as pricey as USA's, and has loads of options available, check out our royal mail website for an idea of the options..

l just think it helps to hear from buyers as well as sellers as you want to be able to keep them all happy some of the time????

hope this helps
Click to expand...

Thank you, Laura...all input helps so I can make a decision that best suits my needs. I only use UPS for items that are heavy in weight, like my Darlink's hand made ottomans. This is my first time shipping vintage clothing. I ordered priority labels, bags and forms via the USPS site, and they made it very easy. I also think the risk is worth the try.
Nadine
 
The USPS has combined many of the international ratings now. I think you have first class, priority international and express.

You can now use all the free Priority and Global USPS packaging for international. However, rates have gone up.

The envelopes are great unless your item is fragile or smashable - I send hats and most purses in the smallest box I can.

Right now, I am getting a lot of interest from customers in the UK because the exchange rate is good for them.

Hollis
 
Originally posted by vintageclothesline
Nadine, I definitely think you need to ship worldwide. I would say that last year more than half of my customers were non US.

I mainly ship Air Mail Letter Post but I think that has changed now to just First Class. I get a stack of Custom's tickets from my local post office. I know this can be done on line (I think) but I just do it by hand. You also need to have some address labels or you can cut off the priority mail on your priority ones. I always write down at the bottom of the address how I am sending it, ie First Class and highlight it in yellow.

Tell your international customers to email you for a shipping quote.

I have always used boxes but I know a lot of people use envelopes.
Click to expand...

YES, great info. And it is now called "First Class International." (I went to the site) Highlighting is a good tip that I will use. I also ordered labels and the forms, my PO is pretty good about delivering, I've ordered the flat rate boxes before with no problem.
Thank you!
 
just use the quick reply box at the bottom of each page underneath the last reply......
 
No, Nadine, I don't offer insurance on international packages. In the past, one had to ship by air parcel post (not air letter post) in order to insure the package, and air parcel was a lot more expensive than air letter. I only did it if the customer specifically requested insurance and was willing to pay the air parcel rate.

With the new international categories, I'm not sure how insurance figures into the USPS international rates.

Laura
 
Thanks Laura, appreciate. I had one horror story, costly lesson learned and so was wondering. Of course that was a domestic shipment.

Nadine
 
I clicked on your ebay site to get an idea of what you meant by offering parcel post. My experience with parcel post has been someone frustrating. USPS lost my insured package along the line and it takes soooo long, but I can truly understand why someone would use parcel, since it is so very reasonable compared to other means of getting a package from "here to there."

Thanks Carrie!
 
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