Needing help on international sale

B

bug12oz

Registered Guest
I made my first international sale, but I am having a hard time. I go through Yahoo which has UPS added to my website so I don't have to figure out shipping. However the shipping amount didn't go in for whatever reason.

The items are being shipped from Texas to Japan. I got an estimate on shipping. But there are other things I have to do and I am confused. Can anyone help explain to me the process of shipping this item?
 
Hi Jamie

UPS i don't think ships to Japan except for a million bucks

go to http://www.usps.com - the post office ships there by several methods.

You won't be able to click and ship though. You have to go and fill out the customs forms at the post office, and grab a few forms while you are there for next time (but will still have to go to PO)

If the international doesn't work on your checout cart, why not ask international customers to email you with all the things they want and then you send them an invoice through paypal - they have a request money/send invoice feature

Chris
 
They quoted me 75.00 dollars and change for Worldwide Expedited which takes 5 days for the item to get there.

I think that the shipping amount didn't go through b/c they picked the wrong way to ship the item. They picked UPS ground, which is for the U.S., not the international shipping way.

I will try the US post office site right now and see what it charges.

I do believe that I can add the shipping amount to the batch I send to the credit card company. I am wondering if I should email the customer and ask them if they want to pay for shipping with credit card or paypal?
 
Shipping to japan is much cheaper than 75 through the PO.

If you do go through the PO they can still pay you with paypal..you just transfer the funds into your bank account or use your paypal debit card at the post office. They can use their cc through paypal too
 
Most international buyers don't want to use UPS because UPS charges very high fees to the recipient. In my case, my father sent me a package of gifts when I was living in Spain, and I had to pay the UPS driver around $100 on the spot. Part of it was tariff and part of it was UPS fees.

You might consider offering USPS shipping, unless your buyer specifically wants UPS.

I would definitely contact the buyer and let him/her know what the problem is and offer the available options (i.e., "Do you want to process the s/h on your credit card or by Paypal?")

Laura
 
I agree the post office was cheaper. And yes, I think I will try to see if I can setup the USPS on my website.

I did send an email yesterday morning (Sunday) around 10, but I havent hear anything yet from them. I did expalin the problem and the solutions and the choices/options they had.

How long do I wait to send maybe another email or wait on them to respond? I have it on my website that I have 4 days after the money is approved on my side. However I haven't sent it through yet. I am still a little unsure about it all.
 
Did they pay for the item yet, or did they just inquire about it?

At 10 am sunday CST, its 1 am in Japan. They are 12 hours ahead of EST.

If they have not paid for the item without shipping and were just inquiring, I might give them a bit. If they paid for the item without shipping, I would invoice them right away with the most sensible shipping option (eliminate surface and express) and include the price for airmail or global priority. I think they would just be a buck or two different to japan, if you can airmail to japan...i have always globalled it.

People are more likely to respond to an invoice (either positively or negatively)..they will pay or tell you they are not interested but you will usually get a response.

If they just seem to be inquiring that is a tough call.

Sending an invoice will get you a quick response if they are interested or not, that is for sure.
 
They put in the order to buy, but since I have not submitted their order to the credit card company, the items have not been cahrged to their account yet. I have until Friday before the order will cancel itself out if I do not submit it.

I will check into the invoice thing through my website. I did call the place I do webhosting through and they walked me through 2 different ways I could process the order and modify it.

I think I am going to give them till tomorrow before I think about sending an invoice for the shipping charges.

Thanks so much for your help guys.
 
I recently sent a seriously heavy coat to Japan via Economy Letter Post for $23. It arrived just fine, as have all my international shipments with USPS (knock on wood).
UPS and FedEx charge like they have Brad Pitt picking it up at your door step holding the recipe for calorie free chocolate!

Jenn
 
I usually wait around 48-72 hours before invoicing a second time.


The last package I sent economy (happened to be a buyer in Australia) took 12 full weeks to arrive. It earned me 4 neutrals from the buyer (one for each item) even though it wasn't my fault. Since then, I have modified my terms and won't send anything by economy.

Most of the time economy is delivered in a reasonable amount of time, but I'm no longer willing to chance it.

Laura
 
I usually send mine Airmail Letter Post, 4 to 7 day delivery through USPS. I did send one to Japan one time and they requested the Airmail Economy or whatever it is called..something like 4 to 6 week delivery. It got there in about a week. They said they used this method before and it got there quickly. Go figure.
 
I am just waiting to hear from the customer. But USPS sends the cheapest route to go on this one.

With this experience I have made a few modifications on my website, so maybe now the lower rate shipping option is there, more people will buy. People like having a choices.:wacko::eureka::clapping:
 
Oh excitement.....
I heard from the Japan lady today and she is in agreement with the shipping cost from the Post Office and the time frame and said okay for me to modify the order that the shipping charges her credit card. :USETHUMBUP:

So off to the post office I go to learn the next leg of my international journey of filling out custom forms.:question::hysterical::hysterical:
 
Its not too complicated...especially if you get the green form. It saves time if you grab a few while you are there to keep on hand. Keep refreshing them though, because i found i had some outdated ones around the house.

Chris
 
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