Sorcery Posted December 27, 2020 Report Share Posted December 27, 2020 Seems prices are ridiculously expensive. Wondering who you use, or why you don't ship internationally to begin with. Tax woes, anything else? Thanks! Sorce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted December 27, 2020 Report Share Posted December 27, 2020 If its to the UK use royal mail. I shipped 4 mugs to New Zealand and its was more to ship that I was charging for the pots.Italy was also extremely expensive to ship to.Even Canada was spendy. I have some going to Nebraska and Nevada this week-I'm mailing them via a PayPal USPS label-very cost evective-stay in the us and shipping is easy. As to the tax woes thats for the recipient to pay and the counries are all different. Its a real pain in the neck-gotta love the custom forms as well. I tend to avoid shipping abroad . The few times its been to people who really want my stuff (usually Doctors who know my work) who do not care on shipping costs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liambesaw Posted December 27, 2020 Report Share Posted December 27, 2020 I use pirateship.com now for everything. Haven't used them for international yet, but can't beat their rates for domestic! When I had my last business I used a shipping broker who would find the best price for international shipping. Was usually fedex or dhl depending on the destination, but you can't access those prices unless you either 1) have a friend who is a shipping broker or 2) do a lot of international shipping. As far as tax woes, any duties due are the responsibility of the receiver. Do not lie on customs forms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callie Beller Diesel Posted December 27, 2020 Report Share Posted December 27, 2020 I say this with the deepest love and respect for my American friends here: Americans as a group are shamefully spoiled when it comes to shipping price and timeline expectations. No one else in the world ships that cheap. If you have international customers, they are used to higher prices because that’s what the local costs are. If we are ordering from another country, we expect higher shipping fees and possible duty taxes (which are levied by the government in the receiver’s country) because that’s our lived experience. Receiving a package sent from Calgary to Halifax in 3 days isn’t a thing, unless you pay for a courier. (Rant over.) When you ship with USPS to another country, they hand the packages off to the local government shipping agency (Canada Post, Royal Mail, etc) at the border for final shipping and delivery. So you’re paying rates that have been negotiated between two companies, essentially. Courier services like FedEx, who have outlets all over the world, tend to be higher priced for low volume customers, but everything is handled by one company. And no, don’t lie on the customs documents. The levy on ceramics between Canada and the US at least is negligible. The only time anyone reported to me that they had to pay duty was when I marked the package as a gift, because I’d done a trade. Because that was different from what I usually do, it got flagged. I cannot remember how much he was charged, but it was less than $20. He could have challenged it successfully if he’d felt like he had the time or energy to track down the paperwork to do it. I haven’t had a paying customer mention additional taxes in the last 3 years. That said, I won’t ship to the UK or Europe. because I don’t understand enough about VAT rules, and that’s one thing I don’t want to get mixed up in. I don’t know enough about it to be able to walk a customer through the process, so I don’t offer it as a service. If you think it’s too much of a nuisance to ship to other countries, then don’t! This is your business and you’re allowed to structure it how you want, and to decide what you are and aren’t willing to offer as a service. It’s one of the main perks of being self employed IMO. But if clients are coming in from all over for something they can’t get elsewhere and you decide to offer international shipping as a service, that is cool too. Keep in mind that just because extra shipping is something you wouldn’t personally pay for, it doesn’t mean that someone else wouldn’t. Our clients do not always resemble ourselves, and if you offer international shipping, you will find people willing to take you up on it. It’s not up to us to decide for them what people’s budgets are or aren’t. If you decide you are willing to ship abroad, the best thing you can do from a customer service standpoint is to provide information in terms of costs, and who and who is not in charge of paying taxes. Let your potential customer decide from there what to do with their money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted December 27, 2020 Report Share Posted December 27, 2020 1 hour ago, liambesaw said: I use pirateship.com now for everything. Haven't used them for international yet, but can't beat their rates for domestic! When I had my last business I used a shipping broker who would find the best price for international shipping. Was usually fedex or dhl depending on the destination, but you can't access those prices unless you either 1) have a friend who is a shipping broker or 2) do a lot of international shipping. As far as tax woes, any duties due are the responsibility of the receiver. Do not lie on customs forms. I used pirate ship just before the Spanish Armada shredded thier fleet. After that epic sea battle all goods where lost or plundered I do have a small bronze cannon as a consolation as there is still honor amoung Pirates and there where a few survivors Socery you could try the age old pot in a bottle and throw it in ocean -no hidden fees or forms either-its all upside Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denice Posted December 27, 2020 Report Share Posted December 27, 2020 Our family just mail a memorial flag box with my father in-laws World War info and memorbilia , he was a navigator with a troop carrier unit. He was stationed in England and in honor of his group they have opened a museum. It cost $60 to have it packaged and $240 freight, it was probably a 2x2x1 foot package. Minimum insurance on it, hard to price memories and the additional insurance was outrageous. Denice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sorcery Posted December 27, 2020 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2020 3 hours ago, Mark C. said: Socery you could try the age old pot in a bottle and throw it in ocean -no hidden fees or forms either-its all upside I've had 3 pigeons fly away already! Sorce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sorcery Posted December 27, 2020 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2020 Sqwuaking something about thinner walls...blah blah blah... Thanks guys! This is excellent information @Callie Beller DieselDDieselDDieselDDieDiDieselDDieselDDiesel It's cold out I guess! Sorce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liambesaw Posted December 27, 2020 Report Share Posted December 27, 2020 1 minute ago, Sorcery said: Sqwuaking something about thinner walls...blah blah blah... Thanks guys! This is excellent information @Callie Beller DieselDDieselDDieselDDieDiDieselDDieselDDiesel It's cold out I guess! Sorce My phone does that when tagging someone too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sorcery Posted December 28, 2020 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2020 8 hours ago, liambesaw said: My phone does that when tagging someone too I've deleted other ones. Stinks cuz it puts a damper on an already difficult method of communication. Couldn't delete that though! I think it was a Cummins! Sorce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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