WHo ships overseas?

gentlejax

Super Member
I have something for sale and have been asked twice already if I will send it over seas. I havnt shipped anything across the pond from the USA in years. Is that something that is even possible? I mean its possible I am sure but man that must be expensive.
 
Question is how big/heavy, and what value? And, to what country or countries?

Normally USPS Priority or Priority Express are good options, but the limits on weight or dimensions or value can differ from country to country. Global Express is the most expensive postal option and has higher limits, but they typically ship that via Fedex these days.

The other issue is risk of chargeback; if the buyer refuses to pay importing costs like VAT or duty or delivery charge etc. some freight carriers will deliver anyway and try to charge the shipper instead of the recipient. That can't happen with USPS, but it can with UPS and Fedex. I've had Fedex try to back bill me for an open reel deck I shipped to an Asian destination, even though it was actually shipped via USPS. Of course, with me having no account in the Fedex system that effort failed completely esp. after I told them it was their responsibility to collect from the buyer, not mine. In all fairness they went away and didn't bother me after that, but it would have been much more difficult to get out of it had they been able to just charge my account.

eBay's GSP (Global Shipping Program) does a decent job of taking over those kinds of risks and making sure the seller isn't held responsible for importing costs or delivery issues. I found recently it was less expensive to get an open reel deck to Canada via that program than any other shipping option I had available, but the listing had to be structured carefully to keep the costs to a minimum.

John
 
I had a pair of 1 of a kind wooden "lenses" for JBL speakers. Not big, not heavy, but somewhat fragile.
Sold them to a fellow in Norway - took a while to get there, but he was VERY appreciative I was willing to ship,
AND he paid a great price for them. I probably would be nervous selling large speakers or a heavy amp tho ...
 
I ship ANYWHERE they will pay for.

USPS is the only reasonable option.
Global priority (not express).
Yes, it is expensive, but its tracked and insured and quick.

You can register at USPS online, do all the calculation there. You can buy postage there and fill in all the info and print out all the forms and labels. Including customs forms, it does it all.
Tape it all together and request USPS to pick it up on the next delivery (free).

Easy Peasy!
 
I don't know if any others have experienced overseas customs, but I sent an item back to an Ebay seller in The Netherlands. It's been siting in customs there since Mar 21st. It only took 8 days for it to get here from this seller. I finally asked the seller and his response was it could take over 2 weeks for it to clear. That seems excessive for such a small item.
 
I don't know if any others have experienced overseas customs, but I sent an item back to an Ebay seller in The Netherlands. It's been siting in customs there since Mar 21st. It only took 8 days for it to get here from this seller. I finally asked the seller and his response was it could take over 2 weeks for it to clear. That seems excessive for such a small item.
Yeah. shipping within the country is hassle enough. Borders complicate things. Plus, I had a friend that used to sell antique camera glass (think $5,000 lenses for 40-s - 60's Leica cameras) on eBay. He got so tired of international buyers wanting to return the stuff for minor imperfections that were clearly sescribed that he stopped using eBay.

But I only bring that up because returns are an amazing hassle once you cross borders.
 
I shipped to Russia, Ukraine, Taiwan, and some other places, never had a problem with USPS...
 
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