Best way to ship internationally for Ebay sales

[legohoarder]

What shipping service do you use to ship internationally? What service offers the best rates along with tracking/insurance options?

 

Thanks in advance for the replies, my wife and I are long term sellers on Ebay and have shipped things via the USPS but recently have had problems with buyers claiming items haven't arrived or they let the stuff sit in customs and we get it back after 3-6 months. Of course Ebay requires us to refund the buyer in all cases since they claim they didn't get their item. Just wondering how others deal with this. 

[meowingthings]

I sell full time on eBay and ship don't internationally (except for military). Customs are a problem no matter who you ship through. That all being said I would suggest talking to Emazers. A very well respected member on here and I know he ships internationally.

[Fcbarcelona101]

Ship only with a method that includes tracking. The prices for the buyer will be a lot higher, but it is the only way you are protected.

[pickleboy]

Express Mail only...tracks door to door.  Expensive but people still pay it.

[jaisonline]

I just sold a sealed gold 30th anniversary c3P0 on bricklink. All my research pointed to using USPS Express International. A little box cost $52 to mail from PA to France.

[Jackson]

USPS Express Mail International is the only way to fly.

[jaisonline]

Please refer to these. for more info

http://community.brickpicker.com/topic/2210-global-shipping-program-advice/

http://community.brickpicker.com/topic/4687-selling-internationally-commonly-excluded-countries/

[sadowsk1]

I would avoid shipping internationally through Ebay.  I ship internationally through Bricklink but I've found that for myself shipping internationally is either too risky or too expensive through ebay.

[brandon90820]

I love shipping internationally. Always the cheapest option too and ive only hade one problem with a non lego item. The only lego problem i had was when i accidentally sent one item to australia that was supposed to go to italy and vice versa. The buyers sent the correct items to eachother but i had to pay shipping.

[jaisonline]

I would avoid shipping internationally through Ebay. I ship internationally through Bricklink but I've found that for myself shipping internationally is either too risky or too expensive through ebay.

Even with their new global shipping program? Your answer should prob go in that thread . As does my question. Ha

[deanearp]

Express Mail only...tracks door to door.  Expensive but people still pay it.

Pickleboy, have you found shipping internationally to be worth it?  Has the paperwork been a pain? Any countries you are not shipping to?

[jaisonline]

Pickleboy, have you found shipping internationally to be worth it?  Has the paperwork been a pain? Any countries you are not shipping to?

100% worth it as the Euro and Pound are worth more than USD. Hence, people from over there will buy from US sellers at a premium while still saving money than purchasing in their countries (if the set is even available)

[justafrog]

You're protected if..

 

1. the method you use has online-viewable tracking (i.e, USPS Express mail and I think most if not all of the non-flat rate priority options)
2. you use eBay's global shipping program (30-something countries offered, you only have to prove delivery via normal domestic tracking methods to their sort center in Kentucky
3. the new first class package trackable options through USPS - right this moment they have Canada and it's become quite reliable in showing delivery scans on the Canada post site - and eBay accepts those for proof of delivery. They add 15 or 16 countries this Monday - though I personally expect to see some of the same inconsistency in out-of-country scanning we saw at the beginning with Canada

[Alcarin]

100% worth it as the Euro and Pound are worth more than USD. Hence, people from over there will buy from US sellers at a premium while still saving money than purchasing in their countries (if the set is even available)

 

 

This....

 

I dont mind paying 20$ because thats like 16

[brandon90820]

Pickleboy, have you found shipping internationally to be worth it?  Has the paperwork been a pain? Any countries you are not shipping to?

there's no paperwork if you print the label out yourself. it is also a few bucks cheaper this way

[wholovesboo]

Express Mail only...tracks door to door.  Expensive but people still pay it.

 

Does anyone know what Priority Mail International lacks tracking wise as compared to Express Mail? I was able to track door to door shipping to Canada using USPS Priority International recently.

[pickleboy]

Pickleboy, have you found shipping internationally to be worth it?  Has the paperwork been a pain? Any countries you are not shipping to?

I just started last month but my sales have gone up and ZERO paper work is involved.  I just print the shipping off ebay as normal and then sign the customs form (embedded in the label)  and send it just the same way i do every other package. 

I have no excluded any countries yet but I am thinking about italy, russia and I think there is one more to be careful of...

[pickleboy]

Does anyone know what Priority Mail International lacks tracking wise as compared to Express Mail? I was able to track door to door shipping to Canada using USPS Priority International recently.

I could be wrong but what I understand is that Priority only ships till it gets to the post office of the foreign country or through customs.  I was under the impression that it did not track all the way to the purchaser door...only to the purchasing country?   Anyone know for certain?

[wholovesboo]

I could be wrong but what I understand is that Priority only ships till it gets to the post office of the foreign country or through customs.  I was under the impression that it did not track all the way to the purchaser door...only to the purchasing country?   Anyone know for certain?

 

When I did that Canada shipment via Priority, the tracking number shows up in eBay, and when I click for more details, it has tracking dates/times listed from "Customs clearance processing complete" to "At foreign delivery unit" to "Delivered Abroad", so I assume that means it got shipped to the buyer's door. Next time I'm at the post office I'll try asking the clerk for clarification.

 

 

I just started last month but my sales have gone up and ZERO paper work is involved.  I just print the shipping off ebay as normal and then sign the customs form (embedded in the label)  and send it just the same way i do every other package. 

I have no excluded any countries yet but I am thinking about italy, russia and I think there is one more to be careful of...

 

If you think of that country to avoid, could you post it? (I started a thread under "ebay" regarding countries that sellers prefer not to ship to.)

[pickleboy]

When I did that Canada shipment via Priority, the tracking number shows up in eBay, and when I click for more details, it has tracking dates/times listed from "Customs clearance processing complete" to "At foreign delivery unit" to "Delivered Abroad", so I assume that means it got shipped to the buyer's door. Next time I'm at the post office I'll try asking the clerk for clarification.

 

 

 

If you think of that country to avoid, could you post it? (I started a thread under "ebay" regarding countries that sellers prefer not to ship to.)

Yeah I am not 100% sure.  Although I do know it took me a year to send a international package again after the first one took 2 months to get there.  Thank goodness the buyer was way cool.  It only arrived a month after Christmas!  When I decided to ship international again (b/c they kept buying my stuff anyways.) I decided everything goes Express or it doesn't go at all. 

Yeah I'll post it but I think it was already mentioned in that thread. 

[Diabolos80]

It's a bit ironic that the most reliable international carrier is the USPS...

Do you guys insure everything you ship overseas?

What about signature confirmation? I know ebay requires it for sales over $250 in order to be eligible for seller protection. Does that apply to overseas sales, too?

[Grolim]

As an international buyer I would urge you to go with the cheapest possible option.  Then offer upgrades for tracking and sig required for the buyers who want that.

 

If you are concerned about buyers falsely claiming non-delivery for non-tracked packages then make sure to only offer that to buyers with very good feedback ratings.

 

In terms of reliability I have purchased hundreds of items using international shipping with the vast majority of those being the cheapest non-tracked option.  I have never had a shipping issue like items gone missing.  A handful of damaged items, but they are usually from poor retailer packaging.

 

I think it comes down to a risk/price equation.  For example - I'm quite prepared to pay $20 for cheap shipping that has a 95% (this could be a lot higher from my own anecdotal experience) chance of getting to me fine, than paying $50 for an item with a 100% success rate.  

[beeblet65]

As an international buyer I would urge you to go with the cheapest possible option.  Then offer upgrades for tracking and sig required for the buyers who want that.

 

If you are concerned about buyers falsely claiming non-delivery for non-tracked packages then make sure to only offer that to buyers with very good feedback ratings.

 

In terms of reliability I have purchased hundreds of items using international shipping with the vast majority of those being the cheapest non-tracked option.  I have never had a shipping issue like items gone missing.  A handful of damaged items, but they are usually from poor retailer packaging.

 

I think it comes down to a risk/price equation.  For example - I'm quite prepared to pay $20 for cheap shipping that has a 95% (this could be a lot higher from my own anecdotal experience) chance of getting to me fine, than paying $50 for an item with a 100% success rate.  

the only problem with that is that if they scam you, paypal wont do anything if you dont have tracking or signature confirmation.

 

i lost a  10179 MF over that!

[pickleboy]

As an international buyer I would urge you to go with the cheapest possible option.  Then offer upgrades for tracking and sig required for the buyers who want that.

 

If you are concerned about buyers falsely claiming non-delivery for non-tracked packages then make sure to only offer that to buyers with very good feedback ratings.

 

In terms of reliability I have purchased hundreds of items using international shipping with the vast majority of those being the cheapest non-tracked option.  I have never had a shipping issue like items gone missing.  A handful of damaged items, but they are usually from poor retailer packaging.

 

I think it comes down to a risk/price equation.  For example - I'm quite prepared to pay $20 for cheap shipping that has a 95% (this could be a lot higher from my own anecdotal experience) chance of getting to me fine, than paying $50 for an item with a 100% success rate.  

I am a small time seller.  One large hit can set me back weeks or months.  I totally understand where you are coming from being on the buying side but with so few protections offered to selllers, I have to utilize each one.  If I was a larger seller, I would play the odds like you suggest. 

[pickleboy]

It's a bit ironic that the most reliable international carrier is the USPS...

Do you guys insure everything you ship overseas?

What about signature confirmation? I know ebay requires it for sales over $250 in order to be eligible for seller protection. Does that apply to overseas sales, too?

I do if it's over 250.00.  If I understand correctly, you automatically get $100.00 insurance on items express shipped.  I am pretty sure express shipping requires a signature.