Shipping outside the US

peter yetman

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I just sent a SF bit to a member in Canada.
When I went to PayPal to check his address I was able to fill in the Customs Form, pay the Postage and print a Shippin Label. All from the comfort of my desk (well, it would be comfortable if it wasn't covered in Mrs Yeti's dross).
All I had to do then was go to the Post Office and get a Proof of Postage (also provided by PP).
Is there a similar PayPal facility in the States?
If so it could signal the end of my "Conus ONlY" misery.
Let me know, please.
I can't wait.
P
 

bykfixer

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Paypal "shipping center" does that in the US for sending things from here.

But.... many say conus only because of the disappearing act some packages end up playing. One can pick up a stack of customs forms at their local post office and fill them out at home, print labels through stamps dot com and all that already. And even get a discount rate. They just don't trust the customs or foreign cargo services.
 
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peter yetman

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Oh well, it was a thought.
Thanks Mike.
P

Edit: Sorry, not intending this to be me moaning that no-one will ship outside the States.
I often read that people can't be doing with the paperwork at the PO, and this was so easy I didn't even know I was doing it.
I'll crawl back under my stone now.
 
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bykfixer

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Paypal seems to have cut down on the hassles you cite, no doubt. If somebody says they don't want to be stuck with the hassle of all 'those forms'... you're right, that is now a thing of the past.

Now.... regarding the occasional seller, say somebody thinning the herd as it were... this thread may help ease their fears of how difficult it is to send beyond the magic line called borders.

To me the hurdle that might as well be the great wall of China is the cost of shipping beyond the imaginary line... with tracking.

Example is my wife sold a hand made item to a lady in Moscow. Well she was e-selling items no charge shipping thinking only Americans would be interested. It was considered oversize to boot. Yikes. We looked into cost to ship with tracking and it was pushing $100 to ship a $35 item. Uh oh. Being kinda familiar with the whole process I found a box and 'custom sized' it to fall into a lower size bracket, and sent it first class instead of priority. By going 1st class versus 'parcel' it had tracking, and no longer being oversized it ended up being about 25% of her original price quote via usps dot com. Some don't want to be hassled with all that. We saw it as a learning adventure instead of a hassle.
 
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peter yetman

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OOOPS.
Had a similar problem when I had a Webshop for the beer.
Glass and Alcohol are prohibited items with most UK Couriers.
So I sent the stuff out anyway. Out of about 40 separate deliveries only one arrived in one piece. Many mysteriously disappeared with obviously no compensation.
To ship a case of beer in the Uk with insurance against breakage is in the region of 200 dollars.
We're in the wrong trade.
P
 

Hogokansatsukan

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I ship a lot. I mean A LOT! Both in the U.S. and overseas. PayPal makes pretty quick work of it. I even picked up a thermal label printer that works great for domestic, but doesn't print large enough for the paperwork crossing borders. I used to hate shipping, but now it is relatively easy. I only ship Priority Mail. Cost for international is quite high. Small flat rate boxes generally go for around $30, but can be as high as $42 to Hong Kong.
The downside to PayPal shipping is if there is a long delay between when someone paid, and when the item ships. After 6 months, PayPal will not let you ship. This was the reason I had to have the international customers PayPal 50 cents in order to get PayPal to shipping to work on the last High Noon group buy.
In years of shipping, I've only had 3 problems. One was an excessive delay to Italy. The holster eventually showed up, but only after I made and sent a replacement. The replacement arrived before the original one. Another was to China, as the item is no longer tracked once it reaches China. I no longer ship to China (Hong Kong being the exception). And last, one to the UK from this last High Noon run. The driver stole the package. Signature was required, and a scribble was on the form. I know the person I shipped the light to well, and trust him. Royal Mail is still trying to piece it together.
It's not a bad track record, though I do tend to worry more about an HDS going overseas. A holster I can make again if lost. An HDS gets expensive when a mailman or neighbor gets sticky fingers.

It is important to check flat rate vs. non flat rate. You can even stick a small flat rate box inside a flat rate envelope, and save one dollar. Doesn't make much sense, but the US post is government run, which explains it losing money every year.
 

Hogokansatsukan

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Update on the lost/stolen HDS in England... after several calls from the customer, a search of CCTV in the area... a manager from the Royal Mail service personally brought the package to my customer after speaking at length with the driver. Rather interesting that it was signed for and stated "delivered" yet somehow remained in the hands of the Royal Mail delivery driver.
 

bykfixer

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I sent a light to a fellow in London once. Well he was out of town when it arrived. He stated he had placed a note on his door to deliver his mail to a neighbor 3 doors down.

Upon return the neighbor had not received any mail for him. Apparently the postal carrier had returned his mail back to the post office. Sounds easy so far, right?

Well the post office said they did not have his mail. After some 3 weeks it turns out it was at his local post office afterall. A helpful clerk searched the back room and found his mail.

Now for those who've been here a long time, you may remember a member used to swear the 3D silver colored Maglite was not only the greatest flashlight ever but was a genuine work of art. Yet he had never been able to find a silver Maglite there in London. The package I sent contained a silver 2C Maglite ML25IT from the first batch they produced SN 0000117.

He finally had a genuine silver colored Maglite.
 

peter yetman

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Without making us sound like a Third World Postal Economy, we have a courier over here called "My Hermes" maybe it's over there too.
They pay their drivers, who tend to be local people trying to boost their meagre incomes, about 50 cents a drop.
What happens in real life is that they deliver to the Brewery after they and I have finished work. They then mark the package as "Delivered" so they get their "On TIme Tick" and then try over the next few days including weekends to actually deliver the thing. The longest I have waited for a 48 hour delivery is 14 days.
I now have them trained ( they are mostly Mummies with a kid in their own car, for Goodness sake ) and they leave it in a store barn.
50 cents a drop, what's that about?
Now starting to refuse to buy if they use Hermes.
Sorry, rant over.
P
 
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