Anyone ever send

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jttheclockman

jttheclockman

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Joined
Feb 22, 2005
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20,315
Location
NJ, USA.
Has anyone ever sent anything to Belgium Europe?? I have someone who wants to buy some pens from me and this is where they live. What would be needed as far as doing this transaction??? I do not take credit cards. How about as far as mailing goes, what kind of cost am I looking at??? Thanks
 
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I have never shipped to Belgium but I have shipped to 11 countries including Russia, Austria, Switzerland, England, France, Germany, Spain, Malta, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Singapore. You can accept your payment via Paypal just like any other payment. If you don't have paypal, PM me and I will accept the payment for you and transfer the money with no fees.

As for shipping...USPS is the cheapest and most preferred for intenrational orders by the receiver. DO NOT use the Small Flat Rate Box, however. IT IS NOT TRACKABLE. I know this from personal experience learned the hard way. You can track it until it leaves the US but after that, you are on your own.

I replaced a $400 order of Cactus Blanks because it never made it to the receiver. I tried tracking it and hit a wall. I called the USPS and gave them the tracking number. They said they could not do anything for me but if I had used the medium flat rate box or the express mail, they could help.

Then, a few month later, I shipped $1,000 worth of blanks to an Austrian customer. Due to the size of the order, I used a medium flat rate box. After a month, my customer contacted me and said they had not received it. I called USPS and they tracked it and said it was stuck in customs in Austria and that they would do an inquiry. It got delivered the next day!

Hope that helps some.
 
Curtis' answer is completely correct re small flat rate.

I did not know the larger boxes got better treatment. But, sounds reasonable. Remember when you make out the customs paperwork, you need to itemize and be careful how you describe any wood that you may be sending. If you are shipping finished pens, it should be simple.

Europeans ship a lot to the USA using FedEx, but best advice, check with the customer and see who HE wants YOU to use.
 
Weight & Value

If you ship to Canada the paperwork is the same.

I use USPS I also use first class, small flat rate box and medium flat rate box, The difference is this...there are two forms there is a small form and a large form...the large form can be tracked the small one can't. You can't use the small form on Medium or Large Flat Rate Box. The large form is a 4 part form and it has to be in a special clear plastic holder on the package. You can and should buy postal insurance unless the value is less than the indemnity value (that depends on weight I think but it is usually much too low)

If you can get a phone number from the buyer and include it on the customs declaration form.

Medium and large flat rat box weight limit is 20 pounds. Small flat rate box limit is 4 pounds and Flat rate envelope

Shipping time can be quite slow ...

ALL OF MY LOST IN THE MAIL SHIPMENTS HAVE BEEN INTERNATIONAL. If you don't expect at least 15% to 20% of your business to be international it might not be worth the trouble.

Accept payment via paypal and accept only USD you get charged extra anyway and its even more if you accept euros and convert after receipt. Make the buyer convert.

If the buyer claims he did not get the package PayPal will probably force you to give a refund before you can apply for insurance. Make sure you can produce paper for all phases of the transaction...invoice, payment, proof of shipping, and delivery confirmation if you can get it.

Make sure the buyer understands that there might and probably will be either value added tax, import duty or both due at his end. If the parcel is late...make sure the buyer goes to his own post office and checks on it.

Other than that it is easy...I have shipped to Belgium and it got delivered.
 
Extra Cost

ed4copies said:
Curtis' answer is completely correct re small flat rate.

I did not know the larger boxes got better treatment. But, sounds reasonable. Remember when you make out the customs paperwork, you need to itemize and be careful how you describe any wood that you may be sending. If you are shipping finished pens, it should be simple.

Europeans ship a lot to the USA using FedEx, but best advice, check with the customer and see who HE wants YOU to use.
Click to expand...

Medium and Large Flat rate Box cost about triple what you pay for a Small Flat Rate box so they should get better handling. It is the customs declaration form that makes the difference and it is the receiving country's rules. They could scan either form but they only scan the large forms.
 
I have paypal but the buyer doesn't so how do I use it. Man this sounds like alot of work. Will have to check with the buyer and hopefully we can work something out.
 
John,

Your customer does not have to have a Paypal account to pay you. You just do a money request using his/her e-mail address through Paypal. Then, we they get the e-mail, they will follow the link to Paypal. When there, they can either sign in to their Paypal account on the right or choose to pay with a credit card on the left. If you still have problems, let me know and I will help you out.
 
MesquiteMan said:
John,

Your customer does not have to have a Paypal account to pay you. You just do a money request using his/her e-mail address through Paypal. Then, we they get the e-mail, they will follow the link to Paypal. When there, they can either sign in to their Paypal account on the right or choose to pay with a credit card on the left. If you still have problems, let me know and I will help you out.
Click to expand...


I got it Curtis thanks. After i posted the question I did what I probably should have and that was read the instructions on the site (duh) Hey my excuse is I am MAN:smile:

Just sent a package of pens to Scotland hope it gets there:smile: Had the guy at the post office help me with the paperwork. First time I am shipping abroad. I bought from overseas before but this is new to me. Just got a queezy feeling that my pens are now entering another country.


Got to learn some of the secret words to describe the items so that they do not get hung up in customs somewhere too. Any suggestions on this??? Thanks.
 
John dont worry.... I am now living in England UK because I married a scottish lass... Anyway most packages arrive no problem... I have had 1 package that never arrived and it was from china.. that was a ebay transaction. and judging by the guys feedback for the weeks whilst i was waiting he probably didnt send any to anyone.... I am still waiting for three packages to arrive from america .. two being from Smitty.. but I am sure they will turn up.. BigRob sent me stuff over and I also recived stuff from australia... quite a few members on here sent me stuff... but when I will send items over to america I make have to follow the same steps.. ie recorded is the best...but costs more.. or at the least a proof of posting.

dont worry too much and since its now 0741 here.. HAPPY Thanksgiving.... kinda ironic that I am in england during this time dont you think?
 
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