Shipping internationally

[The_Phoenix]

I have a potential buyer in the Netherlands. Have any of you shipped your soap internationally and what was your experience? Do you recall the cost of shipping and the customs hassle? Any feedback is appreciated. I've estimated that shipping would cost around $17-20.00.

 

[DeeAnna]

I strongly recommend shipping via USPS. You know the total cost up front when shipping with USPS and thus you can set your fees accordingly.

If you ship via UPS or FedEx or similar, you will pay their shipping fees up front, but you will be charged brokerage fees after the package is out of your hands. The brokerage fee can exceed the shipping cost. I will ship with UPS/FedEx only if the buyer gives me their account number so all costs get billed direct to the buyer's account, not to my account.

I'll also offer this advice, even though you didn't ask for it -- Be careful this is not a scam. It doesn't make a lot of sense for someone out of the blue to buy soap or other relatively low value items from an international seller. Most of these "cold" offers to buy are bogus.

If there's some kind of mitigating factor that explains the reason for the purchase, well, that's a different story -- you're friends with this person, or you make a really unusual product the buyer really wants, or something like that.

 

[cmzaha]

I totally agree with DeeAnna on all that she stated above. Be wary of scams we used to get scam orders regularly.

I also found USPS the best way to go when shipping International. You can also fill out the customs forms on the site and print them out, just make sure to fill out the form properly or your shipment will get hung up in customs and possibly never be delivered.

 

[DeeAnna]

Another tip to add to Carolyn's advice --

I will not declare an international package to be a gift unless it really, truly, honestly is a gift. By declaring a package to be a gift when it is not, the seller assumes all of the risk while the buyer gets all of the benefit.

We are accepting a higher financial risk simply by selling and shipping our products internationally. I don't care to add more risk by lying on the customs forms.

 

[The_Phoenix]

Not a scam. It’s a friend who lives in the Netherlands and would like to buy my soap.