International Shipping Experiences

[The_SwampFox]

Good evening everyone,

When shipping shaving gear over seas (outside the USA) what is the best carrier to deal with based on your experiences. I normally stick to domestic shipping for transactions on the b/s/t but would like to be familiar with international shipping just in case. For instance if shipping valuable hardware overseas, what should I do? Your thoughts and experiences are welcome and highly appreciated.

 

[naughtilus]

USPS is best IME as the receiving party. Avoid FedEx, UPS and DHL like the plague.

 

[RealPretendPsychic]

I have only shipped with USPS, but the experience was a good one. They provide plenty of shipping and insurance options as well

 

[InkStainedWretch]

As a Canadian, I strictly prefer that my purchases from the U.S. be shipped by USPS. Couriers charge ridiculous fees to at the border.

 

[alex1921]

USPS is great. I have shipped a lot of shave related items from the US to Europe, Central America and Australia. Never had a single problem. And yes USPS is the cheapest option.

 

[The_SwampFox]

Thanks for all the responses. The general consensus seems to be USPS as the way to go with international shipping. For shipping a high-end razor or brush, besides properly packaging and shipping the item, is there anything else I need to do on my end to make sure I am protecting myself? For instance, as a seller, how do I take account of any duties or customs fees during payment of item or is this the responsibility of the recipient?

 

[alex1921]

All my shipments have been to good friends. I ask them if they want insurance. If yes then you have to declare the actual value of the item. If they say no, then I declare a low value to save them money on their customs.
The customs etc are solely the responsibility of the buyer, they will deal with that when they receive the item. Nothing to do with you. Unless you underreport the value as I said above but honestly I wouldn't do that for somebody I didn't know.

 

[Rudy Vey]

I ship worldwide with USPS First Class international mail. Anything else, like UPS or FEDEX costs many times more.
Never lost an international shipment with USPS.

 

[alessia15]

For Europe the best is USPS. never problems . fedex is more expensive

 

[abj]

@alessia15 @alex1921 do you know how long it regularly takes from the US to Netherlands / Europe? Since november 22 it is in transit to the destination.

 

[Levue]

@alessia15 @alex1921 do you know how long it regularly takes from the US to Netherlands / Europe? Since november 22 it is in transit to the destination.

Usually 10 days, 2 weeks at most.

 

[abj]

Ok, thx. No need to worry at the moment.

 

[alessia15]

3-4 days from the USA, then 10 days for customs clearance.
and with the black friday I do not even think about it

 

[abj]

The tracking code says "in transit". Not only Black Friday but also Cyber Monday, early Christmas shoppers and dutch Sinterklaas. If it wasn't for the discounts I would have ordered the stuff in january

 

[zizousama]

Hello,

I am resurrecting this thread to avoid bloating the forums with unnecessary ones. My question is about shipping badger hair brushes to international destinations from the U.S. using services like Shipitto when the vendor, like Paladin or the Varlet, does not ship directly to international addresses.

I know that what keeps these businesses from doing so is that they have to file special forms with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and pay a $93 fee. Now, if buy from them and have this shipped via a mediator like Shipitto, will I end up having to pay that fee?

This would certainly be a dealbreaker, especially when one intends to purchase ultra high-end brushes like the Varlet’s.

Any experiences in this regard?

V/R
Abdulaziz