Shipping Internationally - TO DO or NOT TO DO

[Former_Member]

I am toying with the idea of adding international shipping but I have no idea what to charge and no idea how to even begin to price it. Any advice?

[EZCraftingStore]

I wasn't sure either. I just looked to see what everyone else charges and took it from there. I had went to the post office to ask and really didn't get anywhere there.

[Former_Member]

I just had a thread about this but this team is so active that 5 mins later nobody sees it! I really think shipping internationally is worth it. I opened my shop in Aug last year, I've had 61 sales, and probably 10 or 11 of them were international. With that said, I would only ship light-weight items overseas. Anything heavy or breakable can be risky. The first class international cut-off is 4 lbs. Also, if you know the weight of your item, you can go to usps.com and use their calculate a price feature to come up with a number. The easiest thing to do is add a message at the bottom of your listing that says something like, "international customers please convo me for a shipping quote." Good luck!

[Former_Member]

Yes, add international shipping rates! Many of my online sales have been international, even as far away as India and New Zealand. International rates are not that much more expensive, depending on what you ship and what quantity. To give you an idea of what it is like, a pair of earrings or a small necklace will be just under $3, regular first class mail shipped from the east coast. Adjust your rate from there. You can also go online on the USPS website and check there too.

Catering to international customers will open up your customer base and people all over the world can have access to your goods! Good luck!

[Former_Member]

Thanks for the input, Rachel and for starting this thread, Sarah! I've been seriously considering doing international shipping for a month or so (I wanted to get a handle on regular shipping before I went international :)), but I'm a little nervous, mostly because I worry about pieces making it there, well, in one piece.

Any advice on packing when shipping abroad? I tend to pack the pieces as if they're going up against Armageddon, so maybe I'm just fine. Haha.

[Former_Member]

My stuff isnt heavy and can easily be put in a large envelope, but looking at the online prices on usps, its like $15 to ship internationally. Does that seem right for a 1lb item?

[Former_Member]

I was intimidated about international shipping until I started reading all the great info posted by this team. I added it to my shop a week or two after I started listing regularly (less than a month ago). It was very easy to figure out. I have a small postal scale at home so it's easy for me to figure out postage without having to drive to the post office.

Sarah, is that a quote for global priority or first class? You have to click for more options at the bottom of the list to get the cheaper first class rate.

[Former_Member]

On usps: calculate a price: put in your destination and weight. On the next page at the top right there is a box that you need to click that says to show all options. Pretty sneaky of them, they hide the least expensive mailing rates. Then you should see the first class international prices.

[ThePlaidPineconeCo]

It's worth it if the item isn't too heavy or fragile. I've shipped internationally once (to Australia). The item was easily bendable, and it arrived there just fine, but it had to be packaged in a special box and it was also heavy and cost over $50 for shipping. The customer happily paid for it, but it wasn't worth the stress and worry I had over the next 2 weeks wondering if it made it there.

Next time I'll only ship internationally if it's a relatively small non-breakable item.

[Former_Member]

It was for first class. Now i am getting around 10 to ship one of my rompers. I will give it a try. I guess I can always stop the service if it doesn't work out.

[Former_Member]

DO - you can go to USPS.com and get quotes for your items to your basic countries - Canada, Australia, UK - and then I have a set price for everywhere else.

[aliciawatkins]

Here's the chart I use, which gives you the rates for international priority and first class: http://pe.usps.com/cpim/ftp/manuals/dmm300/Notice123.pdf

What I do for international shipping, since I generally send out my cross stitches in free frames, is specify in each listing whether the item will be framed if sent internationally (only very small frames with plastic, not glass), or not framed in order to save on shipping costs. This has meant generally that they'll be under about 4 oz, which cost me about $5.50 to the UK and $3.50 to Canada from the U.S.

My understanding is that international buyers might search by whether a seller ships internationally or not (I haven't tried this, only read it), so it is helpful to have the items in your shop that you know shipping prices for listed as available for those countries you'd be willing to ship it to. I've heard that international buyers are less likely to buy from a shop that asks for a convo for shipping -- though I myself added international rates after an international buyer requested it, and since then I've only had one other international order, so anecdotally I can't add anything to support that.

Perhaps someone else who's been open longer has a better idea of this, and more knowledge of how searches work in relation to shipping locations.

[Former_Member]

I'd say about one in four of my sales over the holidays was international - it was totally worth it to have international shipping set up. You just have to learn to fill out the customs forms - which aren't hard.

[studionubbo]

DO DO DO DO DO !!! You'll open your shop up to a whole new market. It's really easy :)

[Former_Member]

Whatever shipping service you use, do your research!
Keep a measuring tape and small weigh scale handy so you can guess different shipping rates and destinations before listing.

It seems like a bit of work, however there is nothing worse than finding out that item you can ship for $18 to the U.K. is going to cost you $98 to some remote area of Australia!

Yes! yes! this is a true story!

[Former_Member]

I really want to add international shipping -- by all accounts it seems a necessary step for shop success. First class international seems like the way to go.
I get intimidated by shops I've seen that list a dozen places and all their individual rates. I do have a postal scale so I can figure out rates -- what areas should I add first though, if I am only going to do a few to start out? Also, is there paperwork you need to bring to the PO for small international packages (my items are usually between 4 and 10 ounces.)?
Thank you to all the sellers that are giving answers here. Sometimes this stuff can be so confusing and overwhelming.

[LittleBitsOFaith]

Great thread....wondered the same thing...I will definitely be looking to add intnl shipping!!

[MysticRainCreations]

I wasn't sure about shipping internationally either but it's not nearly as complicated as I thought it would be. Two of my three sales have been international so I'm happy I offer it. :)

What I did was pack up a couple of my bags in the box or envelope I'd send them in and brought it to the post office to see how much it would cost to send to various countries. I tried doing it online but the pricing was waaaay off for me. The customs form you have to fill out is very simple and doesn't take more than a minute or two.

[Former_Member]

I went to the postal website and just estimated the average package weight and country. It gave me an estimate and I went from there.
I LOVE shipping internationally, I get so many more sales that way and you will too :)

[Former_Member]

I added free shipping worldwide. As soon as I did, I sold an item...you guessed it...to an international buyer.

Good luck to all!
(smooch)
La La

[Former_Member]

Yes, yes, and YES!!!! I have 5 international orders to send out this week. For small things, it's usually under $3.

[Former_Member]

Thanks guys, I have added it and will see how it goes.

[Former_Member]

Does Paypal do international shipping? And the customs forms? Can someone explain this a little more?

Is there a way to apply the new Shipping rates to all of your listings rather than editing one by one?

[Former_Member]

I'm SO glad I happened to click on this thread. I know a bit about international shipping and have it but I was under the impression that first class international had it's cut off at 1 pound not 4!

I was using this chart: https://www.usps.com/send/first-class-international.htm?
Which stops at 16oz so I assumed that was the cut off. But I clicked on the downloadable price sheets at the bottom and sure enough.. It goes to 64oz Thanks!

[Former_Member]

Yes do...plus is kinda cool to know your art is all over the world :D