Posting to other countries

I learned this after a potential customer enlighted me (with a healthy dose of pleading, too ). Now I'm happy to ship Global Priority Mail to anywhere it goes. It's only $4.00 and those sturdy envelopes will even hold a small bubble mailer inside. I was happily surprised when the gal at my post office told me this. As long as the mailer can be sealed, it can be shipped. Easy!

I'm always happy to ship internationally. Why is it that folks would choose NOT to ship internationally?

Tink Rent-A-Tink Info via snipped-for-privacy@blackswampglassworks.com Latest Work is here:

THANK GOODNESS! *grin*

Do you have to go to the post office to mail it?

I currently do not ship internationally, but would love to if I don't have to go to the post office everytime. Any tips and tricks would be appreciated. I ship to canada when asked.

I have the SLOWEST post office in the world. I have waited an hour with only 3- 4 people in line and 4 tellers. With my 2.5 year old.

I think some people don't realize how easy it is to ship internationally. I know I used to think it would be really complicated and shipping rates, money exchange, etc. Not so.

PayPal does the conversion, I believe and like someone else said, USPS envelopes are free and flat rate. Of course, I do specify that I only accept US funds, US money orders, US checks and PayPal. I hope that doesn't sound so ethnocentric (is that the right word?) but my financial institution won't accept anything else.

Most times you don't have to do a customs voucher because of the weight of a package. I know for China it is 6 oz before you have to do the customs forms. I have always shipped worldwide.

Beside credit cards which I don't have, the easiest and cheapest way for me to pay for US orders is a CDN postal money order in US currency. Some sellers can change them fast and easy but some told me they are charged to do so. That limits my purchases...perhaps a good thing for my wallet.

Denise

"Lori Greenberg" a écrit dans le message de news:OGcpc.758$H snipped-for-privacy@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...

I know. It's funny how old ideas cling on for so long. With the advent of the internet, the world has become amazingly small.

I love PayPal. I know some people hate it and complain about the charges, but that's just silly. If they take credit cards any other way they pay a surcharge to the cc company too. I'm lucky that in the UK I can send US dollars or UK pounds to sellers with no problem. It's not ethnocentric to ask for funds in a form you can use. As it is, PayPal makes that so simple I don't understand why more people don't use it.

A number of auctions I have on my watch list are unavailable to me simply because I'm in the wrong part of the world. *sigh*.

Ah well, there are SO many nice beads from artists who do sell internationally I'm sure I can make up for the pain.

-Su

I don't know, sorry. I think you can get the envelopes in quantity for free at the post office, and if you put the correct postage on them which is a flat rate, you should be able to mail them from anywhere. Perhaps someone in the US can answer this for sure?

Sounds like our village post office! On pension day there's a line out the door. At least you don't have early closing days. On Tuesday in our village you might as well forget getting anything done after 11am!

I've been reading through the USPS website, you can get things like 'carrier pick-up' for free. Check out this:

-Su

vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from "empressbeads" :

]Do you have to go to the post office to mail it?

TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE if it weighs under 12 ounces, you don't have to go to the counter. anything over, and you do.

----------- @vicki [SnuggleWench] (Books)

I ship anywhere in the world where I possibly can, but I am going to state right out that there are totally valid reasons som others might not.

1. you can ship domestically without having to actually go stand in line at the PO. It can take an hour at my local PO, not to mention travel time, to get a package shipped, and some folks just can't get there regularly.

1. Delivery confirmation and insurance are far more costly ( difference) if you ship internationally, yet buyers usually don't want to pay the difference. AND YET, they often blame the sender if things go wrong with their package!

2. Customs, customs, customs. Buyers will often ask, or even demand, that you falsify customs forms, but in the US that is a Federal crime with huge fines. Some people choose to decline international orders rather than deal with it.

You would be surprised how many pe> I've seen so many eBay auctions for beads that only post to the US. It's a

vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from Kalera Stratton :

]I ship anywhere in the world where I possibly can, but I am going to ]state right out that there are totally valid reasons som others might not.

all valid reasons - and some i'd forgotten!

you and i must be the only night owls tonight!

----------- @vicki [SnuggleWench] (Books)

Go to the next post office. I know when I had a slow one, I'd just drive a mile or two or even more to save the time my slow PO would cost me. It was so worth it. I still do this -- I drive across town, and it's so, so much faster. ~~ Sooz

------- "Those in the cheaper seats clap. The rest of you rattle your jewelry." John Lennon (1940 - 1980) Royal Varieties Performance ~ Dr. Sooz's Bead Links

You still have to go to the post office... thats the biggest obstacle for me, too, but I have it worked out so that I go *really* early on Friday mornings after dropping 2 of the 3 kids off at school, and the line is not so bad. I have a supply of envelopes and customs forms, and I fill those out at home before I go.

I've seen people get really mad about people who won't ship internationally, but having to go to the PO is a genuine obstacle for some people. It works for me, and I wouldn't want to limit my market, but for someone with young kids, no car, or physical disabilities, the extra revenue might not justify the difficulty.

-Kalera

I was just reading the website (thanks Su!) and I am definitely going to try dropping it in the Express box next time.

I have always thought you had to go to the counter for any international mail, but I will be happy to NOT do it anymore! I love the idea of handing it to my mail carrier, but the odds that I will be able to catch him are more or less nonexistent.

-Kalera

If the item is dutiable, you are supposed to declare it regardless of the weight.

-Kalera

On Sat, 15 May 2004 17:43:51 -0400, Kalera Stratton wrote (in message ):

I don't sell anything, but if I did, going to the post office would be a huge limiting factor. Our post office isn't handicapped accessible, isn't going to be renovated (historic landmark or some such) and has exactly two handicapped spots, which are usually taken up by postal trucks. (Post office was built long before there were cars, and our streets aren't laid out for auto traffic)

The next closest post office is in a mall, and is marginally doable. It's further than the docs want me to drive, though.

Considering how many people I know that are into beading and also have disabilities, I'd bet that the "US only" limitation is a hurdle than can't be easily overcome.

Kathy N-V

My postal carriers told me I didn't have to fill out the form. This is one other reason why some folks won't ship internationally. There is conflicting information available. Sigh.

I time my trips to the PO carefully too. And if worse comes to worse, I'll stop at the UPS store instead. They'll send anything with US Mail services, but with a small surcharge. Still if I'm going one way and not the other, it's worth the extra 20-30 cents (sometimes more) to me.

My local PO is only 4 miles away, so most times I just ride my bike. Almost makes the exercise worthwhile.

KarenK