Tip Share :: International Shipping

Posted by Brandi Hussey on 4/03/10   |   Categorized as Etsy Tips,For Sellers

Share |

Sea Pod Coral, sterling silver and copper ring

Sea Pod Coral, sterling silver and copper ring

Last week was Euro Week (http://www.etsy.com/storque/etsy-news/etsy-goes-euro-euro-week-2010-7319/) on Etsy, so let’s talk about international shipping.

I’ll admit that I had no idea what went into shipping internationally when I opened my shop; being in the United States, I never had a need to do it till I started selling. But it was a good move and I don’t regret it. Why? Because being willing to ship internationally opens up the entire world as my potential audience, and now my jewelry is being worn in places like Australia, Norway, Ireland, China, Singapore, Thailand, and Brazil. Some of my best repeat customers are in Canada, England, and Greece.

Having made friends with loads of international sellers, I get their pain. How would it feel to fall in love with an item and go to buy it, only to find that seller won’t ship to you? This is important to remember: The majority of international buyers aren’t going to convo you for rates. They face this scenario all the time, so they will simply leave your shop and not come back. International buyers are like any buyer – they have money to spend, and they want to spend it with you. Let them.


Zoe And Bruno

I know the idea of shipping internationally is a little intimidating, especially if you have never done it before. Here are a few tips:

* Know your product, and understand what can and can’t be shipped to where. Each country has particular restrictions and prohibitions, so spend some time on the USPS website viewing what individual countries allow and what they don’t (http://pe.usps.com/text/imm/immctry.htm). A note for handmade jewelry sellers: A lot of countries restrict or prohibit the import of “jewelry”. While this can be confusing, they consider “jewelry” to be fine jewelry that is valued at thousands of dollars. This doesn’t refer to handmade jewelry, which the USPS considers a “craft” (much to my chagrin).

* Invest in a postal scale. It doesn’t have to be the most expensive scale, or even a digital one. I went to Office Depot and bought an old-style, non-digital 2 lb postal scale for $15.00 (it’s been dead-on every time). These work great for lighter items, but what about heavier ones? Shop around at office supply stores, warehouse stores, and online for a bigger scale. Having an accurate postal scale not only helps you estimate shipping costs, but it also means you can also use print-at-home services (like Paypal Shipping) for domestic orders and some international ones (Paypal shipping allows Priority International and Express International, but not First Class International).

All About The Beads


* Spend some time weighing your items WITH the packaging you intend to use. This will give you a better idea of how much each package weighs, what the range in weight is, and what to charge for shipping costs.

* Please don’t overcharge on shipping. This is truly a plea for all locations, not just international ones. Frequent online shoppers are pretty savvy; they know what is a fair shipping price and what isn’t. And if your buyer happens to be a seller as well, then they definitely know. So, like all things, be honest. If it’s a hassle to get to the post office, then that needs to be factored into your item price, not the shipping price.

* Research shipping costs. The cheapest way to ship is via USPS First Class International, assuming that your items aren’t huge, super-heavy, or weird-shaped. Go online to www.usps.com, plug in different weights, choose a couple different destinations, and see what the costs are. Generally speaking, as long as your items are under 4 lbs, it can go via First Class International. What if your items are heavier? You can’t help that, so take a chance and quote the actual shipping cost for Priority International; let the buyer decide if they want to pay it – you may be surprised.

North Star - sterling silver pendant with labradorite


* Customs Forms: you need them. If you’re sending anything that can have a duty on it upon arrival, or can be taxed, you need a form. I use Customs Form 2976, which is required for First Class International packages; it has a green label on the left and a white form on the right. I keep a stack of them right next to my packing supplies, and I fill them out at home to save time at the post office. This form asks for basic information: your name and address, the ship to name and address, the weight of the package, the cost of what’s in it, and what’s inside. Here’s a chart from the USPS detailing which form is needed based on the type of mail service: https://webapps.usps.com/customsforms/helppickaform.htm

I understand the fine print at the bottom of that USPS page to mean that anything that has been bought and sold can be considered potentially dutiable by the country it’s going in to, so, every international order of mine requires a customs form. Contents are marked as what they are, as is the price. Buyers, not sellers, are the ones responsible for paying any customs fees, and I never mark orders as a “gift”, because it isn’t.

* International packages have to be taken to the post office because of the customs form. This is probably where a lot of people hesitate – they don’t have a lot of time or may not have the ability to get to the post office every day to ship. All I can suggest is to see if there’s a post office near your office building, or what the weekend hours are for your neighborhood post office. If you can only get to the post office once a week to ship international orders, say so in your shipping policies. So long as you’re clear about when you’re shipping, most buyers are willing to wait an extra day or two if they know ahead of time. There are online, print-at-home mail services that include the customs form in their postage label (Paypal Shipping is NOT one of those services), but those are monthly subscriptions and you have to pay a fee to use them.


……….


It’s not difficult to ship internationally, and I understand the hesitation in taking that on, but I have to say that it was the smartest thing I’ve done. Without offering international shipping, I would have lost out on a lot of sales. So, if you aren’t shipping internationally, why not consider it?


Tawaret Pendant with Sterling silver and Peridot

Still have some questions or want some more info? Check out Go to Great Pane’s shipping info post (http://www.gotogreatpanes.com/blog/shipping/). It’s chock-full of good information.


I originally posted this on my blog (http://brandi-girl.blogspot.com/2010/03/tip-share-international-shipping.html), and thought it would help the Handmade Spark readers. So, let’s hear it – do you have any shipping tips you’d like to share?

  • http://www.shopmissmalaprop.com/ Mallory – MissMalaprop

    Thank you! This is just what I needed to hear! I just opened up my new online shop, and I don’t have much experience in international shipping. My shopping cart is set up to do more accurate shipping calculations based on weight, but I haven’t had the chance yet to weigh everything and set that up yet, but it’s definitely on my to do list. I want a more accurate shipping method so folks have more options. (I create a flat shipping rate to begin with, just to get things started, but I’d like to change that soon so there are cheaper options.) It’s harder when you’re carrying things that have lots of variation in size and weight, but I think it’s worth it to accommodate your international customers as much as possible.

  • http://www.ubervu.com/conversations/handmadespark.com/blog/tip-share-international-shipping/ uberVU – social comments

    Social comments and analytics for this post…

    This post was mentioned on Twitter by newsaccess: Tip Share :: International Shipping http://bit.ly/b6Ij5J...

  • http://kskdesigns.blogspot.com/ Kim

    Thank you so much for this post! I’ve just decided to add International Shipping to my shop, so this couldn’t be more timely for me. I’ve been really looking forward to being able to accommodate non-US customers, but have found the idea a bit overwhelming. With some valued help from other sellers I’ve recently met and this useful article, I now feel a lot more confident about the whole process!

  • http://www.hapagirls.etsy.com Elan

    Thank you for some great advise on International shipping! I do ship internationally but at one time was ready to discontinue offering it as I had 2 packages I had to replace. However, I did some research and found a company that would insure international packages at a low cost. If I (as a seller) am going to have to replace my handmade and One of a kind items at my own cost, paying the extra dollar or two is so worth it!

  • http://www.lindabutterfly.etsy.com linda

    This article is, of course, written from America about shipping to countries outside America!

    I live in England. I ship “Internationally” which for ME is shipping to America.

    I feel this article should have been addressed to all Etsy sellers, about shipping from their country, to other countries. Remember Etsy sellers live in Israel, Europe, Hong Kong, Canada and Australia.
    Etsy is an International concern.

    Two years ago when I joined Etsy I was horrified by the general attitude I found amongst American Etsy sellers; they all but refused to ship internationally and I spent a great deal of time trying to persuade them it was easy and not frightening. Many of them were simply indifferent, which was a shame.

    Many Americans get their packages collected by their postman. That never ever happens in England; we have to queue in a post office or make items small enough to go in the English postbox.
    We can print out postage online but STILL have to drive in the car and take a packet to the Post Office if it will not fit the postbox slit. We don’t have huge bins to post into. I’ve seen them in America, used them, and they are nothing like our boxes.
    So, we weigh our item, go to the online post office site, add the address, enter the weight (in grammes, as we use SI units) and print off the address label. We add a customs form and an airmail sticker, write “Small package” and post it off.

    As 98% 0of my customers are from America, and my cards and art are a regular weight, it is easy and vital for me to post internationally.
    It is vital for all Etsy sellers to realise the world is your market.

  • http://brandi-girl.blogspot.com Brandi

    Hey Linda. You’re right, this article is written by an American (me) for Americans. Having lived only in America, and never having shipped from outside the US, I can’t really speak to what non-US sellers have to go through to ship — I just flat out don’t know.

    The international sellers I’ve made friends with are familiar enough with shipping to anywhere. This article was to encourage US sellers that international shipping isn’t scary. I’m sure that non-US sellers could probably benefit from an article about shipping from their particular country, but I don’t know enough or have enough personal experience to write that article.

  • http://catswire.etsy.com Cat

    Hi Linda, I’m from Germany and shipping procedure seems to be about the same here as in the UK which is very interesting because I never had thought much about shipping in other European countries before.

    When I started selling, shipping internationally was something that I had to get used to first. Of course I had shipped gifts before, but I didn’t know anything about customs for example.
    I wish I had found an article like this one for my country then.

    It’s great of you, Brandi, to motivate US sellers to offer international shipping. More than once I was turned off not only by the fact that I couldn’t get an item, but also by the way some sellers told me they wouldn’t ship internationally, even if I knew that it was nothing personal.

  • http://www.cafeamericaine.etsy.com Lou Ann

    One other important tip for setting prices for international shipping: there are pretty much only two tiers of prices for international destinations from the US — Canada and Rest of the World.

    If you know your item weight in its package, then go to USPS.com and calculate shipping for Canada. For Rest of the World, pick two or three other countries, maybe one in Europe and also Australia and maybe one in Asia (such as Japan). You’ll see they are all very similar in price, so that will help you set your price for other countries, without having to individually look up the postage for each of 100 countries.

    Also, do what Elan suggested, and look into 3rd party insurers who will insure your First Class International packages even though the USPS won’t. Keeps the overall cost of shipping down when you can offer First Class International, and you can still insure yourself for losses.

  • http://www.gardengatedesigns.etsy.com Rosemary

    Thanks for the great article. Even though I already ship Internationally, I still learned a couple of things that I did not know. I do a lot of International shipping and it is fun and pretty reasonable. My husband always takes my packages to the post office for me as he works from home and its convenient for him. Thanks Tim for the great article and advice.

    Truly,

    Rosemary, Garden Gate Designs

  • http://www.chipmunkhollow.etsy.com Jan

    I agree that shipping internationally is the way to go. Anyone selling jewelry or other lightweight packages can ship first class international, in some cases for the same price they pay in the U.S. I live about five hours from the Canadian Border and I can ship international first class mail to Canada for less then what it costs to ship that same package in the U.S. I offer free shipping worldwide and have had lots of international customers, particularly Canada.

  • http://www.klbaileyart.com/ Kirsten

    Thanks for writing this article – I’ve been meaning to write one myself for a while but from a different perspective. I’m a seller from Australia, and I love to buy on Etsy as much as sell (in fact most of the money I make on sales gets spent on things from my favourites list).

    I get very frustrated when I see an item I love but is only shipped to the US. I understand for some things (it’s very sad when I see yummy edible things and know they can’t be shipped here), but for most things there’s no reason why someone shouldn’t be able to post to Australia. I actually feel a bit insulted when I see US-only shipping – it doesn’t exactly make me feel valued as a customer. I click away from the shop, and I don’t come back.

    When I first started selling on Etsy, I wasn’t too sure about what to charge for shipping either. I put in some estimates on my shop, and waited for some sales. Some of my estimates were spot on. Some were a bit under – so I lost out on a few dollars. And you know what? I was so happy to have sold a painting that I didn’t mind. I adjusted for the next time and moved on. Sometimes I overestimated the shipping – I send a refund through Paypal to my customer for the amount they were overcharged, and explained why. It shows that you’re an honest seller who cares about their customers, and none of my customers have ever had a problem. Over time I’ve adjusted my shipping costs to where I think they should be.

    As an international buyer, I understand that shipping can be expensive for some things – it doesn’t put me off buying. I am put off by people who can’t be bothered to even consider there might be other people living outside their own country.

    As a seller (and in particular an artist), there is nothing more thrilling than realising that one of my paintings will be hanging on someone’s wall on the other side of the world – that’s priceless!

  • http://ArtSnark.blogspot.com ArtSnark

    Great article – you’ve really covered all the facts.

    It use Endicia for most of my shipping & they do print customs forms. Then I simply hand the package to the mail carrier instead of going to the post office.

    I’ve sold several small pieces overseas using USPS. I love knowing my art is hanging on a wall on the other side of the globe!

  • http://www.owlsomegifts.etsy.com Rachael

    Great tips! I was hesitant about international shipping, until I did it… then it was simple as pie!

  • http://beelightfulcreations.etsy.com Trish

    Brandi:
    Thanks for walking us through the process. International shipping is one of those things that I know I should do but I’ve been intimidated by the idea. Now – I’ll set that up this week!

  • http://www.handmadespark.com/blog/international-shipping-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/ International Shipping: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly | Handmade Spark

    [...] Handmade Spark blog post – International Shipping how-to (for US sellers) [...]

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=747606130 Betty Hendricks

    how do we let people know we will ship anywhere? betty.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_R4EJUX5QED4QNDI32MLQPARVAE Robert James

    Hello,
    Thanks for all the information and all your useful ideas. I really like the pictures you have put up as well.
    :)
    _______
    shipping boxes

blog comments powered by Disqus