Postal Letter

best way to ship international packages cheaply?

I have a small buisness selling vintage clothing on ebay and I have been using usps for all my packages. However..since most of my customers are overseas, I try to make it as cheap as possible but I am getting stuck sometimes with disputes since shipping FIRST CLASS does not offer tracking or insruance or even confirmation of any sort. Senting priority mail is rather expensive and not worth losing business over. Shipping priority for even 1 item at 1 pound is 32 bucks! Does anyone know of a better method? I looked up rates at ups and fedex...they are even worse! over 80 bucks. Thanks for any help you might have.

Public Comments

1. thru the airport
2. Your best option for shipping -even though it isn't perfect- is the US Postal Service (USPS). The limitations that you describe (no insurance, no tracking, etc) is often times more related to the country that you are shipping to than the USPS. Many countries (Africa, some eastern European) are challenging to ship to because they often times don't have the infrastructure to support reliable shipping methods. The cost you see from USPS, FEDEX, UPS reflect not just the cost of getting the package there but also of dealing with the issues that come with dealing with these countries. The only other viable international shipper is DHL (www.dhl-usa.com) but I think you'll find that they're pretty close in price to FedEx and UPS. All that said, USPS does offer a flat rate box for International Shipping that can be cost effective (not cheap). I have shipped a number of items internationally and have found that while they're not cheap, USPS offers the most cost effective and reliable solution. My best advice is to make sure that you outline your shipping terms and conditions very clearly. People need to understand that international shipments offer no insurance, no tracking and no guarantees and that they should bid accordingly to this risk. To help protect you with eBay you should always keep copies of your shipping receipts as proof of shipment (scan them if you can). It's not going to solve every problem you encounter, but at the very least you'll have record that you shipped in good faith. What happens between your location and the buyers is out of your hands.