International Shipping

[LynnS]

I am ready to set this up but have no clue what to do.I have my shipping set up for US and now I see for Canada too.Never have received a order from Canada. I had no idea it was set up for that country too.

I see the international chart on my website(shipping calculating) but have no idea what the cost would be.I do mostly shipping/mailing at the USPS.Do I get rates for other countries from Post Office. How do I fix this in my shipping rates and calculating for that or should it be weighed and then calculate shipping. I am sure they would like a ball park figure when they are ordering.

For US I do have a chart for a certain amount like $0-10.00 $5.00 shipping and so forth. But this international has me puzzled and I am sure I cannot use this rate for that. I think it will depend weight of the order?????

Any HELP Please for those who ship to other countries.

LynnS

[elfcat]

I do all of the shipping for my husband business. Because of the different sizes and weights I use the USPS website to set up the decide the shipping charges to each individual country. If you go the USPS Index of countries and localities it breaks it down by country, then has weight charts and restrictions.

I don't know how your website works but if you need an idea of what the charges are, it will give you a good starting point. You would not belive how much each country can differ in rates.

I hope this helps.

[LynnS]

Thank You.I will look up USPS International shipping.PO is only a mile so might check with Postmaster on rates. You say it is suprising the rates for other countries so it must vary alot.I was thinking of doing a flat shipping but since so many different shipping costs I guess it has to depend on the country.Still my favorite way to ship USPS is flat rate priority.Cannot go wrong with those.

I am sure it is going to be super high in cost. I just want that option as many have on their website. The PO where I live is in a small town(pop.1,000) but there sure is alot of shipping to other countries. I overheard a complaint about Canada. Seems the lady had to pay some of that shipping and the Postmaster said he had no idea what the problem is with Canada. Maybe she does a flat rate and pays a little of the cost to ship.I have done that.With the shippiing I have calculated is $11.00 and it is a flat rate shipping box of $12.95 I pay that difference.No big deal.

Thanks Again

LynnS

[elfcat]

I think if you can get away with flat rate for most things, that would be your best bet. When you get into other weights and sizes the costs vary considerably country to country. Only problem we have with Canada is when we send UPS. The customer has to pay "brokerage fees" on top of taxes and duties. It is a considerable cost to them. We also get a lot of people who ask us to lie on customs forms so they can avoid taxes and because we deal in expensive antiques that are insured at our cost, we won't do it.

[grama]

I was doing shipping to Canada and had an order and what my shopping cart figured was one thing but when it was all over with it cost me an arm and a leg. Didn't make nothing on that order and it wound up costing me more than the order. I took it off. Only ship to the states now. I use UPS

[hellen]

Hi,

I'm an Aussie and I buy a lot from the States. I prefer the flat rate boxes. Suppliers usually tell me how much of whatever I want to buy will fit into the boxes available. I email them what I would like and they work out the most effective box for it. Of course, this doesn't apply when buying heaps of moulds etc

Cheers

Hellen

[gloworm]

I have a few international customers. I find that they are very knowledgeable and usually tell me how to proceed in the best way for them. My lady in Australia prefers flat rate boxes as they are only 37.00 to her. I usually forget how I sent it to them the last time and they refresh my memory. LOL. I love getting the orders when they know just what they are doing. Yesterday I got one and she only ordered FO that I can send international, reminded me to use a flat rate, totaled the order and let me know she would send money via direct transfer to save me paypal fees. Now that is a customer you just gotta love!! Also our post office is very good at giving me shipping charges to other countries when I call them.

Glo

[LynnS]

THis has been helpful. I know now what to ship in flat rate boxes to the states. I have been working with how many to get in and of what. That way I can say I get 16 8 ounces candles and shipping is $12.95 with the LARGE flat rate. Cannot go wrong with that. With the small flat rate I get about 8 8 ounce candles. After mailing some tarts in the small flat rate I found that the PO gives you small padded envelopes and you can mail those.I up my tart cost a little to pay for that mailing. BUT at least now I don't have to go to Wal Mart and buy padded envelopes.

I am going Monday to PO and talk to the Postmaster. I want to have my act together before I set shipping up for International orders. I looked on my shipping page of my website and still cannot figure it out. I need to find out rates first. IMO.

Last few days I have finally been putting my scent list/descriptions on my site and also added a couple more candles. Would love to change the look if it isnt too hard. Ready for lots of changes.

LynnS

[LynnS]

Also to me it seems that MOST of the orders from other countries are for SUPPLIES.I do not sell supplies but someday hope to. Mainly scent and wax.

Do some buy candles,tarts etc or interested in the lower cost of supplies. The US does have alot of suppliers with great price when it comes to buying supplies. When I think international orders I think those buying supplies????Something I want to work on later.

Any help with that? Are International orders mostly supply orders??

LynnS

[Burned Out]

Hi Lynn,

I ship a lot of International Orders, and I agree with the others that have posted that the Flat Rate Priority Mail boxes are great!

The same Flat Rate Box can be used for either US or International orders. The Flat Rate is also the same no matter where you are shipping to across the globe. They now offer both a small and large Flat Rate Box. There is a 20lb max weight limit for the small Flat Rate Box going Internationally, though.

If what you are shipping weighs less than 4 lbs and is in a small sized envelope or box, you can actually send it at the Airmail Letter Rate which is extremely cheap.

www.usps.com has free calculators for both US and International shipping based on zip/postal codes if you want to find exact rates instantly. It will show you the Airmail Letter Rate, too. And you can order the free Flat Rate Boxes and have them sent to you for no charge if your Post Office doesn't have them in stock.

If you ship candles only, it's fairly uncomplicated. If you ship liquids, though, there are strict regulations. You won't be able to ship any liquids with a flashpoint of less than 200 degrees Farenheit. I ship Linen Sprays, and had to rework the formula to have a flashpoint above 200F to use the Postal Service.

HTH! :smiley2:

Bo