International Shipping Tips

With today’s technology international shipping is really not that difficult anymore, but there are some things you should know before you get started.

Research costs and companies – Just like shipping domestically it is important to research your shipping costs. A lot of companies offer free quotes, in fact, you can get a free quote from global forwarding here. Free quotes are usually very accurate if you fill out all the information properly. Once you have a few free quotes it is important that you research the companies. Just because one company is cheaper than the other, it does not mean you should use that company. Read reviews and make sure it is not a scam! Believe it or not there are a lot of shipping scams out there. As long as you do your research you should be able to avoid any scams and ship your product hassle free.

Customs Regulations – Every country has different regulations regarding import taxes and acceptable import products. So you should know all the regulations of the countries you will be shipping to. IT is standard practice for the customer to pay the import fees, so make sure that your customers understand this and list it in your FAQs section. You should also understand all the regulations regarding your specific product. Obviously animal, plant, food and chemical products are more likely to have restrictions then most products.

Insurance – Tracking and insurance on international shipments will most likely add a significant price increase to your shipping cost. Packages have a higher risk of getting lost in international transit, because they usually get transferred from one carrier to another. You should build sufficient leeway into your pricing so that you can replace the occasional missing package. Also, don’t be turned off if you think your international shipping costs are really high. International customers are well aware that they have to pay higher shipping costs, so don’t stress about it.