questions about doing business over seas.

[ramsies11]

there is a man in the netherlands that is buying a chainmail vest from me. my questions are: how do i safely ship the vest so i know it arrives and how do i get the money here without him putting it in an envelope? im looking at maybe seeing about a paypal account. i just kind of need somthing that if he pays me in euros, it will be converted into USD for me. and i need somthing that i can use repeatedly, because hes already talked to his friends about getting said vest in a couple months and now ive got an order for 3 more vests.

[Steve Sells]

dont forget who pays the duty on them vests... ask your accountant about Intermnational business

[Glenn]

Also ask about the VAT, (value added tax) and who pays for that.

[Jacques]

Ask the couriers. When I looked around a while ago they had all the information on what was needed for international shipping on their websites, including downloads of all the forms needed. Some even handled cash on delivery, but I think Paypal is the easiest.

[Ric Furrer]

Bank transfer is a good way to accept funds (my bank charges $15 to process). Once sent it takes a very short time to receive and there is no way for the sender to get that money back.
With credit cards and paypal they can lodge a complaint and the funds can be reversed.
International money orders are OK when they clear (some are fakes).
Western Union is OK as well, but they take a percentage as well.

In the end there is no free ride with international funds...one of you or both is paying for a service.

As to shipping
If it is light enough US postal priority or express is good. The express is trackable and they have to sign for the package (in theory).
UPS or FedEx or DHL all may work as well, but are more costly. They are paying for the shipping so they get input as to the service used.
However, have a policy that is clear about where your liability ends with shipping....if it does not arrive then will you send them another set? yes or no..they need to know the answer.
Sending ANY product without some way to track is foolish....thought tracking does not always work as advertised it is far more likely it will arrive or atleast be found if misplaced.


As to customs fees and such...mostly that is the responsibility of the buyer..they pay when they get the package as it is their government which is asking for the money for the sale. If is it below a certain amount it may be duty free on their side.
Do not lie on customs forms..state the correct value and such and make sure it is the same value on all the forms.

Be sure you are not held responsible for the legality of what they are buying...not really an issue with your mail shirts, but with blades it may be. You can take the money and send the product, but if their government says they can not receive the product...it is not really your issue. Have a policy in place for refunding the money or portion thereof if there is such an issue...your policy can be "no refunds", but the customer needs to know that upfront.

I just did a sale to Moscow with a bank transfer and US postal express. No issues.


Ric

[Steve Sells]

Of course there is the added problem that most countries will not honor a contract made by a minor, as minor has no rights to enter into such, by definition

[ThomasPowers]

You might want to talk with someone at DHL on international shipping. They should be able to tell you all the details and they should have a "help line". IIRC they are a german shipping company and so should be up on what it takes to get from here to there.

[pkrankow]

Paypal handles currency conversion near seamlessly.

Tracking and insurance are good ideas.

Taxes and duties are the responsibility of the buyer, but I don't know how they are handled. You declare the value of the goods on the paperwork.

Phil

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

I recently shipped some leather working stamps to Belgium through the post office. Inexpensive, and easy. They have all of the customs forms in the lobby. As for payment, he just put some US dollars in an envelope, and a 5 Euro note as a novelty for me. The shipping was under $20, so I wasn't sweating it any. I don't use PayPal due to their anti firearm policies, and how they treat some of their customers.

With all of the shippers, you can get an estimae of costs through their websites. For mine the USPS was byfar the least expensive, and I added tracking, and insurance.

[tzonoqua]

Just don't do what my mother did!! She sent me a box of my old toys to hand down to my daughter and put on the shipping form that they were worth $300 CDN, (they weren't actually worth anything, (old fisher price adventure toys) but she paid for insurance up to that amount) so when they arrived in the UK I had to pay duty on them!!!!

[JamesBBrauer]

I've shipped from the US to customers in Sweeden and Switzerland, using PayPal and USPS Priority Mail shipping. There is some risk involved, but I would rather assume some risk, than make buying something so burdensome that it never sells. But these items are under fifty bucks, so when I say risk, I mean a fairly small one.