International Shipping Update
I’ve been talking with UPS and FedEx to see if I can set up better rates for shipping international packages. It is hard for small businesses to qualify for good rates because we don’t ship the high volumes required for special programs. I am in touch with some people who may be able to help though, and I will know more by the end of next week.
I used the freight forwarder Jim (see link in previous shipping post) to ship a package to a customer in Saudi Arabia. That package has arrived safely and the customer was pleased with Jim’s service, so that’s one for one so far. 🙂
UPS does have a calculator for computing Canadian duties, so I hope to integrate that into my site and resume shipments to Canada soon. I will work on that next week too.
I’ll have more shipping updates soon.
Laurie, thank you for all the effort you’re making in finding solutions. I really appreciate it.
I read about Canadian duties etc, and it seems that the worst of it is the brokerage fee by UPS, which may be avoided if it goes by air rather than ground. It’s crazy, but it may actually be cheaper to go UPS air to Canada rather than ground if it avoids those brokerage fees, even though the air rate is higher. As long as I stay below the IATA limits on alcohol quantity for the exemption to hazardous goods, I can ship FedEx/UPS air. So we’ll see how this all comes out. I have my fingers crossed. Thanks, Dionne!
Oh, I could rant on at length about brokerage fees, personally, I think they’re a bit scam. Especially when they charge brokerage fees on things that there is no duty on – so basically I’m paying for the company to do….. nothing. USPS is definitely the way to go to avoid those fees, but if they won’t ship, it’s quite the conundrum.
Yes, I’m sure it’s frustrating for Canadian customers because the brokerage fees seem ridiculously high. I’m seeing what I can do to avoid those fees because I realize they are not acceptable. We’ll see!
Dear Laurie,
That put a smile on my face 🙂 ! Look forward to the final update on the matter; my fireside intense sample (what an intelligent perfume) cannot last forever 🙂 !
Kisses from Greece xx
On 19 January 2013 20:23, Perfume in Progress
I did find an online service that offers printing of UPS/FedEx labels at a discount, and shipping to most places for a 1 lb package seemed to be about $45-50. That’s still really pricey, but better than $150. I will see if UPS/FedEx can do better for me.
The freight forwarder’s rates are much lower than that and I give free shipping to him, so that’s always an option too.
Glad you’re enjoying Fireside Intense! 🙂
Thanks! 🙂
Here’s hoping! It’ll be good for all of us if we can find solutions to this perfume shipping problem.