International shipping

I spoke with the Post office lady today and shared the concerns I had about shipping internation. I thought it strange that Witchy Rachie hasnt been receiving packages because Id really love to do an international craft supply swap.
The lady at the PO told me that there are
* 3 ways to ship international~restricted sounds like the way to go? not sure
* it can take some time to get your package, witht he holidays here
* international shipping rates start at $20. this may be where the problem is? maybe some folks cant see spending $20 + on shipping?

Can anyone tell me about their experiences shipping international, either to us or out of.

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20 replies since 2nd November 2010 • Last reply 2nd November 2010

Reply #1:

I've personally never shipped an item out of the US but I have purchased items from out of the US. I had a DVD sent to me from the UK and I was very happy when I received it in about 2 weeks. However when I purchased another item from Canada I was really pissed off that it took over a month for me to receive. Canada is literally only 2 states away from me so that was really pathetic of the Canadian post office to take so long when the Royal Post Office in the UK took only 2 weeks. I actually annoyed the crap out of my mail man asking him about my package lol! I've also received shipping from Hawaii which is in the US but is... a bit away, and I received that in 2 days! Love the US postal service when you don't have an incompetant sender.

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Reply #2:

HA! i sent a letter locally and it arrived in about the same time a pagage sent to ky did?!

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Reply #3:

Postal services here (in South Africa) suck. It takes 3 weeks just to post a letter. I'm doing the newbie swap at the moment, and I don't even wanna know how long it'll take for my swap to arrive in Canada when I send it.. And it'll cost well over R200 (about $30)..

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Reply #4:

Oddbreed, are you in the US? I am. I never have problems shipping internationally really. And I've never shipped anything that's cost $20. I think the highest I've paid is $13 to ship a heavy box to Mexico (for some reason Mexico is one of the more expensive countries to ship to). I ship mine regular first class, always. Rachie is having trouble because she lives in Israel. Don't be scared of shipping internationally. I've had an Etsy store and have been swapping for about two years now and have sent hundreds of packages. I've had one package go missing from my end and one on the senders end. Give it a try and don't be scared. Swapping is fun and we'd love to have you join some!

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Reply #5:

Honestly, I think my problems stem from the incompetence of most Israelis--namely, the ones who are too lazy to do their jobs at the post office. Around here, if they don't bother sending a slip saying that the package has arrived, they will refuse to give you your package--even if you present your ID and can see the package right behind them, with your address and everything. They plain old refuse to do their jobs, which is where my problems come in. -.-

I sent 3 packages last month--2 to the USA and one to China. According to the tracking, they all got there successfully, although actually retrieving a package in China is, apparently, quite the same story as mine. ;)

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Reply #6:

Iam in the Us Kiddo...I specifically mentioned Isreal to the Po and she said alot of ppl were shipping there, whether the items made it or not? Im not concerned with the cost, should i be...LOL witchy rachie~Im shocked by your local PO and Im sorry, I wish i could hand deliver you a box of fabulous goodies! Iwant to internationally swap, i feel like im limited and i will miss out if i dont. thanks ladies

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Reply #7:

You're welcome. Don't let it scare you at all. Like I said, I've been doing this nearly two years and Rachie is really the first person I've heard of having major issues with the post. *hugs to Rachie* The only thing I worry about shipping internationally is how much it's gonna cost me (and it's really not that bad); I just don't have a job right now so even $3 is a lot to me. lol

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Reply #8:

I've sold alot of stuff on eBay over the years and often ship all over the world.

I have only had packages go missing UK-UK never UK-Abroad.

I never use tracking just bog standard shipping and I'd say 90% of the stuff I sent has been received within 2-4 weeks.

I can't really help with US shipping but I know that anything I've ordered from the US has never been lost.

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Reply #9:

I find that my shipment to the states take forever-Canada post sucks

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Reply #10:

I always ship internationally-I live in Serbia.And only one of my packages got lost (unfortunately Rachies package to Israel) but everyone else keeps receiving my packages.So don't worry about it! Happy
My only concerns are that I never know how much it will cost to send a package.Even when I send the same weight and size to the same country the cost variates.
And I don't know why,but there are two ladies working at the post office and I noticed that I always pay less with one of them!When the other lady is working I always feel like I got overcharged!its weird...But now I just go and check who is working first and if its the "cheaper lady" then I send my package.If its the "expensive lady" I just walk out the door and come back the next day. Happy I know it sounds silly,but even Joci noticed the difference in the price and the ladies!

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Reply #11:

@Violetta, sounds like one of the ladies might be making some extra cash for herself! lol

@Michelle US/Canadian post has gotten better, but it's still like shipping a package to Europe and it's just right across the border! Mexico/US shipping has to be the worst! It seems like it takes forever for me to get a package from Ale or Omar and vice versa. I think it takes longer to get one coming into the US from Mexico though. I'd say customs really takes there time with Mexican/US packages b/c of drug smuggling across the border.

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Reply #12:

Wouldn't surprise me about the drug smuggling.... and also, I find it ironic that Violetta and I had problems shipping to each other--neither of us ever received our packages!! Happy It was the weirdest. O.o Now that I see that my packages are being successfully sent to various countries, and remembering that Violetta also has issues with her post office, I have to wonder if we are getting ripped off by people who recognize our names and know that there are goodies inside!!

Also, Oddbreed, you are sweet. Happy It would be nice, I'll admit, to actually receive a swap, but I suppose it isn't the end of the world..... and yes, I'm going to try calling the Jerusalem office sometime today. There's a good chance, also, that it is their fault. Sometimes they just decide not to deliver packages. It's really stupid.

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Reply #13:

I've shipped internationally from the UK to Heather C in the USA without any problems. I think it took around 2 weeks, so obviously it's longer the posting something within the same country. It only cost me something like £6.15/£6.25 which is like $9.92/$10.08 ish. Which I don't think it's too bad when you consider the distance it's travelling Happy

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Reply #14:

GUESS WHO HAS A PACKAGE WAITING AT THE POST OFFICE?!?!?!?!?!?!!?

;-P

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