Kristi - it really isn't that bad. You can always go to the USPS site to calculate the international shipping so you know what to charge. I always make sure that the international buyers use priority international mail and that they purchase insurance - just to cover my tushie. If you do decide to do this, make sure that you put in your auctions that international shipping takes much longer. If they want to pay that much to receive your item. then why not sell it to them?

Its only $2.00 to ship to Norway?

Kristi I dont think it will be 2.00, check 1 ounce at USPS if it is just a piecing it would be cheap, but I recommend using Priority flat rate shipping envelopes, as priority shipping does show delivery confirmation and usually tracking, I can tell when it has left the country etc. With first class mail I cannot. Flat rate envelopes in 8x10 size are about 12.00 now I think. Now first class would be much cheaper, but I always try to consider the value of the item I am sending.
Anything over 4 pounds HAS to go priority. Anything under can go either way.
You must have a customs form, small green and white for first class, and large multi copy for priority, unless you use a priority flat rate envelope and it is under a certain weight. If you have any questions I would be happy to help.
Michelle
Ask Me about The Frugal Crop Shop

Michelle

I doubt mail cost to Norway would be that low.

Here is an example ~ I checked, honest injun

Norway ~ 3 oz letter size envelope, but RIGID is 2.74 first class.

I am assuming it would be for one of your little bears & you would add cardboard as protection, making it non bendable.

International shipping is OK, you just need to check UPSP website as the cost to other countries varies. But, for a paper piece such as your bears, you MIGHT cover to almost any country for about $5.00. You would probably not be able to get any sort of confirmation at that rate.

The best way is to go to USPS.com and find the country you want to ship to. You need to know the weight and it will give you the rate. First Class International is the lowest rate. I ship all over the country and have had pretty good success.

International shipping IS a pain. I did it and I quit. Even if you figure the shipping thru the USPS site, it's not always accurate. They add charges for this or that, or for some reason the package didn't qualify for the shipping I selected. So sometimes actual shipping cost more and sometimes less. And it was a pain to constantly try to figure the shipping costs for every country out there.

Also, you are not covered with Paypal Seller Protection if you can't get online tracking. And you can't get delivery confirmation on a package going to Norway or any other country. You MIGHT now be able to get delivery confirmation to Canada--can't remember. But if you take the time to ship internationally, your buyer can make any claim to Paypal and get all his/her money back. So you lose the item and your shipping costs.

I'd say forget it. It's too costly and too risky. And for a 2.04 item, it's really just too much work.

Birth of a Butterfly

I shipped my first International order to Australia about a month ago. I was a little leery too. The customer was very understanding and told me not to worry if the shipping took a long time. It only cost me $2.00 and got there in 8 days! It takes longer than that for me to get something to California...go figure?

Pam

We've had some nightmare experiences with shipping overseas. Canada has been no problem. The problem with shipping overseas is that you are not in control of customs or the international mail system. Even if you make them purchase the insurance, they still ding your feedback, They say they understand it takes longer to ship, but they still ding you on shipping. We always ship within 24 hours, but we've had shipments take 2 months. We have actually lost money due to having to refund to protect our feedback. So we have stopped international, except for Canada. It's not wirth the hassle.

Linda
ECBE08 Design Team Leader
MSND LOT CO Leader

Linda Westfield, IN (317) 525-6505 ecbedesignteam@yahoo.com ECBE Design Team Leader

It cost around 13 dollars to ship her a premade paper bag album. Smaller items were alot less. JEN ~MSND LOT

Jennifer Beard

That is good to know...it helps hearing from a buyer in another country. Thanks for your input. I think I'm going to give it a try and change my settings so I can accept international bids. JEN ~MSND LOT

Jennifer Beard

Additionally, it is a complete gamble to send to countries that do not use the Roman-based letter alphabet. For example can the post office and postal carriers in Asian countries even read the address on the envelope? While the educated in those countries can sometimes read English can the low-level civil servants? Because of this, I have stopped shipping to Asia because of issues with several countries in Southeast Asia. That said I think I have had less than a handful of problems shipping to a variety of European countries.