If you’ve had to ship internationally before, then you’re probably aware of the fact that this can become very expensive, very fast. The truth is that you don’t really need to worry about shipping costs anymore and that’s because we have come up with a few tips that can help you save money on this. Take a look below in order to learn more.
Imports
One of the first things you need to when it comes to shipping stuff internationally is that you need to check what can be imported and what cannot be imported in the destination country. Where can you get this information from? Well, you just need to go on the customs or embassy page of the destination country and you’re going to find all the info you need about this there.
Customs forms
Another thing you need to bear in mind is that your international customers don’t really want to pay customs fees and they’re certainly going to be very upset if this happens. In this case, it’s best that you mark down the cost of the item they have purchased and also mark it down as a gift. This way, when the item arrives in the destination country, the customs offices there won’t charge them any fees for it. However, you are also required to write down the type of merchandise you are sending and if you don’t know what to write, then just stick with candies and toys.
Don’t use courier services
One of the biggest mistakes that a lot of people are making is that they use courier services, such as DHL, FedEx and UPS, but the thing is that while they do indeed deliver your package in a set timeframe (based on the type of delivery you selected), they’re always going to charge the person receiving it a customs fee, including any other import or customs fee that are applicable for the purchase. As you can imagine, your customers are certainly not going to be very happy about this, so that is why you need to stay away from such services altogether. Instead, opt for freight services, especially if you’re sending out large packages.
Last but not least, you should consider negotiating with the shipping companies you’re currently using. This is certainly going to help you get a much lower shipping rate (with discounts of up to seventy five percent), based on the sales volume you have every month.