“They don’t ship to (my country), so they lose the order.“
That’s the message I saw recently on Twitter from a person in Germany who wanted to buy a gift basket in the U.S. for shipping to Germany.
I don’t know why this person didn’t order directly from a local source. Perhaps the gift was for someone originally from the U.S., or maybe the gift basket was more suited to the buyer’s preference.
Since there’s no way to know the reason, let’s focus on why many of you here in the United States don’t ship beyond its borders.
Reasons I’ve heard are:
I’ve also experienced shipping problems. An order placed in 1997 for a baby gift basket that was shipped to South Africa never arrived. It was mailed through the U.S. Postal Service, and I had to complete lots of paperwork to compensate me for the gift’s value, which was insured for $100.
I’m not sure, but I think that my claim hastened tracking, because within a month a battered and severely beaten box arrived on my office porch. It was a frightening sight. The box wasn’t on my mind that morning, so seeing the crushed cardboard made me think that someone dumped garbage on the platform.
After a quick inspection I realized that the gift basket had been returned. Thankfully, the contents were still intact, and I could take everything apart for re-assembly in another gift (no perishables included).
This was not a fraudulent order, but I did have to refund the customer minus the shipping cost, which could not be refunded because there was plenty of proof that the gift had been shipped. In addition, my refund policy stated that shipping is not refundable in case of returns that are correctly addressed.
Since this incident, I’ve shipped numerous gift baskets outside of the U.S. Customers must pay a higher fee for international shipping through my preferred carrier, and I also go beyond charging a credit card, finalizing other tests before the design work begins.
How do you handle overseas shipping, whether in the U.S. or another country? If you’re not shipping elsewhere, what would convince you to start?
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Too much risk – we will forward to a foreign country, but too many of the packages we have tried to send have been delayed in customs and arrived late, been taken apart by customs or the abused beyond belief in the shipping process!
Great, great point, Lise, and what a shame that this has happened.
Customs’ problems in today’s high-security environment is one that seems impossible to solve.
Lise, I’m so glad you shared your experience
Who else has views, questions, and advice about country-to-country shipping?