International shipping is a complicated process. It would be best to consider many factors when planning your international shipping, and it’s not always easy to find out how much shipping costs before you order something. Some products have a higher shipping cost than others, and it's hard to figure out where the extra money goes. If you think this happens frequently, then you’re right. In fact, a study has found that almost 50% of all international buyers are dissatisfied with their purchases because they don't know what the real shipping cost is. That's why we've created this guide to help you understand everything before deciding to purchase something from a foreign country.
How to save money on international shipping?
If you want to save money on international shipping, you need to do three things. Start researching your desired product online or through a manufacturer’s website. Please buy it from a retailer with the lowest price. Use a membership-based shipper like MyUS to send it to you without worrying about customs and VAT charges. 1. Research Your Product Online Some products don’t have online pricing, so you’ll need to go to the manufacturer’s website and find a purchase link. Many manufacturers have a specific US site, so you’ll need to look for a US address on that site before searching other vendors. Look for the country where your product will be sold, and choose the nearest Customs Area Code.
Customs clearance and duty tax
Duty tax or customs clearance is the fee charged by the importer (like the post office) to customs before sending the package to the destination country. Most countries (USA, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, France, and Germany) charge customs fees of about $5-$10 for each shipped package. So, shipping costs of $10-$20 can cost anywhere between $30-$60. If you use the cheapest shipping option and find your package being detained by customs, you'll end up spending over $100 to ship your product. You can check the online customs calculator and find out what this might be. The time it takes to deliver is different from one country to another, and it primarily depends on the regulations of the country the products are shipped to and the content of the shipment.
Transit time for international shipping
Transit time refers to when a package needs to stay in customs and go from there to the actual seller. If you order something from a big e-commerce website with lots of sales, it will take up to 3-4 days for the package to get to you. Some sites, like Amazon, ship worldwide in 3-5 days, but they will charge you for faster delivery. It’s much more likely that you will get your package faster if you order from smaller e-commerce websites.
For example, I recently ordered some shirts from ShirtPick.com. They were cheap, but they didn't have good reviews (none at all, actually). But I was willing to take a chance, and I was happy to see that they came super fast, and I got them within 2 days.
Generally, shipping a package internationally will arrive from anywhere between 6 days to 30 days. Some packages from China can take 30-45 days, but they offer you free shipping services (e-packet shipping service).
Translating the delivery address
One of the most common questions we hear from customers is correctly translating an order's shipping address not to raise suspicions. Firstly, we recommend you contact your bank to understand if any international fees apply to your package. The best way to find out is to contact your bank if it's the same bank as your local bank. If it is, you can receive your international shipment from your local bank and pay any fees for shipping. On the other hand, if your local bank doesn't give you any benefits like that, it's probably best to have your international shipment shipped from another bank (a correspondent bank). Once you've received your package, you'll need to ensure that you can send the package overseas.
Exchanging payment methods to get free shipping
International shipping costs can vary dramatically depending on where you live. Before considering how much it will cost to send your product, consider whether you can switch your payment method. Thanks to the modern internet, it's possible to ship your goods to any country in the world, at a low price. If you're planning to ship overseas, it’s a wise idea to consider switching to a more economical payment method, such as e-wallets. We suggest using Amazon for any item, as it’s the most popular place to shop online, and you can get free shipping with a standard shipping option. But be aware that Amazon charges customs and duty tax on all of its items, regardless of whether they're shipped to the USA.
Accepting PayPal as a payment method