Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Shipping

I wanted to add a note about shipping...

I only use the US Post Office for shipping. I use Priority Mail so that people will get their packages fast and also because the boxes and envelopes are free and convenient.

After your purchase I create a shipping label and Paypal automatically sends an email confirming that the package is on its way. And the email provides the delivery confirmation number. Once in a while paypal has a glitch and doesn't send an email right away but usually it does.

Generally the post office provides very good service and delivers in a speedy fashion. I lose very few packages per year and considering how many I ship I am very pleased with them. There is no real tracking for Priority Mail however...the delivery confirmation number SOMETIMES shows progress but often only shows a change AFTER the package is delivered. Don't ask me why, it's a mystery but that's how it works.

International Sales:

Where it gets trickier is for international orders. The only way to get tracking and to insure the contents of the package is with Express Mail. But Express Mail costs between $25 and $35. Since very few people wish to pay that much to send a $50 tool I usually just make it Priority Mail for $13 which is still expensive but that's what it costs.

Since International orders leave the US postal system I have no control once they leave the country and Priority Mail International packages cannot be tracked. Luckily very few get lost but I have a slightly higher rate of loss than domestic orders. Unfortunately I cannot be responsible for lost orders overseas, therefore foreign buyers are taking a risk on delivery I'm afraid.

One other thing, please do not ask me to lie on the value of the contents. It is illegal to misrepresent the value of the items being sent and I will not do it.

2 comments:

Alex 'J' May said...

Thanks for the clarification! I assume that should an international customer want an order to be shipped express, even with the extra cost, then that's something that can be arranged and billed to them.

I'm thinking especially with regards to the one of a kind limited pieces. Should I ever win one, I'd hate to lose it en-route!

Peter Atwood said...

If it's something more expensive such as a knife then I will go to the Express Shipping option automatically. But yes, if someone would prefer Express Mail then please email me during the sale or add a note to your order and make arrangements.