How to Use International Shipping

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By Johnathan Martinez
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Use International Shipping

With the rise of the internet and global commerce sites like ebay and Amazon, international shipping has grown tremendously. Prices have also fallen quite a bit on international shipping rates in the past 10 years due to the world wide web.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Step 1

international shipping rates can vary

**USPS**

The United States Postal Service makes it easy to ship internationally by working with most sites like ebay and Amazon and offering free boxes. You can make a free account online at USPS.com and order free boxes to ship with. I suggest getting a few flat rate international boxes but the rate is sometimes higher than it would be if you used a non flat rate box so get both. You can print postage online with USPS.com's click and ship service. For international shipping there is one customs form where you'll have to enter the cost and weight of each item in the box.
Step 2

**Paypal**

This is the easiest way to ship internationally because most of the information is already there. If you sell through ebay and get paid through paypal, just go to your recent activity in your paypal account and click print postage. You don't need an international box but be aware if you have a flat rate box or not. The great thing about paypal is all you need is the weight of the box if it is a USPS box from step 1. Enter the date and information and click pay and print. You print the postage and customs form right on your computer at home.
Step 3

shipping international

After you've printed out the customs forms and click & ship postage, it is a good idea to put the forms in a plastic bag. If you go down to the post office they will give you little bags made specifically for international shipping customs forms. Put the forms, with the actually postage form on top, and tape them to the box. It is a good idea to buy international shipping insurance because it is relatively cheap compared to the costs of losing something.
Step 4

With Stamps.com or USPS, you can arrange a postal pickup for free or you can just go down to the post office and drop it off. The reason I suggest going down to the post office your first time is to make sure everything is right. They also can give you the plastic bags for the forms. International shipping can get complicated if you've never done it before so it can be comforting to have the post office tell you it's OK.

Comments

myusshopnship said

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on 10/9/2009 make it easy for yourself..just sign up with myusshopnship.com and they handle all your international shipping needs with the best prices!