International shipping...

[hex65000]

I've had to do this a little bit, and I rarely worry about packages sent to Canada, but a recent purchase from me has the box going to Germany. I already plan to well armor the box against abuse -- that's the easy part. The hard part is what is my best option for shipping the box out to the buyer that balances cost with speed and tracking (if possible)? Are there duty concerns?
I'd like to get this handled over the weekend so he can have his shipping total in the near future. Thoughts?

Hex.
[ I'm embarrassed by my lack of preparation. :( ]

[videogamedomain]

Yeah, I do more international than Id like to and it can be costly and scary.

There really isnt a "cheap" way to do it and if you want tracking and insurance then the price doubles/triples.

The problem is a non insured item has no tracking and leaves you wide open to the old Paypal chargeback.

I have not had it happen yet but I would never send a high dollar item uninsured.

Standard item for a pound is usually around $10. To upgrade to insured priority its like $25.

I am hoping someone else has a better way but this is all im aware of.

[ronclon]

Honestly, I use first class international for pretty much anything that weighs less than 4 pounds. You can't get tracking unless you get it registered which is too costly. I have actually never had a problem yet doing this. Once I do I will reconsider how I do things.

Of course if you have an expensive item then you should probably just go ahead and use priority to be safe.

[brucebidder]

I insist on buyers contacting me first before purchase. I will ship first class if the item is under like 50 bucks and the user has a good feedback count, whether here, ebay or AA. Priority for anything over 50.00 or for items to newbies.

There is no cheap way around it but if someone wants it bad enough they gotta pay...