The cost of shipping domestically can get really expensive. Internationally?! Go to bed!! You already know the answer. International shipping costs can be outrageously, insanely, ridiculously high. We’re pretty sure it can cause physical pain thinking of the cost of shipping, not including the cost of your purchases, and still, after paying those fees, you might get hit with a customs fee. Now that the band-aid has been ripped off, let’s talk about how those shipping costs can be reduced. 

CUSTOMS

Proper documentation. Period, point blank. Not only will it help to either eliminate or reduce unexpected customs or clearance fees, it eliminates unnecessary situations from even starting. Providing customs declarations in your language as well as the primary language of the destination country can make the clearance process smooth and efficient. Making sure every item shipped is accounted for, properly itemized and correctly priced, no issue should arise. However, every country has different rules and regulations as well as different restrictions and limitations. One country may allow up to three leather items through, another might allow an unlimited amount of leather goods through, and yet another country won’t allow any goods made from leather/animal made material. Doing your research is essential when shipping internationally.

Personally, I tried to send my best friend a birthday gift, a beautiful custom made amethyst necklace while she was on a mission trip in Indonesia. Only to find out that precious stones and metals are not allowed into the country. At all! They gave me a few options, abandon the gift, or pay $250 to send the gift back, and I only had 10 days to make the decision before the decision was going to be made for me. What a waste, I was devastated! But, if I had researched their customs restrictions, this would have eliminated the whole situation. The blame can only be placed on myself since I was uninformed. I had to research country specific prohibited items and lo and behold several lists popped up. A 5 minute search could have saved me hundreds of dollars.

CONSOLIDATE

Reduce! Bundle! Consolidate! Eliminate any extra bulkiness or weight by reducing the size of your shipment. Consolidate as many items as you can into one box. This will wipe out the accumulation of the minimum charge for multiple shipments. Most mail forwarding companies offer consolidation at very minimal rates. Some charge consolidation fees by the item, most charge per box. The typical consolidation range is between $3-5, $5 being the most common.

Let’s say you have five packages, here’s a sample cost of how much a non-consolidated shipment could be.

  • Package 1 = $20.25 2lbs/1kg
  • Package 2 = $20.25 2lbs/1kg
  • Package 3 = $20.25 2lbs/1kg
  • Package 4 = $20.25 2lbs/1kg
  • Package 5 = $20.25 2lbs/1kg
    • Total Cost of Shipping=$101.25

Same five packages consolidated with the consolidation fees added.

  • Package 1 = $20.25 2lbs/1kg
  • Package 2 = $5.00 2lbs/1kg
  • Package 3 = $5.00 2lbs/1kg
  • Package 4 = $5.00 2lbs/1kg
  • Package 5 =$5.00 2lbs/1kg
    • Total Cost of Shipping=$40.25
      • Consolidation total=$20.00
      • Savings=$61.00

There’s a huge benefit to consolidation, the biggest being the amount of money you can save! It can be so easy to save money on shipping! With the added advantage of proper customs declarations, shipping internationally can be a cake walk.

US Delivered and US Global Mail are prime examples on how you can save BIG when shipping internationally! Check them out.