Non-Greasy lotion bars

[DeeAnna]

"...have you all found ways around customs opening the package? ... I’ve been told to declare that it’s worth less than $100 in order to avoid having it stolen...."

Nope and nope.

You can't prevent customs from doing what they need to do by lying. And you can't prevent stuff from being rifled or stolen by lying about the value or about what the items are.

My advice, having shipped a fair bit internationally over the years, is to just be honest and straightforward. You don't have to write War and Peace on the customs documents, but don't lie either. Just be brief, factual, and correct. If it's not a gift, it's not a gift. If the value is over $100, then the value is what it is.

If your buyer or the recipient encourages you to fudge the customs paperwork, remember -- the lies are for the benefit of the buyer/recipient and all the risk is yours. The buyer/recipient isn't the one filling out the paperwork and signing their name to it -- the shipper (you) is. I will cancel an order rather than misrepresent a shipment.

***
The least expensive way to ship internationally is via USPS, especially smaller shipments like I think yours is. The fee you get charged up front is the total fee you pay as the shipper. The customer may pay additional customs fees, but that's going to happen no matter who is the carrier.

USPS, FedEx, etc. can be considerably more expensive for shipping, although for some shipments there may be no other alternative but to use one of these carriers. Unless the recipient agrees to pay all shipping costs, these carriers will charge the shipper up front for the shipping cost, and later they will charge the shipper a brokerage fee for routing the shipment through the proper channels. The shipper won't know the amount of the brokerage fee until after the fact. Sometimes this fee exceeds the cost of the actual shipping cost plus the cost of the product being shipped.

 

[shunt2011]

I'm with DeeAnna, I would never fudge paperwork. You are ultimately responsible, you are shipping it so you are responsible for doing things correctly and according to all requirements. I haven't shipped overseas in many years but not worth the risk of getting caught and possibly getting in trouble.

 

[KathrynS]

"...have you all found ways around customs opening the package? ... I’ve been told to declare that it’s worth less than $100 in order to avoid having it stolen...."

Nope and nope.

You can't prevent customs from doing what they need to do by lying. And you can't prevent stuff from being rifled or stolen by lying about the value or about what the items are.

My advice, having shipped a fair bit internationally over the years, is to just be honest and straightforward. You don't have to write War and Peace on the customs documents, but don't lie either. Just be brief, factual, and correct. If it's not a gift, it's not a gift. If the value is over $100, then the value is what it is.

If your buyer or the recipient encourages you to fudge the customs paperwork, remember -- the lies are for the benefit of the buyer/recipient and all the risk is yours. The buyer/recipient isn't the one filling out the paperwork and signing their name to it -- the shipper (you) is. I will cancel an order rather than misrepresent a shipment.

***
The least expensive way to ship internationally is via USPS, especially smaller shipments like I think yours is. The fee you get charged up front is the total fee you pay as the shipper. The customer may pay additional customs fees, but that's going to happen no matter who is the carrier.

USPS, FedEx, etc. can be considerably more expensive for shipping, although for some shipments there may be no other alternative but to use one of these carriers. Unless the recipient agrees to pay all shipping costs, these carriers will charge the shipper up front for the shipping cost, and later they will charge the shipper a brokerage fee for routing the shipment through the proper channels. The shipper won't know the amount of the brokerage fee until after the fact. Sometimes this fee exceeds the cost of the actual shipping cost plus the cost of the product being shipped.

Thank you for putting perspective on this. You’re completely right. This has gotten uncomfortable for me at this point. I’m just going to ship it with correct info, and it is out of my hands at that point, thank goodness. It will no longer be my problem, I’m going to quit worrying about it, it is what it is. If it gets messed up, it’s not my problem. I won’t ever EVER do this again!

 

[Chris_S]

I'm not saying this caution applies to your situation, @KathrynS, but I thought I'd mention it just in case -- There are scams out there that involve people placing orders for B&B products or soap to be shipped overseas. The maker ships the product in good faith, but never gets paid.

Saw a you tube video with a women ranting on about this while she made soap she got an order to send to Holland and she is in America she said she researched it and the scam she has read about they get paid then they claim through whatever company the payments sent via and they say they never arrived so the seller is forced to repay the money or it is frozen in the account or something along thise lines and she actually worked out before she even made the soaps that it was a scam and ended up spotting and reporting credit card fraud and turns out it had been stolen. Just thought i would add that incase it sounds like what the op has experienced with this order hope not but good to make people aware 9f such scams with more detail

 

[DeeAnna]

@Chris_S -- You raise a good point, but we already touched on the scam issue. What the OP is doing isn't related to a scam -- see Post 7.

@KathrynS -- Yes, import/export can be an uncomfortable process. I've done enough low-value exporting to have figured out what has to be done and how, but that doesn't mean I don't worry about it. There are few protections for shipments within one's country, but even fewer for shipments outside the country, especially since package tracking isn't reliable in some countries, even today. (Canada, UK, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia are all pretty good about updating tracking.)

That said, I have learned the vast majority of my customers, within the US and outside its borders, are straightforward, honest people. They do their best to work with me if trouble comes up. But shady people are out there and shady things happen from time to time, so a person has to keep that in mind.

 

[Chris_S]

@Chris_S -- You raise a good point, but we already touched on the scam issue. What the OP is doing isn't related to a scam -- see Post 7.

@KathrynS -- Yes, import/export can be an uncomfortable process. I've done enough low-value exporting to have figured out what has to be done and how, but that doesn't mean I don't worry about it. There are few protections for shipments within one's country, but even fewer for shipments outside the country, especially since package tracking isn't reliable in some countries, even today. (Canada, UK, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia are all pretty good about updating tracking.)

That said, I have learned the vast majority of my customers, within the US and outside its borders, are straightforward, honest people. They do their best to work with me if trouble comes up. But shady people are out there and shady things happen from time to time, so a person has to keep that in mind.

Sorry i was sat in my car on my phone so hadnt read everything through properly

 

[DeeAnna]

No problem, Chris! I've been there done that too. It's hard to remember all that's been said sometimes. And the scam thing is a serious problem that's worth warning people about.

 

[KathrynS]

So the package is officially in the hands of UPS. I did everything correctly on my end, and the guy at UPS told me that customs is almost sure to go through it. So she might not get the items I forgot to put the net weight on, or maybe that will be ok, or maybe the whole thing gets sent back but whatever I am done with it now! From now on, I’m sending to the person who ordered it from within the USA, never international again. This is too much!!

 

[KathrynS]

"...have you all found ways around customs opening the package? ... I’ve been told to declare that it’s worth less than $100 in order to avoid having it stolen...."

Nope and nope.

You can't prevent customs from doing what they need to do by lying. And you can't prevent stuff from being rifled or stolen by lying about the value or about what the items are.

My advice, having shipped a fair bit internationally over the years, is to just be honest and straightforward. You don't have to write War and Peace on the customs documents, but don't lie either. Just be brief, factual, and correct. If it's not a gift, it's not a gift. If the value is over $100, then the value is what it is.

If your buyer or the recipient encourages you to fudge the customs paperwork, remember -- the lies are for the benefit of the buyer/recipient and all the risk is yours. The buyer/recipient isn't the one filling out the paperwork and signing their name to it -- the shipper (you) is. I will cancel an order rather than misrepresent a shipment.

***
The least expensive way to ship internationally is via USPS, especially smaller shipments like I think yours is. The fee you get charged up front is the total fee you pay as the shipper. The customer may pay additional customs fees, but that's going to happen no matter who is the carrier.

USPS, FedEx, etc. can be considerably more expensive for shipping, although for some shipments there may be no other alternative but to use one of these carriers. Unless the recipient agrees to pay all shipping costs, these carriers will charge the shipper up front for the shipping cost, and later they will charge the shipper a brokerage fee for routing the shipment through the proper channels. The shipper won't know the amount of the brokerage fee until after the fact. Sometimes this fee exceeds the cost of the actual shipping cost plus the cost of the product being shipped.

I went with UPS just at the insistence of my husband. I simply declared everything accurately and I am done. If she has to pay extra fees to get it, that’s really not worth me taking a risk on my end. I got tired of fretting about it and just did it the right way and that’s that.
Thank you SO much for making me aware of the real risks involved. I’ll never do this again!