International Shipping 1 1

[Claudio]

I have not shipped internationally in years.  Does anyone have advice?  The buyer wants to pay through Paypal and I think they require tracking.  However, it appears I would need global priority for tracking and that is like $100.  How do people usually handle this?  Is there another option?

The buyer looks to be legit.  He has quite a few pieces up on CAF.  He is in Italy. 

I did a search for "International Shipping" but I didn't find anything.  Sorry if this topic has been discussed before. 

[Carlo M]

I am based in Italy and have received art from all over the world with no major problems for many many years.  Obviously you have customs to go through so as sender you will need to describe the item and put a value on it.  For items for less than USD100 there will be no additional work to be done and the item should go through directly.  For items over USD100 there will be some minor paperwork to be filled out to the shipping company by the receiver.  Typically an email confirming item description and value.  Then the receiver will need to pay VAT and duties when they receive the parcel.

I would recommend Fedex as they have their own customs agent and the last mile locally, so the process is a bit quicker.  USPS uses the local posts as agent both for customs and final delivery and they tend to be a bit more cumbersome, but nothing major.

Cost is typically around USD100 (indeed Fedex tends to be higher), plus VAT and stamp duties.

Please note that for items of value the receiver should  be able to claim VAT for arts to be applied, which is 10% as opposed to 22%.

Feel free to PM me privately if you need more info.

Carlo

[AnkurJ]

FedEx is safest but not cheap. It’s ghe only way to guarantee a signature whixh my insurance policy requires for transit items.