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Bops
27-02-2014, 02:20 PM
Hi,
Does anyone have advice on the best way of sending jewellery internationally? I recently obtained a stockist in Asia and sent my first order through with Royal Mail Airsure for £9. It did not arrive and I am in the middle of processing my claim (but am not optimistic of getting any compensation).
I have sent my second order by Parcelforce for £70 but combined a few pieces together. I won't always be able to do this and can't afford a £70 delivery fee for individual items. I was wondering what the best way is of sending jewellery internationally without risking it going missing. Also, what do you list your items as on the description and do you put the correct value down? My most recent package was worth £1500 to me in wholesale value but I was nervous putting this on the form. Is this an irrational fear or do others under value their work when posting it?

Dennis
27-02-2014, 05:18 PM
There is another thread above, which shows how members are struggling with this problem. Your best bet is to use another carrier entirely. Dennis.

pearlescence
28-02-2014, 08:05 AM
Ask the person in the other country which is the best deliverer in their country - it does vary according to who has the best network and the best customs etc operation.
Check such companies as fedex. dhl, ups.
If you underdeclare you will get the value you declare in case of loss, and you are making a fraudulent declaration for customs purposes

Gemsetterchris
04-03-2014, 06:01 AM
Not intending to be negative, but have you been to meet your "stockist" in Asia? are they legit?
I`ve had emails from far flung places wanting to buy lots of stock (one even wanted to set up a direct debit account) & to be honest, I just don`t trust this is a good idea.

Sending within EU is a different matter, I`m starting to get a little more work from the UK without problems...so long as receiver is notified of a parcel on route. I`ve managed to track things from other countries postal websites in the past.

Alot of horror stories emerge about lost parcels, but really the truth is it`s not bad at all considering the volume of parcels in transit...of course, where & who to can make a big difference!

medusa
04-03-2014, 02:22 PM
On a plus note my £400 iten sent to Norway via international siged for turned up today. I'm a very happy bunny :)

pearlescence
04-03-2014, 04:01 PM
I would be no more nor less suspicious about people from Asia or America or five miles up the road. Be sensible and not gullible. If you want to expand into selling overseas then use your head. Find reputable people to deal with either by recommendation or general word of mouth or by finding them on the net and poking around a bit to see what their reputation is like (study their website, does it make sense, is it owned by them and for how long has it been registered as a domain. How many other domains does the person own)- it isn't hard and the bogus and con merchants are generally pretty obvious. Most people in Asia are as honest as you or me and there is a big demand for recognisably English stuff (unfortunately I deal in pearls which come from there)

Aurarius
04-03-2014, 08:51 PM
I would be no more nor less suspicious about people from Asia or America or five miles up the road.
Whilst I applaud your impartiality, the fact is it's easier to scam someone at a distance and get away with it than when they're only five miles up the road, and this will always load the dice against dealing with remote business partners. I have family connections with a certain far eastern country, and however much I love the country and am familiar with its language, the comparatively unregulated nature of business over there and the practical difficulties inherent in working things out at such a distance if things go wrong discourages me from entering into business relations even with companies whom I have reason to believe I can trust.

Animalnutty
27-05-2014, 09:27 PM
I know this thread is a month or so old, so may not be relevant now to the OP, but I used Airsure a lot last year, only a few times this year so far, and didn't have any problems with them (touchwood) found them really quick and reliable and easy to track.

You may have just been unlucky and that is going to happen at times, whatever method we use unfortunately. Hope you found a good solution :)

10k
26-06-2015, 12:41 AM
It was 2010 or 2011 when I shipped international and I used a register letter. It depends on the value and I know that many people use parcelforce so you should be fine with that option.

Edhelien
19-09-2015, 06:46 PM
Hi, I would like to reopen this thread.

How do you send expensive jewellery internationally?
I use Royal Mail Tracked and Signed as standard option and Interparcel express (UPS) as expedited (2 days delivery to USA for approx. £20, not bad).
But now I need to send items above £250.

Maximum compensation for Tracked and Signed is £250 (and you all know they never give you that).
Packages over £270 require CN23 instead of CN22, which is larger paperwork and certainly draw attention to the package.
I am afraid postal workers won't accept package with declared value over £250 even though smaller insurance would be requested.
UPS and most of other couriers do not allow jewellery over £250.
I think DHL and Fedex are exception, but they are very expensive (£40 or more) and then of course Parcelforce for ridiculous £60.

Any ideas?

Dennis
19-09-2015, 09:31 PM
The possibilities were not exhausted above Anna. have a browse here:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=high+value+international+courier+service&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&gws_rd=cr&ei=PtP9VbHmFoT7UPHwltgB

And good luck with it. Dennis.

Edhelien
19-09-2015, 11:56 PM
Thanks Dennis. I don't want to look as I haven't researched it, because I've actually spent at least two or three hours on that already.
Most of the search results are just telling me I can't send jewellery with them or that it is excluded from compensation. Others don't have usable online quote.
I just don't believe I am the only one in need of this service.
Or are all other people just under-declaring value and sending with Royal Mail?
Luckily this time it is order with more items, so I can split it in two tracked and signed packages.

Edhelien
20-09-2015, 12:32 AM
This is interesting from Transglobal Express:
http://www.transglobalexpress.co.uk/information/dangerous-and-hazardous/jewellery-and-watches/

Quoting UK to USA, TNT express for £25.80 is business to business only, DHL is almost £40, TG express or TG international would be good option for those with depot nearby, with collection it is approx. £33.
Maybe this is helpful for someone.

Lucie
20-09-2015, 12:03 PM
Sometimes it's the country itself / customs that's the problem rather than whichever postal service you choose.

Australia prohibits the shipping of Jewellery / Precious metal items from overseas.
Prohibited products are not permitted in the mail under any circumstances.
http://www.royalmail.com/australia

You usually have to declare the contents of an internationally shipped package.
This means that a package could be confiscated by customs in Australia who would not forward it to the customer; return it to you, or honor any postal insurance.

Any UK post office should be able to give you a list of countries with similar regulations.

ajda
20-09-2015, 12:38 PM
Australia prohibits the shipping of Jewellery / Precious metal items from overseas.
Prohibited products are not permitted in the mail under any circumstances.
http://www.royalmail.com/australia.
The Royal Mail's list of prohibited imports does not tally with Australian authorities' own list - https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Impo/Proh - where it appears that the only jewellery-related items to have "restricted" status (not necessarily prohibited) are diamonds. Reading about it in various discussions on eBay, it seems a number of people have take this up with the Aussie postal service and customs authorities (who apparently confirm that jewellery is not prohibited) and also with the Royal Mail (who apparently neither respond nor alter their guidance)... so who knows what's really going on?
Alan

pearlescence
20-09-2015, 01:13 PM
Remember if you use RM to declare only the wholesale value for insurance as that is all they will pay out, and then only with proof that you spent that amount. And that is after they treat you as a fraudster they have just detected. Nothing for labour nor profit. Now remind me why I generally avoid royal mail

Wallace
20-09-2015, 10:01 PM
Remember if you use RM to declare only the wholesale value for insurance as that is all they will pay out, and then only with proof that you spent that amount. And that is after they treat you as a fraudster they have just detected. Nothing for labour nor profit. Now remind me why I generally avoid royal mail

I have had a looooooonnnnnnnggggg discussion with Royal Mail on such a point. I was advised by them that they do in fact cover manufacturing time. I will be liaising with them again this week and shall again broach the subject and see if another person answering provides yet another answer - much like this Aussie issue. I thought though, it was precious metals and stones that are prohibited. That is on their list, ergo if the jewellery is made from precious metals, it cannot enter. Maybe I misunderstood???

enigma
20-09-2015, 10:50 PM
I haven't had any issues shipping to Australia?

Dennis
21-09-2015, 02:03 AM
I would discount verbal assurances and follow the small print.

Companies will happily take your money, but will not necessarily compensate you in case of loss.

Royal mail list prohibitions for Australia here: http://www.royalmail.com/australia Dennis.

ajda
21-09-2015, 06:29 AM
I thought though, it was precious metals and stones that are prohibited. That is on their list, ergo if the jewellery is made from precious metals, it cannot enter. Maybe I misunderstood???
My understanding of the Aussie position is that bullion and precious stones are prohibited, as is cash, though not all jewellery per se. Royal Mail simply list all jewellery as prohibited, but the US postal service make a clear distinction - http://pe.usps.com/text/Imm/ab_012.htm . The problem for us remains if RM refuse to accept or insure jewellery - even though it's not actually against Aussie regulations. I will continue to send smaller items where I'm happy to take the risk of being uninsured, describing them on the CN22 correctly as "metal chain and pendant", "metal bangle", "glass beads & metal findings", etc. I've heard of coin dealers describing theirs as "numismatic items".
Alan

Lucie
21-09-2015, 10:17 AM
I do have a friend who posted a gold watch to Australia that never arrived. It was confiscated, so they would neither deliver it to the recipient or return it to sender.
Although a lot of people seem to post things without difficulty, I've never wanted to take the risk.

Edhelien
22-09-2015, 10:04 PM
I shipped to Australia in August, it arrived in one week (5 working days!), no problem.
I know about the restriction, but always thought it applies to bullion and gemstones only, as others said.
I always write real value (purchase price) in custom declaration, but declare only £50 (as default) to RM for insurance. No problem with that, except one post office which I don't use anymore. I sometimes declare more (£100) when I feel I would be able to prove it as wholesale value.
I am quite ok with the risks for orders bellow £250, but I am worried about higher amounts (mainly because I don't want to use Parcelforce).
90% of my international orders go to USA (and it is approx. 2/3 of all my orders). Most of them is in £100-200 range, but as I've started to use gold more often, I feel I need to find a solution for more valuable items.

pearlescence
23-09-2015, 07:09 AM
I shipped signed for to aus yesterday with no probs. Put metal components on the declaration and the correct commodity code for silver findings