Posting items internationally

[Bops]

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]

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]

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]

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]

On a plus note my £400 iten sent to Norway via international siged for turned up today. I'm a very happy bunny

[pearlescence]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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?