Best way to post from UK to USA?

mere girl

mere girl

O.G.
Aug 12, 2008
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717
#1
Hi - i have an interested buyer in the USA (I'm in UK) who has asked me the cost of postage. I generally don't send overseas but she is a very active TPF member!
I have had a quick look on the royal mail website and it seems their 'airsure' is a quick reliable method although it doesn't provide a signature confirmation. I think ebay require a signature confirmation just in case anything goes wrong? I have tried to find info on this on here and found .....
" The only way to get full tracking and signature confirmation is to use a courier, which for a standard bag could be as much as £80... "
Is it really this expensive?
Could anyone kindly give me any info? I really want this transaction to be totally watertight as I am a little bit peeved with the ebay situation at the monent!!! The bag is quite heavy - but would be less than 2kg. Any help would be appreciated! many thanks x
 
#2
having another look on the royal mail website - international signed for up to 2kg seems to be about £30 - but tracking only within UK? Approx same price as airsure but maybe a little longer to deliver. What do ebay require - i don't want the bag to go missing and find myself unable to claim!
 
#3
With Airsure, you get confirmation of delivery, and I'm pretty sure they told me at the Post Office that it requires a signature the other end.
The tracking 'only in the UK' bit means that it is only scanned in the UK, so you can only follow it's journey step by step until it leaves the country - after that, you only can see when it has been delivered, if that makes sense?

I've sent things to the US before and used Airsure, had no problems so far (touch wood!)
 
#4
thank you for your reply! it seems to work out at around £30 tho most sellers seem to list international posatge at about £15. I suppose I can agree to refund the buyer if this difference is significant!
 
#6
I've used Royal Mail International Signed for on several occasions and have always been pleased with the service. Whilst you can track its progress online until it departs from the UK, I seem to recall that you can also track it once it's arrived in the US by entering the same code into USPS. As long as your item is not over 2kg, your costs should be under £30 and you will be fully covered with insurance up to £500. If your item has a greater value, you cannot use this service and costs escalate big time. Hope this helps.
 
#7
I never ship Airsure as you only get 'confirmation of delivery' and not a signature which is needed to be covered by Paypal's seller protection for items over £150.
I always ship International Signed For for items under 2kg and so far (touch wood) have never experienced any problems.
 
#8
thank you everyone for your replies - very much appreciated! The initial seller seems to have lost interest but I may add this option to my listings now (as business is slow!)
 
#9
I much prefer international signed for to airsure...airsure seems to take longer and of course there's no signature...although the PO tell me that it's the best way to go !
 
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