Put in your text that shipping will be determined later, with estimated cost choices depending on location. Overseas shipping is always a True Cost later proposition that most buyer should understand. Sometimes not using the Flat Rate boxes for small items can be more cost effective. They are a convenience to figure cost, but sometimes can be more costly for light items.

I have received a lot of packages from the U.S and Europe. Sometimes , it's hard for the shipper to understand, that the person receiving the shipment, if they have been the recipient of a number of shipments , knows more about shipping than they do. The seller pays for it and sends it, the buyer is the recipient of the results-----and then , if things haven't gone well, the seller is the recipient of the flack but the buyer is the one who first hand experienced the shipping. What I have seen , after over a thousand packages, is: that those people selling and sending items, become defensive over time, looking for more and more expensive ways to cover their butt( to the detriment of sales) , when they should become offensive, looking for better and better ways of shipping. securely and inexpensively.

Here are some rules.

International insurance is a waste of money. Insurance companies , require proof of fault. Good luck. There will be multiple parties, handling an international package: at least two postal companies, customs agents, airplane and other shipping companies, possibly contract workers, unionized workers. You want to make a claim, when none of them are responsible?

Use the post office if at all possible. They are just as secure as any of the other options( possibly moreso) and they don't revue every package at customs. The packages go on a belt and then are selectively removed for customs revue. Large, heavy or high declared value items get priority. Many items will breeze through without a notice. ALL packages shipped through shippers other than the post office are cleared through customs and there is a brokerage fee, possibly duty, possibly taxes, clearing fees----you name it. Want another 50.00 in fees on a 100.00 item------use U.P.S. or the like. There will be variances from country to country but this is a bad, likely scenario.

Tracking is really great when you need it but how often do you need it? In over 1000 shipments, I have had 5 lost. 95% of my shipments have been through the post office and 2 of the lost( subsequently recovered) items were with U.P.S. and 2 of the ones lost through the post office were settups. I paid for the item and shipping and , then received very weird messages about either notification of a lost item or a bunch of valueless insurance claim forms were sent( not by protocall). In all cases the tracking was useless.

For small ,under 4 lb. items, First Class Intl. is the way to go. It is priced low, by the ounce and is cheap. There is no tracking but the chances of losing an item through that form of mailing is virtually nil. I have had 500 or so of them in the last 10 years( letterpost before) and all but one has arrived and that one was fake-----it was never sent. Small packages used to be called letterpost----because they are usually shipped with letters and still are. There are no huge heavy boxes to crush small ones, just little boxes to crumple letters. The package will arrive as fast as a letter----often faster than flat rate or priority packages and safer. The reason the posties tell you it will be 4-6 weeks is because they want you to buy more shipping, an expensive expedited shipping, with useless insurance tacked on----4 day delivery with tracking. First Class from the U.S. to Canada is about 8 days

Flat rate boxes only make sense for heavy items. For light items they are a ripoff----use First Class. The dimensions of the boxes are retarded anyway----shows the quality of management and designers the post office attracts.

When making a declaration----keep it as low as possible----anything reasonable.... 10.00, whatever can be justified.. There may be a percentage tax at the other end , if customs revues it. Declare all items as .......parts. Don't put Vintage Cymbal on the declaration; put....parts for percussion instrument. There are thieves in the system.

I think I have forgotten a couple of important points----maybe later.

Thanks for all that Calf,

The P.O. Got on me recently,as I was filling out the Customs form as just "used drum parts for drumset".....they said I had to be more detailed.....

"Used Premier drum parts for bass drum" etc.....

.thing I hate about shipping 1st class.......as there is barely any tracking...what if he says he never got it?...At least with Flat Rate...I can show it got there......

On ePay...you can only specify 1 service...one or the other...Flat Rate or 1St Class etc.....wish they would give you a few options so the customer could choose!...That would be WAY better....

If you are shipping to overseas just use first class. You get automatic tracking with the customs form, it's better tracking than the USPS tracking anyway and it's free. You can ship a small item for like $6.

+1 to Mutant Mozart. The point about the customer, claiming that they never got the shipment is always going to be valid. There just are those sorts out there. If it was a tracked item, they might likely file a grievance anyway----not as described or defective or something else because that is their game. Tracking has been imposed on us because , primarily ebay wants security for their system---not yours.

One way around that , is to offer paypal with tracking OR cash( 99.9% of the time , if properly concealed---YOU PROVIDE CONCEALMENT INSTRUCTIONS, it gets there---I used to send Euros to Europe,all the time, without a hitch, instead of direct deposit ,until I got XE Trade), OR personal cheque, or postal money order ( shipping after clearing) for non-trackable items.

Until I discovered XE Trade, I used to send Bank Drafts, to the U.S. and Europe, if the person did not have paypal( still do sometimes). Here's the deal; I pay for bank services but if my balance is 5,000 or more( sometimes that didn't work out), I would get those free. Part of that service is free bank drafts. For the U.S. , the draft was through my bank and Wells Fargo. It was identical to a certified cheque, or cashier's cheque---guaranteed funds and depositable at no fee anywhere but directly cashable at Well's Fargo for no fee.

I had a terrible problem with these. The level of paranoia, over such a simple financial document was extreme. All I asked was that the person wait until the document was guaranteed as cleared and then shipped. I face d a hailstorm over this because they were unfamiliar. It is important that the seller be flexible but secure.

I think most banking institutions have such a system. They are very good. There is just time involved, to authorize security.