Skivvie NIX is a monthly women's underwear subscription service (product weighs about 0.11 lbs with a value of $17USD /mo).
We are currently only set up for delivery in the US however, we have been receiving a lot of interest from the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Our site uses a recurring payment widget which ONLY allows us to sell at a price in which the tax and shipping are already included in the price. That being said, we could either set a price for each country or have a flat shipping rate across the board.
USPS - $12 flat rate (But no tracking number)
Recognized carrier - $25+ (guaranteed to reach destination w/ tracking number)
Hello, I am not too sure on the US postal services. But 1 option could be to find a fulfilment partner in the regions you are looking to target and ship a box of your best selling lines (via recognised carrier) and then when the sales come in fulfill locally.
For example in the UK, the package you have, would cost as low as 0.65p ($1.20) to ship standard post, if you wanted it tracked then you would need to add an extra £1.20 ($2.50)
Thanks
Sam
What is your site built in? Do not make business decisions based around a shipping widget!! They are easily replaceable - get a new one.
When shipping internationally you need to think about 3 things - tracking, shipping fees and duties.
A. No one wants COD charges at door. Have to figure out how to build them into cost
B. Never send USPS - its sucks internationally and takes double time they claim, especially to Canada. The lack of tracking on any package does neither you nor the customer any good
C. Flat fee including duties is always better no one will order a $17 dollar item if it cost $25 to ship! Need to look at how you can set minimum order size to make the math work for you and the logic work for buyers
Interest in your box subscriptions doesn't mean you should play there. Your margins are too small to pass that cost onto the customer - because they are potentially paying more for the shipping than they are for your subscription box. That's a special set of undies! I would suggest spending more time on setting up a local operation where you can really compete on localized and contextually relevant value creation throughout the supply chain... instead of thinking about how to scale your business outside of the U.S. when on the face of it, there are simply no economies of scale in play at that price point.
There are several things to consider here. You will need a customs invoice and possibly a declared shipment value form. Which shipper provides more information and accessibility to these forms? Also, which shipper has an easier claims process? *For example USPS requires the US shipper to complete the claim, but also requests photos of the damage. This means you might have to get the customer involved just to complete a damage claim.
If you would like to discuss other scenarios or possibilities to expand your shipping, please contact me.
