There are 3 options possible for US retailers willing to ship international:
- USPS : The US Post Office works with destination countries postal networks.
Pros: The cheapest way to ship your stuff, and most times the goods just sail thru Customs and your recipient skips on the D&T.
Downside: the destination postal service usually does not bother with signature upon receipt. Worse, USPS Tracking bar codes might not be compatible with the local post office own barcodes. And a cross-reference number is not always achievable.
- Integrators (UPS, FedEx, DHL) : The safest bet, although much more expensive than any other option. Now if you become a regular exporter, keep in mind you can negotiate the list price. Competition is fierce among those and a decent 10 shipment a week can become a good bargaining start.
Pro: Proof Of Delivery is standard, there is a money back guaranteed program, stuff is tracked and traced all the way. Guaranteed delivery.
Cons: Not cheap.
- Freight Forwarders : the good old Customs Broker network, in the likes of Panalpina, UTI etc... You get to choose the service delay, whether you want your stuff to travel by air or sea, with a matching rate of course. The Freight Forwarder will set up the plan of transport all the way to your recipient.
Pros : if you pay for the transportation charges (depending on the INCOTERM or you pick), you decide at what point ownership of your goods is transferred. Should a payment being refused for instance, you can always stop the shipment and have it returned to you.
Much less expensive than Express Integrators, with still acceptable delays from a few days to a couple weeks.
Cons : Your stuff moves between several networks and transport companies (pre-trip, international segment, post-trip are usually done by three different companies at least, even if the Freight Forwarder acts as the organizer). Delays can sound a bit long if your customer is impatient.
Hoping this helps.
Sam