Transcription
International shipping is a big deal compared to domestic shipping. You can get really complicated and even be pretty daunting. So today, we're bringing in a shipping expert, Miss Laura Girl, who helped us figure this out. You're the founder of Shippo. What else qualifies you as a shipping expert?
Genius extraordinaire. So, I wouldn't call myself a shipping genius, but I did found a company in 2014 that's all about shipping. So, we're called Shippo. We simplify shipping for e-commerce, and basically, like, every single e-commerce store needs to ship, and we help them figure that out in the most cost-effective way.
So, you're basically a shipping genius. Some might even call you the Albert Einstein of shipping. For instance, I'll be the, uh, Albert Einstein for shipping. Man, so shipping genius. I've got a package that I'm trying to ship internationally, this one. And tell me, like, what I should be considering or what I should be worried about before I ship this puppy overseas.
So, first of all, e-commerce is really awesome because it allows you to reach a global audience. You can sell it to anyone. But that also means that you need to ship to anyone. Your customers, they're living abroad in this case, and it's gonna take longer for the package to get there. It's gonna be more expensive. So, the first thing to figure out is to really understand what the customers want. Do they want fast shipping? Do they want tracking? Do they want it insured? And then, basically, you need to make sure that your customers are happy.
Awesome. Sounds easy enough. Have you had to do that? Now, let's talk a little bit about carriers. How do they fit into all of this?
Yeah, so the carriers are the guys doing the shipping for you. And all major shipping providers are going to help you ship internationally. At Shippo, we've negotiated pretty good rates with, with DHL and then also with USPS.
With the difference being DHL and USPS? That's a great question. So, DHL, they have a global network. And what that means is that DHL is going to do the shipping in the US, but also in the country you're shipping into, and tracking is going to be consistent end-to-end.
Okay, that makes sense. And then USPS, are they also like that? What's the difference?
So, what's fascinating about the USPS is that they partner with the local post offices in the other countries. So, when the pack leaves the US, they're going to hand it over to the local post office that you're shipping into, and their local post office will do the last mile.
Interesting. They're collaborating with other countries, which means you get a little bit less transparency. Yeah, okay, gotcha. So, I'm like, when people travel across borders, packages don't have passports. So, I'm assuming we need some form of documents.
Yes, you for sure need to provide two sets of documents when you ship internationally. First, you have to show us the customs form, and then you also have to provide the invoice.
Okay. And now I'm assuming when you do those documents, or to put certain pieces of information down, like dimensions and what you're shipping and where it's going, what else am I missing? What else do you have to provide when I do this?
Yes, so you need to specify the incoterm. The, uh, incoterm? I've never even heard that word.
I know, it sounds more complicated than it is. Incoterm basically just means who is going to pay the duties and taxes for shipping internationally.
Got it. Okay. And is it just like one incoterm fee? It's like, incoterm is five dollars? Or how does it? What are the different?
I wish it was that easy. So, there are two acronyms to remember. First is DDU, that means duties delivery, unpaid. And then there is DDP, that means delivery duties paid by sender.
Now, if I'm sending packages out to my customers in the e-commerce business, why not just have them pay the duties? Like, it seems like a big expense to take off.
No, that's a really good question. And that's something to be a little careful about because you don't want to surprise your customers when they get the package with another invoice that they need to pay taxes again, or like taxes in addition to what they already paid for. And you want to be very upfront about that if that's, if that's going to happen.
Now, okay, I get that. It's a good day of poor customer experience. But if I take the costs on myself, I probably have to build that and the cost of my product.
So, that's the other thing to note. I'd say it's better customer service if you bake duties and taxes into your product cost. But then you have to be careful that you don't, like, have these eat into your margins.
Sounds like there's a lot of math involved in getting this right. So, my box looks good. I think I filled out for my documents properly. So, I'm just gonna pop this puppy right in the mailbox.
[Laughter]
Did you bring this with you? Okay, what am I missing?
So, I don't think we've done the math yet about duties and taxes.
Okay. And it's really important I do that before I ship it.
Yeah, 'cause, you know, you want to know how much it is. But the good news is, we don't need to do the math ourselves. There is no complicated formula. Now, we're going to just use an online tool calculator.
Is there anything else I'm missing before I just pop this in the mail and send it overseas?
We haven't really talked about insurance yet. So, for every mail, this package is going to travel, and there's a higher likelihood for it to get lost or be damaged. For every international package, depending on what we're going to ship, we usually recommend to include some sort of insurance.
That makes sense. You're such a smarty. So, in a perfect world, when I send someone a beautiful product overseas, I hope that they keep it and they skip off in the sunset. But what if they decide to place a return? I know that I could just provide them instructions, but what else should I be thinking about?
Yeah, it's a really good question because international returns can be super tricky, and there is no one-size-fits-all. It really depends what you're selling, and also how expensive the item is that you're selling. Some brands, they just write it off if an international customer doesn't like it. Some brands, they have a local warehouse, so they ask a customer to return the item to a local warehouse. Some customers, they think it through and they give very specific instructions of how to send this package back to the original location. I think all is valid. You just have to think through it before you start shipping.
I feel like I'm finally ready to ship this box. Am I? Have I missed anything?
No, I think we're good.
Now, thank you so much.
And thank you so much for providing all this information.
Yeah, no worries at all. We talk about stuff like that at Shippo all day, every day.
Well, if you started out as a genius, but now I feel like I'm a genius too. So, that makes two of us.
[Laughter]
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