Postage to France?

Fidget

Hi,

I've been asked whether I will send one of my auction items to France. I've heard that a lot of parcels on route to France "go missing". Is this true or am I being over cautious?

Can you do a tracked postage and if so what benefit would this be to me? Is it expensive? Is it just like recorded in UK?

Sorry am clueless, have sent abroad many times before (though never France) but at the moment I can't afford to lose anything especially since this item is one of the most expensive I'm selling.

Any help would be very much appreciated - thanks.

Hintza

I used to specialise in selling into France. Just check out the royal mail website and send airsure and you should be alright. When the riots were taking place in Paris a couple of parcels took a month but (touch wood) I never had any serious problems.

aiwah

I have sent a couple of items to France for ebay and they have been ok. One package took over 3 weeks to arrive and when it did, the buyer complained it was a bit bashed, but they didn't pay for the insured service that was offered, so they just accepted that.

If it's something of value, then definitely pay the extra 3 or 4 pounds (or make the buyer pay) and send it by either airsure or international signed for. That way if it doesn't arrive, then you can make a claim to recover your costs.

Hintza

aiwah wrote:

I have sent a couple of items to France for ebay and they have been ok. One package took over 3 weeks to arrive and when it did, the buyer complained it was a bit bashed, but they didn't pay for the insured service that was offered, so they just accepted that.

If it's something of value, then definitely pay the extra 3 or 4 pounds (or make the buyer pay) and send it by either airsure or international signed for. That way if it doesn't arrive, then you can make a claim to recover your costs.

I'm afraid this is very bad advice. The seller has to ensure the item reaches the buyer in good condition. I would never, never pay extra insurance. To satisfy PayPal you need to send via Airsure or at a pinch signed for.

aiwah

Hintza wrote:

I'm afraid this is very bad advice. The seller has to ensure the item reaches the buyer in good condition. I would never, never pay extra insurance. To satisfy PayPal you need to send via Airsure or at a pinch signed for.

It's all relative really - this was just from my experience and not intended as 'advice'. The item in question was not very valuable and it would have cost more than the item was worth to send it by airsure, as a result it didn't qualify for paypal's so-called protection anyway.

As a rule, if the item is worth more than I can claim from the post office for a standard loss (ie £32), then I will usually include recorded or registered in my listing as standard.