Posting item to RUSSIA - nervous!?

waterwatereverywhere

Hi,

I wondered whether anyone can recommend a tracked/signed for service to send a ceramic item to Russia please?

I googled earlier and came across loads of horror stories saying that posting to Russia is a nightmare, really unreliable and that ebay sellers can end up losing out as if the parcel doesnt arrive ebay will side with the buyer and refund postage plus possibly getting bad feedback. Postage could just ordinary post will be around £40-£50 so this isn't a risk I want to run....

Apparently even the biggies like UPS have terms saying they won't deliver to private individuals only businesses.

hadn't appreciated it was such a nightmare. Can anyone comment and/or reassure me or should I just forget it?

Thx in advance!

Oliver14

You'll have to use a courier. It's very unlikely that you will get any insurance for ceramic items either

soolin

I have recently had a few buyers from the Russian Federation and was quite worried as I sell mainly glass and porcelain and had heard horror stories. However due to costs I just risked standard airmail and was fine.

theonlywayisup

I post to Russia almost daily, but now restrict what I send as none of the couriers I deal with via TransGlobal will send to anything other than a business. The only way I can get items to Russia now is via Royal Mail, so it must be under £46 in value and is without signature/tracking.

waterwatereverywhere

Hi,

Many thanks for the helpful replies. Soolin & theonlyway is up, is it Parcelforce that you have used then please?

The item value is only £20. Are you saying that the compensation for loss is £46? If it does not arrive would I be able to claim back the item value plus the postage cost (which will be £40-£50)? Or only the item value itself?

My main concern is being out of pocket on the £40-£50 postage costs really.

If it did become necessary to make a claim is this an easy thing to do - what proofs are required and would I be claiming against Parcelforce in the UK?

Many thanks.

alien1234

I think people in Russia is getting quite rich and they do make purchase. However, I am still a bit worried to sending items over there. Would royal mail be the cheapest?

martindow

alien1234 wrote: »

I think people in Russia is getting quite rich and they do make purchase. However, I am still a bit worried to sending items over there. Would royal mail be the cheapest?

Only RM seem to be left as so many carriers have stopped operating services to Russia.

soolin

AS mine were mainly glass and breakables I was aware that I was risking having no insurance against loss or damage, however once i realised that th eRussian market is quite big I decided to risk it. I would though say that my model of business is risky and i had thought it through *before* I opened my listings to non UK buyers. I also sell lots of glass to Australia and once again only ever use standard airmail.

slimfandango

why bother. such a big risk. buyer can say they got nothing or it was broken and then credit card chargeback or paypal claim, then send you back empty box. so you then lose a) your item and b) the money. if it's not nicked by the postal service. sell it to the uk only. Some russian guy now knows the email addy you use for paypal. nice

macfly

slimfandango wrote: »

why bother. such a big risk. buyer can say they got nothing or it was broken and then credit card chargeback or paypal claim, then send you back empty box. so you then lose a) your item and b) the money. if it's not nicked by the postal service. sell it to the uk only. Some russian guy now knows the email addy you use for paypal. nice

It's all going nicely and then along comes a racist headcase.

soolin

slimfandango wrote: »

why bother. such a big risk. buyer can say they got nothing or it was broken and then credit card chargeback or paypal claim, then send you back empty box. so you then lose a) your item and b) the money. if it's not nicked by the postal service. sell it to the uk only. Some russian guy now knows the email addy you use for paypal. nice

Oh dear, not good with the idea that there are some really nice people who just happen to live overseas are you? Was your post aimed at just Russian people or all non Brits in general?

I am more than happy to sell to People living in Russia and have had some glowing feedback from them, but as I mentioned in my own post my business method has some risks but ones I am actually happy to take. As a fairly logical person I am perfectly capable of doing a basic risk anaylsis. Considerably more than half of my business is overseas and I would be foolish to ignore them,.

I do not use any form of tracking in the uK either unless my item is over £46. If I thought as you do that everyone is a scammer I would probably not only give up selling on ebay I would probably ditch the PC as well and go back to pen and paper.