Shipping to Russia

strawberryfluff

Hi there,
Would appreciate some advice please.

An item I listed has been won by a buyer in Russia. It was listed as uk delivery only, but I didn't block overseas bids.
I'm quite happy to post it, but have told the buyer I'd prefer to use an international tracked service. The item isn't especially valuable (4.99) or heavy and she would like the postage to be as cheap as possible.

Any suggestions on which postal service I should use?

Cheers!

brokenant

I used parcel monkey last week to send an item to Brazil. Cheapest I could find, not sure if it's tracked but buyer left good feedback after four days.

strawberryfluff

brokenant wrote: »

I used parcel monkey last week to send an item to Brazil. Cheapest I could find, not sure if it's tracked but buyer left good feedback after four days.

Thanks, but I've had two poor experiences with parcel monkey, and they don't ship to Russia.

Pembroke

The last low value item I sent to Russia was dear old Royal Mail small packet, not had any complaints about non delivery. Just be a bit vague / generic on how you describe the item on the CN22 customs sticker.

techspec

Come on, even i wouldn't expect someone to pay international signed for rates for an item at £4.99.

Just post airmail small packets and cross your fingers

worbikeman

I have sent many things to Russia, Ukraine etc. nothing has ever yet so far gone astray. You need a customs form on it correctly filled in and postage rate is as Europe. Glass half full approach works for me:D

chemical.galaxy

I no longer post to Russia due to high loss/delays at customs.
My last parcel took 3 months to arrive by which time I had refunded the buyer and claimed from my insurance.
However for £4.99 I would go ahead and post RM small packets and hope it arrives.
The worst that can happen is that you have to make a claim for it and get a refund.

strawberryfluff

Thanks everyone.

I'll give it a go with good old RM and see how it goes....it's a strange shaped item, a womens chest guard, so will have a think about how to describe it for customs!

techspec

I'm trialing world wide posting again. In recent days i've succesfully posted to Italy, Russia, USA, Germany and Australia.

Now my big test - Argentina - the reason i stopped in the first place.

I try and be brief in my customs forms - e.g don't put makes on like Nike, a rugby shirt would just be a t-shirt etc and i put lower values on sometimes - as many of the 'poorer' countries have posties with light fingers.

I can't think what you will put for a chest gaurd, that won't get the Russian customs wanting a look.:o

porto_bello

techspec wrote: »

I'm trialing world wide posting again. In recent days i've succesfully posted to Italy, Russia, USA, Germany and Australia.

Now my big test - Argentina - the reason i stopped in the first place.

Around South America, I've found Chile and the Falkland Islands are the only reliable destinations and Brazil is patchy. Beyond that, I block every territory,so I wish you luck with Argentina.

Within Europe, I've had a lot of bids and sales from Germany, Scandinavia, Gibraltar and Malta. Elsewhere, I've found Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Singapore solid and reliable. I certainly wouldn't judge overseas buyers by the performance of your Argentinian buyer.

As for Russia, I block that and every other former Soviet country, as well as the whole of Africa.

*smurfy*

I'd say just send normal airmail packet,if then they claim they didnt get item(had this myself few times from Russia)you can't prove either way but refund them,and claim off royal mail.Ok its a pain you have to print off ebay page,paypal page,fill out form you can print from royal mail site,but they do send you a cheque within a few weeks that covers item and postage paid to RM.