<My Web site refers all inquiries, orders, and requests for information to my ordering Web page.
That page has ordering information, terms of sale, and how to reach me. This page has
specific information for my customers outside the United States.
The most recent revision of this page is July 14 2007.
For shipping outside the US our strong preference HAS BEEN for many years by US Postal Service, Air Mail. However, as of May 15 2007, the US Postal Service has substantially changed their international mail services and tracking options for those services. Read the information on current USPS services below carefully but I make no guarantees my description of these new services is complete, accurate or correct. There are also commercial services available and they are mentioned below. Further information is on Web sites for all these services.
SUMMARY: There is no longer "Air Mail" from the USPS. Ordinary US Postal Service shipping outside the US by "Priority Mail International" does NOT PROVIDE FOR TRACKING OF PACKAGES: use that service AT YOUR OWN RISK; that is the default service we quote for if you don't specify. There are other services from the USPS which provide tracking services, at higher costs; and there are companies like Federal Express and United Parcel Service which offer competing shipping services. There may be other USPS services or options available. You are welcome to request a quote for use of these USPS services, or for a quote from FedEx or UPS.
What was called "Air mail" is no longer available, apparently. Apparently, similar services are now called "First Class Mail International", apparently for documents and letters; and "Priority Mail International" apparently for packages. Depending on the country, there may be insurance and there may be "return reciepts" available for these services. There are no tracking services available for these services if they are not recieved. Consequently we cannot confirm delivery for items shipped in this way. We can notify the Post Office of the situation if not recieved, but they do not offer any tracking services. If you do not specify a shipping service, we will quote shipping by Priority Mail International but we cannot guarantee delivery, we can only prove the item was shipped, and make good-faith efforts to contact the Post Office about any problems.
There may be "registered mail" or "insured mail" options for some services to some countries. Registered mail service includes a mailing reciept when sent, and a record of delivery when recieved, but limits the amount of insurance available. There is a minimum insurance amount for some services at no cost, more at additional cost. These extra services may or may not be available, it depends on your country.
Services which apparently include tracking services are "Express Mail", "Express Mail Guaranteed" and "Global Express Guaranteed" services, in order of expense and speed of delivery. These are more expensive than First Class or Priority. These services include or have as options the following: minimum insurance with more available for a fee, faster shipping time, return reciepts, and tracking information. Inquiries to the Post Office about delays in your reciept MUST come from the shipper - that's me - no sooner than 3 days after mailing, up to at least 30 days for "Guaranteed" services and 90 days for Express Mail services.
The services available for each country can be found by checking the USPS Web site at usps.gov, and by selecting "calculate international postage" or "International postage" to determine options for a specific country and package by weight and size. Exhaustive detail is in an "International Mail Manual" on the Web site; and there is other information on the Web site.
We will provide a quote for shipping, packing and handling for the appropriate service. We charge an additional fee over shipping costs, due to costs of packing, time to pack and deliver to the post office, to the extra paperwork of customs, and to cover the occasioinal underestimate of actual shipping costs of other orders.
For customs purposes, your order is documented as "merchandise" and valued at the cost quoted: any other statement is a violation of US federal law. Insurance is necessary to provide a means to find your package or to recover value if lost. However
some countries do not offer insurance services for mail. On-line tracking
of your package may be available at extra cost, or as part of some of the USPS shipping methods mentioned here. Those services vary by country. Let me know if you want them.
If a package is not recieved, I must know within 30 days, in order to meet some USPS requirements of when to file an inquiry. (Some mailing services allow for longer periods to file; some services do not allow an inquiry to be filed.) The USPS will have up to 60 days to respond, if they can accept an inquiry.
The US Postal Service Web site is http://usps.com. Their site will answer many questions and provide on-line estimates of shipping costs and services if provided appropriate information. In our quote, we will estimate the shipping weight and WE will provide a quote to you based on shipping, packing, and handling costs, plus any other service requested.
We can if necessary ship internationally by United Parcel Service (UPS) or Federal Express (FedEx). We will not use DHL due to poor service. If you have an
account with FedEx or UPS, we will need your account number, and YOU MUST SPECIFY THE EXACT SERVICE you wish from them, as they offer many kinds of shipping services. Please note that they may limit the kinds of services they allow us to use with your account. We will charge you a fee for packing and handling, and for the additional paperwork and effort required for use of these services.
We will not ship via other services, even if they are in the United States.
If you insist on using a shipper other than the ones specified, I suggest you find
a way for us to ship an item TO that service, who will then ship to you; it is up to YOU, not us, to make any such arrangements.
In any and all events, we are not your agent. We will not contact your agents or third parties, make arrangments for you, represent you or your order, arrange for pickups by couriers or services. We will only SHIP TO, at your expense and prepayment, either you or your designated agent. Period.
I ACCEPT US checks in US dollars, International Postal Money Orders in US dollars, payments through Western Union and payments through MoneyGram. I can take some other kinds of checks but I'll charge a fee. I'll take US currency (dollars) but that's some risk for you to mail currency. Details are below.
I DON'T ACCEPT credit cards or online payments or PayPal; or bank wire transfers to my bank account. These services or methods are either expensive, put my funds at risk, or require me to pay for a complicated service. (Bank account transfers are not commonly done in the US except for very large amounts.) I have more notes on why these are not acceptable. Read below for what I DO accept.
This is how my US customers pay me. If you have access to a US bank account, so can you! Some companies offer check payment services from the Web, using credit cards. It is up to you to determine if such companies can provide a check as I've described, by postal mail. I will not join a service (like PayPal) to "accept" payments. Use such services at your own risk.
Many non-US customers pay by International Postal Money Orders in US dollars. My customers in Japan and Canada often use this service. Where available, International Postal Money Orders are the cheapest method, costing several US dollars. Contact YOUR Post Office or Postal Service in your country for more information and fees. Some Postal Services use MoneyGram services, which are described on this page.
Western Union offers on-line payment methods using customer's credit card on line, or by telephone, or at a physical location near you. They will charge you a fee, examples are below. If you pay on-line, your must set up an account with Western Union. Western Union has offices around the world, and are available at check cashing facilities, shops, and other locations. At those facilities, you can pay them in local currency, no account needed. They are a popular choice for international private money transfers by individuals. Review the information on their Web site for your country to find locations and details of how to send payment. Check ahead for costs before you send payment! Examples fees are below.
There is a simple procedure, and a caution, about using Western Union, so please review these instructions.
Western Union fees as of December 2006:
* from the UK, ($1= .55 pounds), 12 pounds up to 49 pounds, 14 up to 99, 21 up to 199, etc. MoneyGram offers on-line payment methods using a customer's credit card on line, or you can pay at a physical location near you. They will charge you a fee, examples are below. If you pay on-line, your must set up an account with MoneyGram. They have offices around the world, and are available at check cashing facilities, shops, postal services in some countries, and at other locations. At those facilities, you can pay them in local currency, no account needed. Review the information on the MoneyGram Web site for your country to find locations and details of how to send payment. Check ahead for costs before you send payment! Examples are below.
There is a simple procedure, and a caution, so please review these payment instructions.
Fees as of December 2006: Many large or international banks have offices in the US. They can provide you with a check "payable" from their US branch banks, in US dollars. You can ask your bank to create a check from that branch and send it to you, or they can send it directly to me. Often the branch is in New York City; for instance, the check will say "the Bank of England, issued from New York City, NY, USA". Contact your bank for more information and costs. These are likely to cost several US dollars, to a few tens of US dollars.
I certainly accept "cash", paper currency, in US dollars. But you are not protected if that cash is lost in the mail. It's possible that some countries limit the mailing of currency. But for small-cost orders, the risk is acceptable to many of my customers. US dollars are available at some banks, post offices, travel agencies, currency exchanges, etc. Please don't send YOUR CURRENCY - pounds, Euros, etc.
Many banks, travel agencies, airports, hotels, and some Postal offices offer Traveller's Checks in US dollars. Costs may vary, from zero to some percentage of total value. They are in fixed denominations, and so I may have to adjust the price (or you may have to send slightly more payment). These require your signature when you send them; then I must sign them at the bank where I deposit them. These are somewhat inconvenient all around, but it may happen that you have some on hand or you are more comfortable using them.
I don't take Paypal because it would cost about 9% of each transaction to do so. That is based on PayPal's 2007 fees for currency conversion, cross-border payments, etc. etc. Also they have a complicated set of rules and no appeals to their decisions. They make it easy, and free, for buyers and payers of course.
I don't take credit cards because of their fees and costs, much like PayPal.
I generally don't take non-US checks. US banks charge about $20 or more per transaction to do so. I've found a bank which charges the least; under some circumstances I'll accept a check outside the US banking system.
I generally don't take non-dollar currencies because most US services (including PayPay) charge a few percent over the exchange rate.
If you wish to use a >Western Union office, you'll have to locate one near you - their Web site will help you find a location. You can pay at one of their offices, without an account. Or, you can pay on the Web with your credit or debit card, if you set up an account with them. In the United States, their offices are found in places which cash checks privately (but not banks), in groceries and department stores. Check their Web site for locations or for on-line payment. Be sure you know the costs of this service to you.
The same instructions should apply to MoneyGram services.
To make a payment at a Western Union or MoneyGram office, their agent will need to know MY NAME, POSTAL ADDRESS AND US PHONE NUMBER: I will provide those with my quote. Make sure the agent has MY CORRECT ADDRESS - and check your receipt afterwards to be sure!
In addition, they will request the name and address OF THE PERSON PAYING. If that is not you, or you do not use the shipping address given me as that address, I MUST HAVE THAT PERSON'S NAME AND ADDRESS to pick up payment.
When you make payment, they will provide you with a "transfer number" with your payment form. I NEED THAT NUMBER, WHO MADE PAYMENT AND THEIR ADDRESS, AND THE EXACT AMOUNT IN US DOLLARS SENT, to pick up the payment.
WARNING! Make sure the payment IS SENT TO MY CORRECT ADDRESS!! CHECK YOUR RECEIPT FROM WESTERN UNION! In 2006, Western Union staff occasionally entered the WRONG "STATE". My city is EWING and my state is NEW JERSEY, initials "NJ".. Please check your Western Union receipt and make sure the address is correct! The typical error was to mistype and direct payment to the states of Nebrasksa - NE or New York - NY - those are NOT correct!
One of my customers in the UK forwarded this information after he made an inquiry about
his payment of VAT and duties on an order from me in the U.S. This is dated October 2005, and the information below is subject to change at any time and may not apply to your country. Our receipt always shows a value for the items purchased, and a value for packing and shipping costs. Our goods are NOT "gifts" but merchandise, we cannot claim otherwise. One pound = 1.80 US dollars in October 2005.- Herb Johnson
(quote) If your query is in regard to how or why UK Customs charges are levied, general information on this can be found at www.hmce.gov.uk.
I would like to explain that all goods (new and second hand) sent from
outside the European Community are liable to Customs Duty and VAT if the
value of the goods is over £18. If the parcel contents are a gift from a
private person abroad to another person in this country the limit is raised
to £36.
Duty is charged as a percentage of the value of the goods. The percentage
varies depending on the type of goods and the country of origin. Duty is
charged on the price paid for the goods including any local Sales Tax plus
postage, packing and insurance costs. Duty amounts of less than 10 Euros
are not raised.
VAT is charged at the same rate that applies to similar goods sold in this
country.Most items are liable to Vat at the standard rate of 17.5%. The
value of the goods for import VAT is based on the value for duty plus any
duty charged.
(end quote)
Herb Johnson
Copyright © 2007 Herb Johnson
Methods of shipping, non-US
United States Postal Service
Other shipping services
Methods of payment, non-US customers
Payments we accept
Check in US dollars from a US bank account or US Bank or financial service
International Postal Money Order - go to your Postal service Web site
Western Union payments - go to www.westernunion.com
* from sweden, ($1=7 Kronor), 130Kr up to 800Kr, 190Kr up to 1700Kr, 250kr up to 2500Kr, etc.
* from France ($1= .79 Euro) 10.5 Euro up to 50 Euro, 19 Euro up to 100 Euro 24.5 up to 200, 29 Euro up to 300, etc.
* from Argentina, a customer paid $6 US for a $26 US payment.
* but BEWARE - A customer in Germany reported his payment of 39 Euros cost him 26 Euros at his Post Office!
MoneyGram - go to www.moneygram.com
*from France, 8 euro up to 50EU, 10 euro up to 100EU, 17 euro up to 200EU, 23 Euro up to 300EU, etc.
*from the UK, 12 pounds up to 100 pounds, 18 pounds up to 200, 24 pounds up to 300, etc.
Check in US dollars from your bank's *United States* office - contact your local bank for details
Currency in US dollars, or your currency
American Express Travellers Checks (Cheques) - go to www.americanexpress.com
Why I don't take some kinds of payments.
details on Western Union & MoneyGram payments
Customs, duties, VAT in the European Union
New Jersey, USA
my ordering Web page