| Of all the shipping nuances I face, shipping | | | | Please make sure that your customer agrees and |
| internationally requires a lot of paperwork to ensure | | | | acknowledges this. |
| orders get released from customs and to their | | | | 5. Duties/Taxes/Fees (unless otherwise noted) are |
| customers. However, there are a few things to keep | | | | ALWAYS the responsibility of the recipient. If they |
| in mind, in order to avoid customs headaches for the | | | | don't/wont pay these, then the order comes back, |
| customer, the sales rep and me, of course - | | | | and we lose not only a sale, but gain an expense for |
| 1. Have a complete, full address and phone number. | | | | the shipping charges. |
| This is MANDATORY. If I am ever in doubt about an | | | | 6. A failed credit card authorization can hold things up. |
| address or there is not a phone number included, I | | | | Let your customer know, before I make another |
| will review and ask the sales manager for the missing | | | | attempt. If the second attempt fails, they'll need to |
| information. | | | | try another card, or pay by wire. Some card |
| 2. On occasion, or for some areas, a VAT, CNJ, (tax | | | | transactions are flagged from overseas, more often |
| ID) for various countries may be required. I'll let you | | | | as a fraud prevention measure. |
| know when this happens. If this is required, the order | | | | 7. Notify me if I am to not undervalue the |
| cannot not ship unit I get it. | | | | merchandise for customs. I usually do to ease the |
| 3. If order that has a single item over the $2500 | | | | pain for our customers. Bear in mind that I can never |
| threshold (hardware only) - example- recent order to | | | | undervalue a huge order of hardware below a certain |
| Nigeria of $100 finger vein readers, valued at | | | | dollar threshold - that will certainly grab the attention |
| customs for $200 each (roughly $25,000 total), then | | | | of Customs. |
| I have to do a separate filing for EEI for customs. | | | | I have found, even when following these 5 steps |
| This is MANDATORY on my end. | | | | to-the-letter, orders can/do get held up in customs. |
| 4. Alert your customers of any extra shipping | | | | Also, for here and abroad, weather delays, natural |
| charges - I can help you on that by asking me to get | | | | disasters (Shipping operations are suspended in Haiti, |
| the approximate cost first. Remember, weight and | | | | of course) and other unforeseen matters (lack of |
| number of cartons can change this figure, and the | | | | inventory) can delay any shipment. |
| extra charges are the responsibility of the customer. | | | | |