Experiences w/International Shipping

All I know is… don't ever order anything shipped to Canada from the US via UPS. Unlike every other carrier who ships to Canada, UPS acts as it's own customs broker and charges a $40 fee on every shipment… not matter how big or small. You could order a $1 item and UPS would charge you $40 for "brokerage". No one else does this… no one… not USPS, not FedEx, not DHL, no one. So I always make sure to ask what carrier is being used. On the odd ocassion that someone ends up shipping via UPS anyway… I refuse to sign for delivery.

Anyway… I mostly order from Gossamer, Mountain Laurel (altho' I haven't bought anything from them for 6 months because of the endless delays) and BPL. I've had great experience with all of them. Altho'… BPL seems to have a $20 minimum shipping fee which I really hate. I just ordered a spoon and a windscreen and they charged me $20 for shipping?!?!?!?!? Crazy.

At my job, we shipped a lot to Canada, and it is scary how heavier orders add up in cost, but for things like books, DVD's and spoons it is really cheap usually if they are under say a lb. (When I ship my book for instance it costs me around $2.30 to go to Canada, $5-9 to Europe.) I try to charge only what it costs me if I can. I feel for those who have to order out of their country!

In Germany, UPS doesn't charge an extra 40$ for shipping, but I also recommend NOT to use UPS. I recently ordered a WM Flash Vest at Backcountrygear, and they told me they had only had bad experiences with USPS and I should choose UPS therefore. They charged me 45$ for shipping, though delivery time was longer than with USPS Global Express. It almost ended in a "disaster", because UPS tries to deliver only three times, and only from Monday – Friday in the morning. I'm at work then like most people. If I hadn't found a neighbour who said I should leave him the 50€ customs I had to pay, they had sended the parcel right back to the US. So I can only recommend to choose USPS.

I live in Canada, and have generally had the same experience as you. However, I know that Gossamer Gear recently took away their nice cheap international shipping options, because too many packages were being "lost" in the mail.

My solution is fairly unique since I live close to the border and have friends just on the other side: get their address added as a secondary address on your credit card, and have things shipped to them. Pick up when you go to visit for a weekend :)

I live in Japan and really have to be careful ordering things fro overseas because of the enormous fees that most carriers ask. UPS I find tends to ask more fees than anyone else and for some reason I always get caught paying for customs tarrifs when UPS packages arrive, but almost never for other carriers. I've found the cheapest has always been USPS and so far I've never had a problem with them in all the years of ordering. They are also much easier to pick up at the night window at the bigger post offices here, so I don't have to worry about being home when the delivery person arrives. Whenever one of the retailers from whom I buy only offer me the option of UPS I decline to continue with the order. I try to insist that they use USPS, but often they complain of the extra effort it takes to go down to the Post Office.

Miquel, I hope you call the companies on their lame excuse :-( What's the worse? You mail all the packages on one day, twice a month! I hate when companies whine about custom forms, etc. It takes oh, 2 minutes to fill out a form!
PS: If you do get good service, be sure to thank the company, so that they know it is appreciated :-)

I contacted GG… they are still using USPS… but they are using the more expensive (and trackable) Global Priority USPS option. Cheap shipping was nice… but tracking would be nice too. At least it's not UPS.

It's not just USPS that is cheaper than UPS… every other shipper I have ever used is cheaper than UPS. No one else has EVER charged me more than the standard $5 for Canada Customs Clearance. UPS charges $40 every time. Even on a $1 item. It has something to do with them not being bonded or something. I don't know all the details. I just know the result. I'm more than happy to have things shipped to me by FedEx, USPS, DHL, etc. But UPS? Sorry… it goes back to sender.

I had GG ship via USPS a couple of weeks ago, but it was in the US.

Sarah, I've just had the experience repeated with Backcountry Gear. I've been ordering from them for about eight years now and by now you'd think that they would have my information in a database that they can refer to after all this time. I ordered a second GoLite Light-Speed pack from them (the first last month), only to be once again asked to reconfirm my email address and credit card number (by email), and then was asked, again, which shipping method I would prefer (they say that international customers cannot be trusted… which is strange because even American customers can use fraudulent credit cards). First I answererd with a query about if it might be possible to keep my ordering information in a database for future orders so that I don't have to keep going through email all the time. I think I was polite and understanding in the language I used. You know what they came back with? Just, "No, you can't." That's it! In the rest of my answer to them I specified specifically that I wanted "USPS Global Mail" for my carrier.

I checked my email today and found the tracking notice from… guess what… UPS! After Backcountry Gear had asked me what I wanted and I had told them clearly what my preference was! I was so angry that I fired off a letter to them calling them out on the rudeness of their earlier reply and then for sending my package with the one carrier I had specifically told them not to send by. I demanded the difference between the UPS and USPS fees be picked up by them or I wouldn't sign for the package when it arrived, PLUS I would post what happened with them here at BPL to give a little more weight to my complaint. There's been no answer yet, but I sure hope they fix this.

I don't agree with the statement 'ul gear is almost only available in the US' Not only is some great gear made in Europe, Montane, Raidlight,Inov-8, OMM, X-Socks and numerous tent manufacturers to name a few but the best north american stuff can be bought over here too with the likes of Gossamer Gear, AntiGravity Gear, Golite, Integral Designs all available.

Ouch Miquel! That sucks :-( I wonder what is up with the "UPS Shipping Mentality"? UPS is more expensive than FedEx in many cases, no matter where it ships too! (Even in the good old USA!)
And what cracks me up is that it is VERY easy to figure out shipping costs for out-of-the-US packages. One minute online, at USPS.com tells all.

I'd be intrested to hear how people in Alaska get their packages. UPS is horribly expensive up there.

Miguel,
I also had trouble with international shipping; ordering directly from a seller, I got hit with VAT or some kind of import tax. It is very inconvenient to pay since I do not have a checking account over here.

So now I have almost everything delivered to a PO box in the US, and they forward it to me via USPS Global Priority Mail. Still cheaper than the former option, but 15 days slower.

By the way, that Golite pack is a little cheaper at Dom's; my experience with their customer service department was excellent; they bent over backwards to accept a tent return when really they didn't have to. I recommned them.
http://domsoutdoor.com/product.asp?pn=1-060284

I agree with the others…UPS sucks, and backcountrygear.com has an archaic ordering system for international customers. I always go with USPS. Always gets here quickly and never goes missing, plus I never get hit with customs charges, and they will deliver to a PO box which neither Fedex or UPS will do. I've also had problems with Fedex and UPS trying several times to deliver a parcel before sending it back automatically, so I just don't risk it anymore.

Hard to believe. It seems the package that was mistakenly carried by UPS was sent to the wrong address! Not UPS's fault, though. Oi Weh!

Nigel:

You've somehow got a point there, (some) Gossamer Gear products are available in the UK at http://www.winwood-outdoor.co.uk for example. Or Dr. Bronner's soap. Still, most of the gear I've ordered in the last year (Mountain Laurel Designs, Nunatak USA, some GG products) can only be ordered in the US. Of course there are great products like Salomon shoes or Suunto watches from european companies, but the majority of the gear that I use comes straight from the US.
But I feel that this is changing slowly. Aloksak OP saks for example are now available from http://www.globetrotter.de, Europe's largest outdoor retailer.