How to ship video games international.

 

How to ship video games international

This little how to guide will show you how I personally ship my video games.  It is down and dirty,  just breezing over what shipping services I use and some of the limitations that go along with them.

I will throw this out there before starting, some countries do not allow certain items through customs and video games can be one of them.  Make sure prior to shipping that your package is going to make it through customs.

When shipping video games in general I use 2 methods to ship.

#1. Boxed games 

 I ship all of my complete vintage NES / SNES games in boxes, I don't want to be that guy to ship them in bubble mailers, they will end up crushed just like my feedback.

#2. Loose game cartridges 

On loose games and DVD style cases, I always use Kraft bubble mailers just like the ones at the top of this post.

When shipping video games international, you normally have two different options when shipping USPS.  Priority International and First Class International.

I am not going to on Priority International, the high shipping costs will deter most buyers so below is the shipping method that I use to ship all of my video games.

First class international 

It is the cheapest and easiest.  Paypal and Amazon fill out all the necessary forms for you so there is no need to fill out the first class customs form.     Before choosing first class international for your own packages there are a couple things you should know.

That being said there are some things that you need to know about shipping your games first class international.

 #1.  No Tracking 

First class international does not provide a tracking number.  I have never had an issue shipping this way, and even if I did, it would be few and far between.  The ease, low cost and better chance of producing a sale will always keep me using this option unless a buyer requests to have a tracking number.

#2.  Restrictions

I am not going to get into the physical requirements for packages, just know that there are restrictions but video games fall well in them.  If you would like to learn more about first class international restrictions you can check the USPS website.

#3. Thats all you really need to worry about.

The final thing you need to do is either print your postage and your customs declaration will be filled out for you, or fill it out.  It is nice to have it properly filled out before you get to the counter so you don't get turned around.

How to fill out a first class international customs  declaration

To:  The senders address

Left side of the form

Check the Merchandise box

Detailed description:  If sending a video game just put "video game"

Qty:  Number of games

Weight:  If you have a scale you can get the weight but I just have them fill it in.

Value:  Amount the buyer paid.

HS Tariff#:  Leave blank

Exemption/Exclusion Legend: Leave blank

Sign and date at the bottom and you are set.

It really is that easy, don't read into the whole international thing.  People don't ship internationally because they don't want to fill out the paperwork or they are afraid that their packages are going to get lost, which is fine by me.  The people who are willing to go the extra mile, get the extra money.

Thanks for reading my down and dirty how to guide on how to ship video games international.

If this post was informative please like it, and share it.

Check my blog for other useful tips at http://famousturtletreasures.blogspot.com

How to safely ship mirrors, pictures, wall plaques and other flat, fragile items through the mail

Today I am going to show you my method of safely shipping mirrors, wall plaques, picture frames and other other flat, fragile items so the arrive safely at their destination.  

Let me tell you, I have had many things break in the mail, it happens.  Whether it was due to poor packing ( I was a shipping noob, leave me alone! ) or rough handling * cough * USPS * cough *, it doesn't really matter.

For me, shipping these kinds of items has always been a challenge, boxes were never the correct size and I would always come up short on packing peanuts. I spoke to my very wise online sales mentor, aka my mother and she recommended the method that I am about to show you.  I have been using this method for a year now and I have not had a single issue or complaint about my packages.

Things that you will need:

• Box cutter
• Sharpie
• 3/4" or 1" thick styrofoam insulation sheet, I buy mine at Home Depot.                                                                             
• Stretch Wrap
• Tape 
• 19 x 24 Poly mailer
• Fragile stickers
• Something to ship

I will be packing up this vintage mediterranean wall mirror from the 60s.

The first thing you need to do is lay out your styrofoam sheet, place your mirror on the sheet and mark around your item with a 1" buffer zone.

Cut your styrofoam piece out, trace the piece you just cut out so you have two of the same size pieces.

For added protection, I cut another piece of styrofoam to fill in the gap that will form when the mirror is sandwiched between the two pieces.  This will keep the mirror from vibrating or shifting.  I just placed a piece in the mirror as an example, I would recommend filling up the entire space.

Next, wrap the entire mirror in stretch wrap ensuring that you are maintaining the 1" buffer all the way around.   I recommend lots of shrink wrap :).

Sandwich the mirror with the other piece of styrofoam and continue shrink wrapping.  I didn't want to waste all of my shrink wrap so there isn't much on there, but you get the idea.

And last but not least, cut a 19 x 24 poly bag or wrapping paper sheet and wrap it all up, attach your fragile labels, a shipping label and you are off to the post office!

I would like to put out a disclaimer that while this method works well, there is no guarantee that it will work 100% because s#*t happens.

I hope this was an informative post, give it a shot and leave me a comment on how it works out for you.

Famous Turtle OUT!

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