Do you have experience from international shipping with USPS?

[Makulit]

Hi everyone,

I live in the Philippines, and it's extremely difficult to find pipe tobacco here. There are so many different types I'd like to try, so the only option would be to import them here myself.

I checked out Smoking Pipes to see their shipping options. They have a few different choices:



Does anyone here have experience with international shipping through USPS? I have no idea which of the options above would be best, in terms of cost vs shipping time, etc.

I'm not financially well off, so I have to weigh my options carefully here. If anyone could give me some advice, I’d really appreciate it.

I realize it differs immensely depending on your shipping destination, and mine (Philippines) may differ a lot from your experiences. But any input that could help me make a decision is very much welcomed.

Thank you in advance, and have a great day ahead!

Best wishes,
Makulit

 

[Sigmund]

Tons of it. I lived in the US and ran an internet biz that shipped.

What I dont know is what Super Saver actually is. Who is doing the shipping? I have never heard of a super saver USPS. Before picking that one find out who the carrier is.

Generally First class is as good and almost as fast as priority. You cannot insure first class international. As you pointed out...USPS will not be doing the delivery in your country. They will hand it over to your service...I dont know if it is good, bad or average.

Also I have no idea about importing tobacco to your country. Its a pain in many places. Customs rules and regs. You will need to know them. Otherwise your package could be sized or huge taxes added on.

I grabbed this but you should really do some searches before getting bad suprises

Bureau of Customs Passenger Guidelines - Embassy of the Philippines in Singapore

To ensure smooth Customs clearance, please read these guidelines thoroughly. All persons and baggage are subject to a search at any time. (Sections 2210 & 2212, Customs Law) General Provisions All articles, when imported from any foreign country into the Philippines, shall be subject to duty and...

www.philippine-embassy.org.sg

 

[OzPiper]

As @Sigmund suggests first check IF tobacco importation is allowed into the Phillipines.
If so what is the tax free quantity ?
And the rate of tax that applies for quantities larger than that ?

For instance Australia has very strict rules about importing tobacco products.
A permit is needed to import pipe tobacco for private use.
And the import duty is very high - currently more than AUD$1.20 per gram
Many countries ban sales of tobacco outside their borders.
And companies eg SmokingPipes will not sell to Australia.

Unfortunately I have had a few orders seized by Oz Customs and destroyed before I found out about the Import Permit.
Oz Customs is not obliged to tell anyone about that loophole.

I use First Class Mail International or Priority Mail International if shipping via USPS

 

[ssjones]

I've shipped pipes internationally via USPS 1st Class International, but never shipped tobacco. For pipes, I typically list for customs, "briar pipe parts for repair" and I've never had an issue with customs. Takes about two weeks for a pipe to get to the destination.

 

[crashthegrey]

Ignore Super Saver. First Class International, as Oz points out, is often almost or just as fast as any more expensive option.

 

[Sigmund]

Ignore Super Saver. First Class International, as Oz points out, is often almost or just as fast as any more expensive option.

Super Saver: Ponies done swim that well

Super

 

[Ahi Ka]

Super saver is a great option for smaller orders. From memory the price point where it made sense to just use 1st class was when you were ordering more than a pound.

It utilises the military post system - a container gets filled and sent to Europe and then it is forwarded on from there. It is not tracked, and therefore pretty much uninsured but for a lot of us who don’t live in the US it is/was the primary method of shipping.

You might not get a lot of feedback about it as a shipping option, purely because the people using it may have customs issues they don’t want to disclose, or are no longer ordering.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

I have used Ups SuperSaver Shipping option many a times for smaller items and small quantities tobacco products, Your package will take a bit longer to arrive since they have to relabel packages and reroute them in Switzerland (for European destinations)once the package arrives in destination country the recipient will get a notice from local postal service to declare it at customs once completed the postal service will then deliver it to your residency , all this will take up to a month