Shipping from U.S. to Singapore?

[YadaYadaYada]

I have someone interested in a ring for $650 but she wanted to know if I can ship to Singapore. Is there any way to ship this so it will be tracked and insured? I already had to decline an Australian buyer because there would be no coverage for it in transit and I can't take a chance on losing $650.

Any help is appreciated!

 

[whitewave]

USPS only guarantees registered mail within the continental US, but I was able to send a ring fed ex for $500 insurance to Canada. $500 was max.

 

[arkieb1]

USPS has insurance up to certain amounts perhaps not the full amount but at least some of it, or you can pay more money to insure it for more. FedEx and UPS I think will also insure for more but you pay more for that and faster shipping.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

@whitewave and @arkieb1, thank you for your responses. I called Fedex and they told me they won't insure it so I called UPS and they will insured it with a tracking number but it is very expensive $200-$250. I'm not willing to send this out without it being fully insured because I can't risk taking that large of a hit if it goes missing.

 

[WinkHPD]

Most jewelers who ship via FedEx can send internationally with supplemental insurance. T
he limit to Singapore is well over your $650 value.

Talk with your local jeweler to see if he will assist you.

Wink

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Thanks @Wink, I didn't think of that!

 

[arkieb1]

People with a FedEx or UPS account get great discounts on shipping I think from someone like David Klass fully insured depending upon how much the piece is insured for it costs between $80.00 and $125.00 to ship to Australia I'd guess Asia would be a similar price.

I also am not sure why you cannot get extra coverage from USPS to ship the item, I am in the process of getting a $2000USD violin I purchased from a guy in the US for my son shipped here with full insurance and they were the cheapest of the three so there must be some way to insure items.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

@arkieb1 I'm going to go have a talk with the folks down at the post office tomorrow and get this sorted out. I've read so many conflicting things online and there are certain restrictions on jewelry depending on the country. I have shipped through USPS International with hundreds in insurance before but it was for some vintage toys.

 

[arkieb1]

@arkieb1 I'm going to go have a talk with the folks down at the post office tomorrow and get this sorted out. I've read so many conflicting things online and there are certain restrictions on jewelry depending on the country. I have shipped through USPS International with hundreds in insurance before but it was for some vintage toys.

I've gotten jewellery from the US before that was insured via USPS so I'm not sure if you can ship and insure it or it was declared as something else to get around the system.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Okay I got this figured out now. I can mail it Priority International with full insurance on it and a return receipt for $50.00 with it being sent in a small flat rate box. Went down to the post office and they figured this all out for me. So thank you @arkieb1 because obviously I did not have the right information yesterday.

Now the buyer has already paid through Paypal I have sent her an email to let her know it will be fully insured and declared at full value and have given her the option to back out if she is uncomfortable with that, although I am covering the additional expense to have it insured so it should be fine.

 

[marymm]

Technically, per USPS regulations, shipping jewelry to Singapore is prohibited.

https://pe.usps.com/text/imm/ps_028.htm

I am thinking your ring would be considered jewelry. While you can go ahead and ship the ring, and pay for insurance, should you end up having to make a claim, since you are shipping a prohibited item likely you would not recover anything.

USPS clerks often get this stuff wrong, and claims for insured items are handled by USPS department well versed in the international country code regulations...

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Thanks for your post @marymm, I have already sent it out as I thought it was okay but this is concerning. I guess at this point all I can do is hope for the best and if it goes awry it's a lesson learned.

 

[arkieb1]

I think that is because you no longer have free trade agreements with many Asian countries, I know you can ship jewellery to Australia under our AUSTFA agreement we pay 5% or 10% taxes and duties depending upon the paperwork.

Hopefully if they do have an issue they will simply send it back to you, that is what happens here.

 

[Bron357]

I’ve been buying OS for 17 years and while I have all my purchases sent via tracked, signed for delivery, I’ve never had insurance for loss.
The one insured item more than 10 years ago, a rare china bowl that was smashed during transit, I tried to lodge a claim but was told I shouldn’t have accepted the parcel because once I accepted the parcel how did “they” know I didn’t damage it myself after delivery! My claim was denied!
Ugh.
So through eBay, Instagram, Etsy and Loupe Troop I’ve received literally hundreds of items and tens of thousands of dollars worth of items without loss.
I’ve never been scammed and certainly have never scammed anyone. That said, I don’t buy from random people.
I have been happy to pay by PayPal friends and family IF I have confidence in the seller ie a long term Pricescoper. As a buyer it means the risk is 100% mine, if the seller sends nothing, sends paper clips, if the parcel gets lost or stolen, that’s my tough luck. But if I want something I will accept those terms.
So if your buyer is happy to pay you via Friends and Family you cannot get a chargeback or a claim.
Signed for, tracked delivery is safe, so if your buyer is happy to accept the risk, I’d sell to them.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Interesting @arkieb1, I'm just hoping it gets there and gets through customs to the buyer but not going to stress about it, it's money but money can be replaced eventually.

@Bron357, thanks for sharing all of that, I know you are a seasoned buyer and seller. I did ask if she would be comfortable sending the payment F&F yesterday but she said there is no option for F&F in Singapore So then DH and I had the conversation of whether we were willing to gamble on it, he left it up to me and is behind me 100% and at least if we do lose the money for some reason he won't hold a grudge.

 

[Bron357]

Ah yes, I checked. You can’t use Friends and Family in Singapore. Some countries don’t permit this payment method. The other “risk free” way for you is via Western Union.
If accepting PayPal from this buyer, remember PayPal will take their fees from the money you receive so check them out and add to your wanted price.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

@Bron357 yes she did cover the PayPal fees because I know PayPal takes their cut!

 

[YadaYadaYada]

I have been following and checking on it everyday and thankfully it got there!

 

[lovedogs]

I just sent something to Singapore via USPS first class. Hope it arrives safely!

 

[YadaYadaYada]

I just sent something to Singapore via USPS first class. Hope it arrives safely!

I've heard that the Singapore mail system is very fast and efficient so I get you it will get there with no problems!

 

[icy_jade]

I just sent something to Singapore via USPS first class. Hope it arrives safely!

I've heard that the Singapore mail system is very fast and efficient so I get you it will get there with no problems!

What happens when the postman doesn’t deliver items in Singapore
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/new...ested-mail-in-rubbish-bin-ang-mo-kio-11178184

 

[YadaYadaYada]

@icy_jade there have been incidents like that here too, there are bad eggs everywhere but I'd like to think most of the postal services are honest people trying to make a living and doing the best they can.

 

[icy_jade]

@icy_jade there have been incidents like that here too, there are bad eggs everywhere but I'd like to think most of the postal services are honest people trying to make a living and doing the best they can.

Don’t worry the postal service is really quite reliable. When this incident happened it was like major news in Singapore.

I didn’t mean my original post in a ‘the postal service isn’t safe’ way, more like ‘don’t worry it’s quite safe and the postman gets arrested if your mail goes missing’ way... anyway for registered mail should be fine. I’ve not had any missing items and have shipped thousands of $ worth of stuff so far.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

@icy_jade, it always is hard on the nerves when you have expensive trinkets making their way through the postal service though isn't it? I know when I have something out I'm checking The tracking all the time, then if it gets delayed it's like

 

[qubitasaurus]

I don't think it is Singapore which you need to be worried about. It is the routing in between where it stops often at several other hubs before it is sent to us. I think it is extremely unlikely to go missing as a whole, but if something did go wrong then it is more likely to be during the enroute part of the journey. Once the parcle hits singapore you'll be fine. This place is unsettlingly reliable.

Lol I do remember fedex just dumping a packet of gems on my doorstep once while I was at work though. Someone called me about it, but it sounded like they were speaking tamil so we had a very broken conversation about the package.
It didnt make any difference as the condo was super secure, so they were very safe there.