Best postage method to use

[Tancho]

Hi all!

Need some advice please on which would be the best postage method to use for a rather expensive pony coming from the US to the UK.  I'm the buyer of the pony, but i'm not sure which would be the best option for my seller to use?
The pony is very valuable so I need her sent as securely as possible, fully tracked and insured.  I'm guessing that whatever I do i'm going to get slapped with a huge customs fee (thanks UK government, like you don't take enough of me every month in my pay anyway) but I really would like some advice.
I'm not particularly bothered about price, I don't mind paying more to make it more secure, I just would like to know what the best options would be.

Thanks in advance all, this really has been quite a minefield to look into

[kitkatvintage]

Priority International shipping offers tracking & insurance. The basic price (somewhere around $35 for a package weighing less than 1lb, give or take a few dollars based on weight/location) includes insurance for around $60-80, but for an additional charge the package can be insured up to $500. I don't think the US post office offers insurance for more than $500 on international packages. I've had good luck with Priority International packages being scanned at every location until they leave US customs & at their delivery point in the UK, so I think that tracking is pretty reliable.

[ponylady]

Kitkat has great advice     I have also shipped using the same method with no issues.

But here is USPS's link for International shipping.  It allows you to put in your country and an estimate of what your package may weigh.  It then will bring up all your shipping options with price. And also explains about insurance and any other questions you may have on getting your package there safe.

https://www.usps.com/ship/priority-mail-international.htm

[RockinPrettyBeats]

Yes, priority mail international. Ask for those exact words and the seller will be able to give you the price.

Just do not use a small flat rate box or a flat rate envelope. Those do NOT have tracking and are not insured. They therefore are no better than first class international.

[Tancho]

That's brilliant thanks guys!
The item is worth over $500 so I assume the seller can purchase additional insurance to cover it?

[kitkatvintage]

No, the US post office only offers insurance up to $500 on international packages.

[Tancho]

No, the US post office only offers insurance up to $500 on international packages.

Oh bum!  Any other methods that would offer the insurance needed?  I did try and look at couriers like DHL, FedEx etc but it asks things like the senders zip code etc (that I don't know), and to be honest having never used these couriers before I have no idea how much/how they work/what they will cover etc.  Nothing can ever be easy can it?! 

[kitkatvintage]

I haven't used UPS, FedEx, or DHL, so no first hand advice for those, sorry! I think they do offer higher insurance coverage, but they aren't as easy to look up pricing info as USPS (US post office).

[Breyer600]

It sounds like you'll want to go with Global Express Guaranteed (through the post office).  It can be insured up to $2,499 and is supposed to have the best tracking.  The best I can figure is that shipping that way would cost over $100, but you'd need the package size and sender's zip code to calculate it exactly.

Other than that, it actually looks like you can't insure Priority to the UK for some reason, and Express Mail can be insured but only up to $650. 

It looks like FedEx would also cost over $100 - perhaps a few dollars cheaper than Global Express Guaranteed, but not much.  I'm not sure if FedEx's insurance covers collectibles though; I seem to remember hearing that it doesn't.  I couldn't get a quote out of UPS.

[Ringlets]

I live in the UK too, and I've had no problem with receiving ponies from the US that have been shipped Priority - but if the pony is worth so  much then it might be worth your seller looking into sending it by courier.... although it sounds as though they are very expensive     Plus ( as you expected) you will definitely be getting a hefty customs tax on top of that  

[emery]

There is also Express Mail International but it only offers up to $650.00 value so if your value is over that then the Global Express is really your only choice. Depending on the weight of the package and the location its coming from I would say definitely around the $100 mark where Express would be closer to $50.

If you want to mess with the options yourself and can ask for a weight, size and zip code from the seller you can go to this page and look at the different options and prices:

http://ircalc.usps.com/Default.aspx?country=10150