Make the World a Smaller Place
Do you have friends or family overseas? It is always a good idea to send them a gift to let them know how you still feel about them. Send them a gift for a special occasion (birthday, anniversary, graduation, …) or just send them a gift for no reason at all, just to say Hi to them.
Shop for your gift online and choose a merchant that offers international worldwide shipping. You might get better shipping rates that way and you won’t have to deal with all the required shipping and custom forms.
Keep in mind that shipping to an international destination takes a little longer than domestic shipping, the package will have to clear customs local delivery times at the destination country might be different from yours (slower). Plan well ahead of your occasion and check with the merchant if you have a specific delivery date in mind.
One last piece of advice, check with the merchant which carrier they choose for international shipping. We have found that the private carriers (UPS, FedEx, …) do offer a very good service but they usually charge a heft fee to the recipient (brokerage fee). This fee can be substantial (actually more than the price of the gift itself in some cases!). The other option for shipping is the postal service. The US Postal service offers Global Priority Mail service (no brokerage fees, for Canada at least). Again, check with the merchant before you place your order for estimated delivery times and any other fees related to the shipping.
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