Express Mail only for international shipments - good or bad idea?

[Kitsune Sniper]

I have a bunch of games that I want to sell which would benefit from having international shipping. I'm kinda hesitant to list them like that because it's the holidays and there's next to no chances the items will ever make it if I use First Class.

I was thinking of listing them with Express Mail International as the only shipping option for non-US buyers, but I'm not sure if it would drive away customers or not.

What would YOU do? I'm okay with shipping stuff like this, other than the pain in the ass customs forms I have to fill out. :P

[Parodius Duh!]

I would definitely use express or another form of traceable international shipping. Definitely make it clear in the auction/sale thread that you are willing to ship internationally but via a traceable method only. International shipping is always a bitch one way or the other..

[ryborg]

I have a bunch of games that I want to sell which would benefit from having international shipping. I'm kinda hesitant to list them like that because it's the holidays and there's next to no chances the items will ever make it if I use First Class.

I was thinking of listing them with Express Mail International as the only shipping option for non-US buyers, but I'm not sure if it would drive away customers or not.

What would YOU do? I'm okay with shipping stuff like this, other than the pain in the ass customs forms I have to fill out. :P

A friend of mine does this. Only ships internationally via Express Mail. He likes that he'll never have to worry about international chargebacks. However, he gets essentially zero foreign buyers because of the price. Also, he's gotten some critical feedback in regards to high shipping cost, even though he's not gouging at all. This is the dilemma.

As much as I bitch about shipping internationally via First Class, it's still the way to go. Yeah, there's a small chance the item might not arrive and a buyer might file a chargeback. Well, are you trying to make money or not? You can't always be 100% safe. Honestly, the whole "more packages get lost during the holidays" line is kind of a myth. My colleagues and I haven't noticed a higher percentage of undelivered packages during Nov/Dec than other months. You do get more idiots, but not more missing parcels.

Also, I don't know if you print your shipping labels at home, but customs forms print automatically when you use Paypal shipping for Express/Priority. It's very simple and fast. You may need the little bag to put them in, but those are free.

[Kitsune Sniper]

Well, I usually go with First Class, unless the item is way too heavy - then I don't list it internationally because it's too much of a pain in the ass to deal with Priority International. But since it's the holidays... I don't want a bunch of people complaining because the items didn't arrive on time.

I dunno. :(

I -used- to print labels at home but then my printer broke. :P