Online shopping international shipping allows you to shop from online stores present overseas or send products to a different country. Most of these services come with country-restrictions, import/export charges, and others. 

The process of international shopping and shipping

To avail the online shopping international shipping services, you should be a member of the online platform. Let us see how the process works from account creation to delivery of the product.

Step one: Account creation

It is a very straightforward process. You ought to create an account with the online platform. Your ID and password would be unique, which helps you to get access to your account. The exact process of account creation varies from platform to platform. In general, you need to share necessary information, like name, address, phone number, email ID, and so on.

Step two: Shop and pay

Before you start shopping, check out whether the platform offers international shopping and shipping facilities. Even the sites with this service might not cover every country in the world. Look at the list of countries under this service. Some websites offer in-depth information about the time taken for the delivery (approximate), and the charge for delivery. Usually, the delivery cost will have a basic threshold amount (minimum amount) plus a fee for overseas shipping. The price, time, and countries served to vary from platform to platform and also between brands. Some sites even might request a deposit amount for overseas shipping or even have percentage-wise pricing based on the weight of the product or cost of the product.

Once you have understood all the terms and conditions, continue shopping, and choose the country of your choice for delivery. Pay the price at the checkout page. Usually, the websites offering international shopping and shipping facilities do not offer COD. The most common method of payment is international bank cards or virtual money.

Step three: delivery shipment

After completing the package, the warehouse will send it to a third-party logistic company or in-house team, who will inspect the product, create a new invoice, and get it ready for overseas cargo. The product reaches the destination country, and the third-party delivers it to the in-house team at the specific country or through mail service. In case of any changes in the duties or taxes, you will receive an indication about charges due based on how international shipping works in each country. You will receive the product at your doorstep.

The international delivery process has five distinctive stages.

• Warehouse to port – During this process, the product moves from the warehouse or wholesaler to the port or airport.
• Customs clearance – When the product reaches the border of the exporting country, the clearance process starts. The rules and restrictions vary from country to country as based on the genre of the product. If required, you can learn more about how international shipping works in your country and the destination country to know about the rules and restrictions.
• Transfer – It is the actual process of transfer of the package via ship or flight to the destination country.
• Customs clearance – This clearance takes place at the destination country’s border. This clearance is essential as the freight will not be able to enter the country if it has not cleared it.
• Haulage – After completing customs clearance, the package reaches the logistic team, which will take it to the final destination.

Customs clearance during international shipping

The sites that provide global online shopping for buyers would employ a third-party service provider to take care of the international delivery system. In some cases, they hire a customs broker, who will deal with the paperwork, clearance processes, and other arrangements. You can track your package on the e-store portal to know whether it has undergone the clearances and the result of the process.

Advantages of international shopping and shipping

Any store will have a limited number of options. However, if you choose international shipping, you can choose to shop from a wide range of products, even ones available only in specific countries.

How international shopping works? Some larger e-stores have separate platforms for each region or country. They offer many country-specific products, which are unique. If you wish to buy those international products, you can choose international shopping from those sites and get it sent to your home address.

Another advantage of international shopping is savings on shipping. If you choose to send the same product via a logistic company, it might charge considerably higher. Since the site providing international shipping and shopping option will have numerous products shipped to the destination country every day, you can have a significantly lower charge on the shipping fee.

Choosing a reliable platform

Why is it imperative to choose a reliable platform for international shopping? How international shopping works would vary from one platform to another. It is essential to choose a reliable service provider. Any illegal or misprocess during clearance can lead to a load of problems, which can even lead to the cancelation. Learn whether the platform offers a refund in shipping fee if the package gets canceled by the customs. Also, the safety of the package is of significant concern. The package eventually changes from one company to another, in different modes of transportation before reaching you. How reliable is the service? In case of damage during international shipping, what is the procedure for returns or refunds? 

Only a reputed e-store will provide transparent terms and conditions about the process. Do not try to save a buck or two and choose the one with the least shipping charge. It is crucial to select your service provider with due diligence.Any reputed site offering global online shopping for buyers would provide detailed terms and conditions, including costs and time taken for each destination country. It is wise to read those terms and conditions in detail before shopping for international products on that website. Do you wish to shop online internationally? Well, you are not alone. Every year, the number of people choosing international shopping is increasing, and it is an exciting feature of the online shopping experience for people around the world.