[sdiy] Shipping PCB's overseas

[Colin Hinz]

On Thu, 22 Jan 2004, Paul Perry wrote:

> At 06:14 PM 21/01/04 -0800, you wrote:
> >OK, I have sent the VCA out to the fab house, if anyone
> >
> >I was curious...and this is probably going to sound naive...is there a lot
> >of hassle with shipping these overseas from the US?
>
> ....USPS is really the only way.
> Airmail to Australia would be 6 to 10 days average, surface mail
> can be 6 weeks or more.
>
> When you send a parcel to Australia, get the customs form from the post office
> (it sticks on the outside of the box) and write
>
> "electronic board and component  value $20" (or whatever) and 99.95% of the
> time, all will go smoothly.

Same applies to Canada. Using FedEx or UPS is a *really* bad idea,
regardless of the prices paid at your end, due to the positively
punitive "customs clearance" fees charged by these carriers. Unless
of course the purchaser tells you that they've got their own designated
customs broker, and it's preferable to use courier x over USPS.

- Colin Hinz
  Toronto, Canada