Many individuals and businesses find that they need to ship items internationally. This can be as a result of wanting to send goods to friends or family members abroad as gifts or to mark important occasions such as birthdays or anniversaries. Some businesses will routinely ship goods abroad, for example, if they are an e-commerce firm and have made sales that need to be delivered to customers that live outside their country. Depending on the size of the goods that need to be shipped and any agreed timescales for delivery, there may be a range of shipping options to consider. Smaller items that are light in weight can be shipped using air mail services that deliver internationally. This can be ideal if you need a quick delivery of your items. However, this may be a costly option for large or bulky products. This article will discuss three points to consider when shipping items overseas.
Barrel shipping
It is common practice to use barrel shipping services when sending items abroad that are too large for conventional air mail services. Barrel shipping is an ideal way to send goods to certain American countries and the Caribbean, as there is a regular schedule of freight ships that go to these destinations. As the name suggests, barrel shipping involves packing goods into a shipping barrel for transport. The barrels are typically made of durable plastic or light metal, such as aluminum, and tend to have a capacity of 55 gallons. This allows them to hold up to 1,200kg of goods for transport, making them ideal for securely transporting heavy items. The main consideration for barrel shipments is whether to send them by boat or by air. Clearly, it can be considerably cheaper to send by boat, but this comes with a trade-off that the goods will take longer to transport.
Tracking facilities
When sending any package abroad, it is important to consider if you need the shipment to have tracking facilities. For high-value goods and business customers, this should be considered an essential feature of the service you choose. Businesses will benefit from being able to offer their clients tracking facilities so they have a clear indication of when they will arrive and the assurance that their item is in transit. Put simply, tracking facilities are an essential shipping feature to choose when sending business goods or high-value products abroad.
Insurance
A final point to consider when shipping goods internationally is if the package needs to be insured. This is a vital consideration for businesses and individuals sending expensive items such as computer equipment or musical instruments abroad. Both the sender and the recipient will want to be assured that the goods are covered in the event of their loss or damage during transit. There is a range of firms that will offer to insure goods that are shipped internationally. Search online for these providers and check that they insure packages up to the total value of the items you are planning to send.