Are you moving abroad and needing to ship your belongings? Perhaps you have just bought a new big television online and need it delivered to your home? Or you are a business that needs international shipping services?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, how do you go about choosing the right international shipping company? What should be considered when making this decision?
Consider your needs
A shipping company operates the shipping vessel that is responsible for transporting your shipment and before using a company to ship your goods, you must first identify your needs to help you select an ideal company. These days you can ship almost anything whether it is bought locally or internationally. You must, however, consider the following:
- Are you shipping via the ocean or air?
- Are you looking for door-to-door service, port-to-port, port-to-door, or door-to-port services?
- Which country are you importing from or exporting to?
- Are you familiar with the specific import/export laws and customs procedures for the clearance of your shipment?
- Is your supply chain flexible?
- Do you want the option to track your shipment?
- How quickly do you want the process to be?
Someone who operates a business might need international shipping to reach a global customer base and in fact, many companies have graduated from the local scene to the international scene. One thing about international shipping that needs to be considered the most is cost and efficiency.
Research the company’s reputation
Before using any company, you must do your research on the company to get an idea of its reputation. This can be done by reading online reviews left by people who have utilized their services as well as searching their ratings.
You need to get an idea of their prices, service delivery, customer service, whether or not they deliver products with care, average delivery time, etc. MyUS found here is a reputable and reliable shipping company that offers great service and discounted shipping rates, and it is very easy to find customer reviews that confirm this fact.
Compare prices and services
There are many international shipping companies so when deciding on which to choose, you must consider the different prices and services on offer. Depending on the needs of each shipper, the cost of shipping internationally will always vary.
An FCL shipment is an example of a company that costs more than a company like LCL shipments because they require you to reserve and use the entire container as opposed to just using a certain volume of a container that is shared with other shipments.
Also consider that when you ship during peak season, you will be subject to higher costs. Services are also to be considered because the customs clearance process can be facilitated with help from an intermediary called a freight forwarder. This is in addition to delivering the product to its final destination.
Make sure you understand the company’s terms and conditions
Lastly, you need to be familiar with the terms and conditions of the shipping company that you want to use. The company should have a general copy of their terms and conditions on their website for you to read through and in some cases, before signing up, you are required to agree to their specific terms and conditions which will enable you to utilize their shipping services.
Terms and conditions are important to read and understand because they state in print what should happen at any given time and provide clarity. Terms and conditions also help customers understand the duties, rights, roles, and responsibilities of the company as well as what your obligations will be once you agree to do business with them.
Many people skip through the terms and conditions and just agree because they are too lazy to read. However, these are important and you need to understand these regulations before agreeing to use their service. This is a form of transparency.
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