Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

We are currently making a series of informational postings at http://harveysoftware.blogspot.com/ concerning what is needed for international shipping.  We want to help companies of all sizes to ship their goods internationally and bring more of our dollars back home.  If any of the members of StartupNation would like to see us cover a specific topic when dealing with international shipping, please let me know and I will direct our team working on this project to cover your concerns.

 

I hope you all get some good out of our effort!

 

Thank you,

Bert

 

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Bert at Harvey Software, Inc.
Multi-Carrier Shipping Software and Supply Chain Solutions for Internet Retailers

Also a provider of free shipping information and resources at Harvey Software`s Parcel Shipping Blog along with free tracking solutions at TrackingPage.com...

Hi Bert!

I ship coffee, tea, hot chocolate & accessories (i. e. mugs, tea pots, etc.) all over the US, but I`ve never ventured into international shipping because of the "unknown".  If you could specifically address the international shipping requirements of consumables, like coffee, I would really appreciate it!

Thanks!

Anita

Anita, good subject idea!  Food products definitely have special needs.  We will definitely add a Blog posting on the subject.  In the mean while, I did touch on some of this subject matter in a past StartupNation Forum posting:

http://www.startupnation.com/pages/community/forum_posts_SEO .asp?TID=8081&PN=1&TPN=1

In that posting, I listed the following as very good starting points for global commerce.  They hold true for coffee too, especially the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

U.S. Trade Information Center (General export information)
http://www.export.gov/exportbasics/exp_001602.asp

U.S. Department of Commerce (for a Basic Guide to Exporting)
http://www.unzco.com/basicguide/index.html

U.S. Department of Agriculture (For Food Products)
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?navid= EXPORTING_GOODS&parentnav=MARKETING_TRADE&navtype=RT

Shipper`s Export Declaration (SED) to the Automated Export System (AES) (Some of the paper work needed)
http://www.aesdirect.gov/register_help.html

US Customs (More general information)
http://www.customs.ustreas.gov/xp/cgov/home.xml

International Monetary Fund - SDRs per Currency unit and Currency units per SDR (Dollar conversion rates)
http://www.imf.org/external/np/fin/data/rms_five.aspx

I hope these help you get started and we will definitely do something at the Blog in the near future.

Thank you for the suggestion!

Bert

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Bert at Harvey Software, Inc.
Multi-Carrier Shipping Software and Supply Chain Solutions for Internet Retailers

Also a provider of free shipping information and resources at Harvey Software`s Parcel Shipping Blog along with free tracking solutions at TrackingPage.com...

We help merchants grow into Canada and Europe.

I put together a page on importing into the UK and how do deal with an outsourced warehouse there (rather than buying, leasing a space and hiring employees).

Lots of import tips, tricks, etc.  We have other guides for Canada, VAT, GST, and foreign merchants coming into the US

http://www.shipwire.com/help/uk-warehouse-guide/



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