Anyone use FCI regularly?

[zoesam]

For international sales?  If so, how much success have you had?  

I just ordered a necklace from the UK (wow, is Cornwall ever beautiful) & I nicely asked the seller if she'd do FCI, since we both had good reputations, so appeared trustworthy.  She was kind enough to oblige & I got my gorgeous necklace in a little over a week!  

I was surprised by how quickly & smoothly it went.  Obviously England has a decent postal system & that matters, but it made me wonder if I should consider FCI?  It's not like clothing is a high-scam-risk item.  Generally our customers are honest & really want our items.

[chapeaunoir]

I just sent something to Israel FCI - it's almost the only method I use shipping internationally (I don't use priority very often) and have for years.

[zoesam]

Feb 14, 2022 2:26:17 GMT chapeaunoir said:

I just sent something to Israel FCI - it's almost the only method I use shipping internationally (I don't use priority very often) and have for years.

Do you have countries excluded or a $$ limit that you use in deciding whether to ship that way?  

I currently use GSP, but I was so surprised by how quick/easy the FCI transaction went, I'm considering switching.   Also, how do you provide a tracking number?  I thought FCI doesn't have tracking.  

[chapeaunoir]

Depends on where I sell - on Etsy I will ship anywhere - I have a regular customer in China and in Lithuania, for instance. eBay I exclude certain countries (Russia, for instance, as I know first hand about their mail service, having relations there), but ship anywhere else. I only use Priority if the item is over $150.

Can you use GSP for some countries and just ship yourself for others? I don't know exactly how that works as I've never used the GSP service, but if you can, you might consider just shipping FCI to say Canada, Europe, UK, Australia (though Australia is having problems with their service right now).

I'm just starting to open up again internationally after I had packages get lost during the pandemic.

Oh, the tracking - some countries use eDelcon, but I've found few countries that don't have some kind of internal tracking. You can check that on USPS. 

[val2525]

You used to be able to select some countries for direct shipping, and use GSP on the others. Last time I sent something FCI, it had a tracking #.

[zoesam]

Feb 14, 2022 5:29:53 GMT chapeaunoir said:

Depends on where I sell - on Etsy I will ship anywhere - I have a regular customer in China and in Lithuania, for instance. eBay I exclude certain countries (Russia, for instance, as I know first hand about their mail service, having relations there), but ship anywhere else. I only use Priority if the item is over $150.

Can you use GSP for some countries and just ship yourself for others? I don't know exactly how that works as I've never used the GSP service, but if you can, you might consider just shipping FCI to say Canada, Europe, UK, Australia (though Australia is having problems with their service right now).

I'm just starting to open up again internationally after I had packages get lost during the pandemic.

Oh, the tracking - some countries use eDelcon, but I've found few countries that don't have some kind of internal tracking. You can check that on USPS. 

Yes, I can do a combo of both.  Not the easiest to set up, but can be done.  I might dip my toe in the water that way.  Yeah, AU & NZ are having problems now, so I'd stay GSP on those, b/c GSP pkgs do go through.   Thanks for your input.  I'll think about it.  

[somany]

I quit selling internationally until GSP came along because FCI was what I used, and I got burned probably 3-4 times because packages didn't arrive. I think there was a snad case in there also, but I don't remember details. I also don't remember what countries. I started shipping internationally again with GSP until they stopped taking 100% responsibility, and I had a buyer make a bogus claim; and I stopped shipping internationally again. I'm just not willing to risk the cost of international shipping plus the sales price. It would be $40 plus for most things that I sell. Yes, technically you only lose what you paid for the item, but you also lose the potential to sell it for your asking price to another domestic buyer.

[blissfullymiserable]

Used to sell FCI before GSP came along. Had a few problems with it but problems weren't frequent at all. Pretty much the same with GSP but not considering switching back FCI anytime soon. The vast majority of buyers are honest and probably aren't even aware of any changes.