subject: How to Stop Shipping From Killing Your eBay Business, Deciding Between Airmail and Courier [print this page] How to Stop Shipping From Killing Your eBay Business, Deciding Between Airmail and Courier
If you want to succeed as an eBay dropshipper you need to get three things right, find a fantastic product, get the shipping method sorted and find a wholesale supplier that will take care of you and your customers.
Your biggest choice will be deciding whether to go with airmail or with an international courier.
Here are the factors you will need to consider with each system:
**Global Courier**
A courier company is an organisation that will take a small consignment of goods or a single item and get it to anywhere in the world quickly.
They possess a free-standing worldwide logistical infrastructure of trucks, planes and warehouses and are private entities.
While the location and time of year can affect delivery times most couriers will be able to get the wholesale item from your supplier's warehouse to your customers door in between three to five days.
You also will be able to follow the progress the entire way by visiting the courier's website.| Keeping an eye on the courier's website will also allow you to follow the item from the factory warehouse to the customers door.
In terms of price they are more expensive than airmail and get more attention from customs officials|and are checked more often by customs officials.
**Airmail**
Pretty much everybody knows what airmail is, who provides it and how it works.
Airmail is the express service offered by post offices around the world.
While most terms and conditions are the same they can be found quite easily by looking up the website of the different company post offices.
China wholesale suppliers usually offer airmail services through Hong Kong post, which can deliver products worldwide provided they are small packages that weigh less than 2 KG.
Posting things tends to be cheaper than by sending them by courier.
As a result the shipping time will be a bit slower than couriers and the delivery time can be from 7 to 15 days to and sometimes even longer depending on the destination and the time.
Items shipped by airmail are also less trackable.
As a general rule the date and time the item left the senders country is visible and so is the items' journey through the destination country. But the time in between that is a mystery best known by the postal gods.
Airmail packages will almost never be stopped by customs or taxed.
**So Which Should You Choose?**
After years of experience in the dropshipping industry I have come to the following conclusions.
Here are how these different shipping methods measure up in each of these fields.
Time Of Delivery
Couriers are also faster than airmail for getting packages to customers.
Airmail is a bit slower than courier, however can make up a little time going through the customs shed as the package are smaller the few chances for the package to be delayed by customs officials.
Couriers are speedy and will usually deliver in less than one week.
Tax
Airmail packages won't accumulate the notice of the taxman like items sent through the courier will.
Disclosure Level
couriers are far superior to airmail providers when it comes to letting you know where your package is.
A courier will offer detailed tracking information all throughout the delivery process.
Items sent by airmail 'disappear when travelling between countries|Items travelling between different countries through airmail become 'invisible'.
Price
Airmail is by far the cheapest shipping method. Speed and trackability have a cost this is why couriers will be pricier.
So in essence which shipping method you choose for your dropship business will depend on your business model and your customer service plan.
If you are offering the lowest prices then airmail might be an accepted option, provided you give your customers the lead time it is likely to take.
If you are offering speedy delivery and the best service you might be advised to pay a little more and get items sent by courier.
Another option could be to let your cu
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