[Milsurplus] European (& others) Shipping

[barry]

some thoughts on out-of-country shipping:
1)payment: my bank (Wells Fargo) sometimes charge exorbitant fees for
cashing out-of-country checks; you must first check w/ your bank to de-
termine their policy on this.  i recieved a check from a czech (!), &
his payment instrument did NOT have ANY routing numbers whatsoever, &
my bank wanted to charge somewhere between $30 & $50 to cash the check,
even though it had a major bank (& NYC) on the check - they had to send
the check to Czech. to the issuing bank, and await funding; it might
have been possible to cash the check thru the issuing bank if one had
been located near me, but the closest one was SF bay area @ 300 miles.
i typically accept PayPal, International M.O., Western Union M.O., as
these seem safest for me.  PS: my bank also charges a fairly high rate
to cash even Canadian checks/m.o.'s, so i insist on official Canadian
Postal M.O.'s, which the USPS will cash (they will only cash their own
M.O.'s & Canadian Postal M.O.'s here in my area).
2)My USPS requires certain packaging instructions be followed when mail-
ing INSURED or REGISTERED packages overseas; one requirement was that
ONLY brown packaging tape be used on the outside - they stamped EVERY
intersecting line of tape w/ a special stamp so that customs would know
that the package had never been opened since it had left the P.O.; this
was a very strict requirement, and i had to re-package my first box when
i found this out.
3)boxes: i hit up Lucent Technologies in my area for their once used
boxes - these are the STRONGEST shipping boxes one can usually find; the
boxes usually have some anti-static materials inside also when i receive
them.  there is usually some technical industry located in your area
which (should) be happy to have you haul away their once used shipping
cartons (i find most companies/corporations very wasteful in this area).
of course, foam in place and the like are excellent ideas also, but
otherwise there is usually no need to purchase expensive boxes when a 
little footwork will garner some of the best.
4)OVERPACKAGE & PROTECT!  no further explanation needed.  sometimes bet-
ter to remove tubes and other items (especially some knobs which might
extend outward a ways from the panel) and package separately.  glass
dial covers, etc might require further protection.
5)INSURE!  INSURE!  INSURE!  the package is going on a long trip, and
will be handled by many different persons, many of whom don't understand
the word "FRAGILE"; they make the gorillas in the ads look like toddlers
also, be advised that customs agents on the other end might very well be
inclined to open your package, so the simpler your packaging style was,
the better chance when the customs folks re-close the box it will still
be protected.

more later,
barry
carson city, nv