How to best ship big & heavy speakers internationally?

One thing I found with shipping internationally is that some buyers might want you to declare a lower value on an item in order to lessen a customs charge.  Problem with that is that you won't be able to insure past the declared value, and if the item is lost or damaged, you will be out the difference.  I don't like to do that, but if the buyer insists I have required him to agree to accept the risk of loss after I ship, which of course goes against your desire to keep the risk of loss.  For that reason I have started limiting my sales to domestic buyers only.

For the weight you're talking about, I think you might not be able to use UPS.  There are some international freight companies, hopefully other members will chime in.

The responsibility is ALL YOURS until they arrive safe at the destination. I've had this out in the past with sellers who didn't understand the rules. It is necessary to meet the requirements of all parties involved. Overseas is especially tricky. I send two LP's to Japan once. It cost me $125.00 to do so because Fed EX was the only company who would give me a receipt guaranteeing delivery. Another time I sent two Luxman units to Spain. Very unusual situation. The man paid me in advance and let the funds clear first before I sent the gear. I also declared a low value though at this point it was all his risk. I emailed him several times to see if he got the gear. He never responded! Another time I bought two B&W subs from a dealer in Florida. He shipped them via truck while I was on vacation. My son called me to say the truck was in the driveway. I told him to inspect the speakers before signing for them. They were damaged. I told him to write it on the bill of lading so I could turn in the damage claim. Big mistake! I was screwed! The trucking company only pays .20 cents per pound for damage. Paypal would cover it BUT I was required to return the speakers on my dime. This would have cost me in excess of $300.00 I worked it out with the seller who was a nice person. I could have been left with nothing but damaged speakers. I don't think I would ship overseas unless I had zero risk. I hope this helps. Joe

Getting cold feet on this one.

One more serious concern; Even if you play by all the rules and something goes wrong, YOU can still be left with a mess on your hands. I shipped a new in box heater to a guy in Oregon ( I'm in Pennsylvania). FedEx damaged the outside of the box and had even put a lot of tape around it to keep it from falling apart. The buyer rejected it and it came back to me. FedEx refused to make good for the damage!

I shipped another heater via UPS to a buyer. UPS damaged it. They returned it to me. The buyer didn't repack it well at all and it really got mangled on the return trip which he was off the hook for as he had a receipt showing that he returned it (Paypals requirement). I called UPS and they weren't going to pay the claim. I explained the situation and the very polite UPS person said "I understand. We'll pay the claim". I only use UPS now. Joe