(Commercial) possible proxy service for non-UK buyers

[Jagannath]

Hullo all,

Just testing the water here - one of the perks of running an online shop and negotiating shipping rates is that I get an allotted amount of shipping 'free' which I don't have a massive use for.

I'm thinking of offering people outside the UK a proxy service for purchases - you pay the UK shipping, them I ship it on to you for a small fee. I will also help avoid customs charges.

The terms I'm thinking of are:

- Payment up front via PayPal
- Non refundable once Order placed.
- Flat 15% fee.
- No import duties.
- fully tracked, expedited DHL shipping to most of the world.
- Risk is customer's own.

That last one is important - out international shipping has an issue  rate of 0.23% last year, so really reliable. However, in the likely event of an issue customers would need to accept that they are out of pocket, and can't expect a refund. I will, of course, do everything I can to avoid any issues. Same applies with retailers' delivery to me.

So, what do people think? Is there much interest for this service or would people prefer paying the retailers' international shipping.

I use a proxy service for clothing from Japan (what can I say, I work in fashion  ) but that is for higher transaction values than I imagine this being, and U.K. customs are worth avoiding!

Any interest?

[PaintsByNumbers]

But if shipped to the UK, the buyer would pay VAT.  So the cost becomes a wash.