March 31st 2009

Send By Airmail Or Courier? Answers Every Dropshipper Has Been Waiting For

Drop Shipping

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By Severine Dumon

To be a successful dropshipper you need to get three things right. The product, your wholesale supplier and the right dropship method. You are starting your online shop and you have found the right company to dropship from the best products and the most competitive prices. Now you have figure out which shipping method will be the most suitable for you. At Chinavasion you can choose between Airmail through Hong Kong Post, or international courier companies including DHL FEdex and UPS. And before you can compare each of these methods you need to know what each of them entails.

What is Airmail?

hk post
Almost everybody knows what airmail is, it’s the express service offered by post offices around the world. And in the cases of China wholesale dropship services like Chinavasion, the preferred provider is usually Hong Kong Post. Hong Kong post can deliver products worldwide provided it is a small package that weighs less than 2 KG. Posting things tends to be cheaper than by sending them by courier. The ‘express service’ part of airmail is express when compared to standard post… and we all know how long that takes. 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. However, as items are small (less than 2KG) they are less likely to be stopped by customs than something sent through a courier. Items shipped by airmail are also less trackable. You’ll be able to see when they’ve left Hong Kong, and you may or may not be able to see where they are once they have been processed by the post office but between those times they are ‘off the radar.

What are couriers?

Couriers are companies that take single or small amounts of freight all over the world through their own infrastructure of planes and trucks.

They are privately owned companies they have huge logistics facilities all around the world. They are well known internationally. In terms of price they are more expensive than Airmail

DHL Fedex and UPS are some of the express couriers that Chinavasion uses.

Transit time is fast from China to your delivery destination. Delivery by courier to your , or your customers’, door normally only takes 3-5 days.

These companies offer all on their website a detailed tracking information.

Thus you can follow every step of the delivery from the moment the package leaves China till they arrive at their intended destination.

So which is better?

In my experience of working at Chinavasion I have come to the following conculsions…

Trackability Couriers are better than airmail when it comes to tracking your package.

A package sent by airmail can be tracked from the day it is sent from Hong Kong but will only be visible when it has arrived in your country. Then you will be able to track the parcel from your local post office.

A courier will offer detailed tracking information all throughout the delivery process.

Delivery Time Couriers are also faster than airmail for getting packages to customers. Couriers are speedy and will usually deliver in less than one week.

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.

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 customers decide which shipping option they want to choose.

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25 comments...What do you think?

  1. Posted by george 31st March, 2009 at 9:36 pm

    Customs Clearance is a highly significant issue. The fact is, in many countries your airmail packets are tax free whereas your courier packets are not.

  2. Posted by dimitrios touskos 1st April, 2009 at 10:41 pm

    of course courier have more stability of the package but when a package come in ur country the courier customs service is more more expensive,i prefer the ems service of the country,u wait 2-5 days more but u win a lot of money from customs fees.

  3. Posted by Leandro Fávero 3rd October, 2009 at 2:15 am

    WHAT THE MOST FAST TO ARRIVE IN BRAZIL…?

  4. Posted by International Shipping Rate Calculation, A Foolproof 7 Step Plan | Chinavasion | China Gadgets Blog 16th October, 2009 at 3:28 pm

    [...] Wondering what the best shipping method is for dropshippers? Read Send By Airmail Or Courier? Answers Every Dropshipper Has Been Waiting For. [...]

  5. Posted by Charles Aquino 7th January, 2010 at 7:04 am

    EMS is a good option ( cheap and fast) but the taxes charged on the package are almost the same charged on FEDEX, DHL, UPS deliveries. Airmail is cheaper and sometimes fast, but in the end of the year, when peoples all over the world use the online stores to buy christmas gifts, the slow delivery makes ones mad. But they are excellent almost all the time.

  6. Posted by Vanwynsberghe Dirk 14th January, 2010 at 1:28 am

    Airmail packages delivered in 15 days ? Don’t make me laugh… ! I ordered a cell phone from
    Chinavasion the 12/17/2009. My package has “left” Hong Kong the 12/23/2009. Today the
    01/13/2010, after 27 days, I still wonder where my package may be…

  7. Posted by Gareth 4th February, 2010 at 2:40 pm

    Hi Dirk,

    Unfortunately this is one of the sad truths of email is that it can take a lot longer than courier or even EMS. If the item still hasn’t arrived in one or two weeks please get in contact with us by sending an email to support@chinavasion.com and we will try to resolve the issue for you.

  8. Posted by Max 25th February, 2010 at 7:52 am

    Hello, are the following possible, other than by having only one item in the cart, i.e. without deleting other items to see costs for single items?
    1) viewing the shipping cost for each item, not just the subtotal for all items
    2) determining which item(s), single or paired, will be below 2kg to ship by airmail

  9. Posted by Gareth 2nd March, 2010 at 9:03 am

    Hi Max,

    Not at present I’m sorry

  10. Posted by Sergei 5th March, 2010 at 3:53 pm

    Dear Chinavasion,

    Please tell me whether do you ship to Ukraine?

  11. Posted by Gareth 8th March, 2010 at 9:58 am

    HI Sergei,

    Yes we do ship to the Urkaine

  12. Posted by Candra 31st March, 2010 at 10:21 pm

    Dear Chinavasion team,

    Do you ship to both Cambodia & Indonesia? and really appreciate if you could add the customs info of both countries.

    Just found out this website, great product, thanks

  13. Posted by Candra 31st March, 2010 at 11:44 pm

    In addition, If I’m using a dropship method, it said that the product will sent ” blind”, how about the guarantee card? will it be any Chinavasion names on it? .. Normally how long it takes to claim a guarantee of a product after we sent back to the warehouse?roughly..lets say a handphone or a car audio products.

  14. Posted by Gareth 2nd April, 2010 at 11:55 am

    Hi Candra,

    Yes we do indeed send to both Indonesia and Cambodia. However, Cambodia you will need to pay by bank transfer. Regarding customs information for both countries we do not have anything right now but we will attempt to update our resources in the near future and will include the information then.

  15. Posted by Candra 8th April, 2010 at 2:05 pm

    Hi Gareth,

    I wanted to make a large quantity purchase, I wanted to know whether apart from airmail express and courier, does Chinavasion delivers through shipping to Indonesia (by sea transportation)? Just want to keep the shipment fee lower…And how long does it normally take?

    I notice some product doesn’t have option of Airmail when we checkout price, there is only ups, fedex, n dhl, (I check with a car DVD player). Is there any reason for that?

  16. Posted by Candra 13th April, 2010 at 9:11 pm

    Dear Gareth,

    I’m looking forward to receive your reply here…

    Thanks

  17. Posted by Gareth 5th May, 2010 at 11:40 am

    Hi Candra,

    We engineer the returns process so that the billing address, not the shipping address is our only point of contact. With airmail or EMS normally selected as the method of return shipping can sometimes take up to three weeks. For the process in detail could you check out the Friday FAQ question I am a reseller how can I handle the warranty?.

    I hope that helps

  18. Posted by Optimize Dropshipping Service | Chinavasion | China Gadgets Blog 8th May, 2010 at 10:39 am

    [...] Wondering what the best shipping method is for dropshippers? Read Shipping Methods For Dropshippers. [...]

  19. Posted by Dropshipping Explained | Chinavasion | China Gadgets Blog 21st June, 2010 at 11:32 am

    [...] for express deliveries. While each of the shipping methods have their advantages and disadvantages (click here to learn more about couriers and airmail) these are the best options for dropshipping if you are an [...]

  20. Posted by Denis 14th July, 2010 at 8:49 pm

    Dear Chinavasion. Ukrainian Post Office have online tracking system too. http://www.ukrposhta.com/www/upost.nsf/search_post If you want, you can add this URL to “Tracking Air Mail Deliveries With Your Local Post Office Website” section on your website.

  21. Posted by Dropshipping? Bulk Up Your Accessories To Boost Profits! | Chinavasion | China Gadgets Blog 24th August, 2010 at 11:24 am

    [...] Learn how to save more money on shipping by choosing the best shipping method [...]

  22. Posted by P. Chatelier 27th August, 2010 at 2:41 pm

    My order was about 83 Euros, less than 1kg…
    I paid 28,55 Euros of import tax for a delivery in France !!!

  23. Posted by Adrian 30th August, 2010 at 9:28 am

    Hi,

    Thanks for letting us know about this situation.

    We always try to help as much as we can with declarations and shipping paperwork, but when you are importing there is always a risk that customs in your country may charge import tax on products coming in from China.

    If you believe that there is a risk of import tax in your country, please add a note to your order requesting aid with the declaration and we may be able to help.

    Thanks for your feedback.

  24. Posted by Bienvenidos a Chinavasion | Chinavasion | China Gadgets Blog 7th September, 2010 at 10:53 am

    [...] Si usted está interesado en vender en eBay, también le recomendamos que elija una entrega por Fedex Express DHL o UPS. Como lo saben a los clientes les gustan la rapidez. [...]

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