Shipping "rewards" from a Kickstarter project
(i cant find a stack relating to "Crowdfunding" or similar so decided to put this in here, please feel free to migrate it to a more suitable stack if you know of one)
I am currently running a Kickstarter project that ends in 3 days and it looks like it will be successfully funded (yay!)
In the end it looks like I will need to ship around 150 "rewards" out to backers.
Ok so here is my question:
These rewards are small (credit card size) and will be shipped singly from the UK to all over the world, probably in a jiffy bag. Given that these are a "Reward" ie a gift for backing the project, can i legally mark them as "gift" (s) on the shipping declarations?
Additionally, a large number of the backers are in the USA, is there a way to ship all the items (say 100) in a single package over the pond, and then have them dispersed on the other side, thereby significantly reducing shipping costs and the chances of any going missing?
2 Answers
Do a google search on "kickstarter fulfillment " - there are a few service providers that can help you out with the logistics. Shipwire has an program catered to this specific need - and has a few case studies that may be helpful.
Congrats!! To answer your question no you shouldn't ship it as a gift. As it states on the right side of KickStarter, under How to Price, all rewards should be budgeted for shipping. Can you ship it as a gift, yes, would I no. You could get in serious trouble and its technically not a gift because you were paid.
EDIT:
It also asks you if you wanted to include a fee shipping outside your country. Mine is US but yours may be UK. I doubt any difference:
-
Its a complicated one isnt it - I asked £4 for shipping which will easily cover P&P but, I dont want all recipients having to pay import duty on what is only a £12 item, I dont know how it works in the US but here the royal mail holds your item, sends you a letter, and charges you quite a bit for the priviledge, not to mention the added time of up to 2 weeks. – Darkcat Studios 12 years ago
-
@DarkcatStudios if its only £12, it is likely to be exempt from import duty in most places. I've received much more expensive stuff from out of country and had no problems with the customs. – Littleadv 12 years ago
-
That said, shipping 100 of them together will definitely trigger customs check and import duty. – Littleadv 12 years ago
