International Orders

• Step 1
• Register with a mail forwarder to obtain a domestic address in the United States
• Step 2
• Place your order.
• Enter your new shipping address and leave the billing address as the same
• Please make a note in the Comments field that this is an international order.  You may enter your international address there.
• Our system will not accept an International address as either the billing or shipping address.  You must use your domestic address
  

Why don't you ship directly outside of the United States?
Is this expensive?  Complicated?
How much will it cost to ship my package to me?
What do I do if I want to order with you?
Who are some of the mail forwarding services?
I signed up with a service.  Can I start ordering now?
Do your shipping rates include taxes, tariffs, duties or other charges?
Does your free shipping apply to International orders?
My order is taking longer than expected or has been lost?  Can Treasured Locks help me?
Do you ship to APOs/FPOs?  (YES!!!- but...)
What about International fraud?

Q: Why doesn't Treasured Locks ship directly outside of the United States?
International shipping is expensive, not very reliable and can be complicated. Our clients were having difficulty with getting packages in a timely and cost efficient manner and we were spending too much of our resources handling international shipping issues (lost packages, slow delivery times, delays in approval of the shipping charges, failed credit cards, answering questions concerning cost, etc.).  To better serve our overall client base, we decided to leave the international shipping to the international shipping experts.  It was either that or raise our international surcharge dramatically.  Since mail forwarders are experts at international delivery, they can do it much more efficiently than we can.  Because they ship so much internationally, they get bulk rates and can be more competitive than we can.  Many of our international customers already know that and are using mail forwarding services.  Once you have signed up with a mail forwarding company, this makes it simpler for you the international customer (you know exactly what to expect from your mail forwarding company).  This also makes it simpler for us since we now can deal with all of our customers both domestic and international in exactly the same way. This allows us to keep our operation running smoothly and our prices low.

Is it expensive? Complicated?
We believe this is better than having items shipped directly from Treasured Locks.  First, the mail forwarding services are experts in international shipping. They can help negotiate the various customs regulations, help you find the best shipping method (right combination of price and speed) and since they buy international shipping in bulk from the carriers, they get discounts that Treasured Locks cannot get.  Their services are priced reasonably, some charging a monthly fee and an up front cost- some not charging any monthly fees.  Some offer different levels of service, which allow you to choose the type of shipping you want.

Once you have signed up, the service is simple to use.  You simply order on-line, as you normally would; only you enter your new United States address as the ship to address.  Then, you work with your mail forwarding company to have the package shipped to you.

Q: How much will it cost to ship my package to me?
Our Domestic Shipping rates apply for the shipping to your mail forwarding service.  Treasured Locks will charge this amount to your credit card at the time we ship.  We cannot answer how much it will cost to get your package from the mail forwarding service to you.  The cost will depend on the weight of your package.  We also cannot tell you how much your package will weigh.  Please do not ask for a shipping quote or estimate. Here are some guidelines.

Our average package weighs somewhere between 2-4 pounds (1-2 kg).  Most of our individual items weigh far less than a pound.  

Access USA offers a rate calculator on their website.  Shop the States has a rates page on the FAQs page.  You can play around with these to get an estimate of how much your package will cost to have it shipped to you.  Each mail forwarder offers different rate structures with some charging up front and/or monthly fees and some charging a per package fee. 

Q: What do I do if I want to order with you?
The first step is to sign up with a mail forwarding service. A mail forwarding service gives you an address in the United States that you can use to have packages mailed to you.  The mail forwarding service receives your packages and mails them to you, in your country, for a fee.  This greatly simplifies Internet shopping for international customers on all Internet purchases.  Once you have this in place, you can shop with ease from any United States based Internet store.  See the next question for some links to mail forwarding services (these are NOT endorsement of these particular services).

Important second step:  After signing up with a mail forwarding service, a key step will be to notify your credit card company of your new address in the United States (as an alternate address).  This will allow the merchant (us in this case to get an "address match" on your address).  This is very important in terms of security.   Your order may be denied by merchants if the address you give is not listed as an alternate address with your credit card company.

Q: Who are some of the mail forwarding services*?
Your choice of mail forwarding services is entirely up to you.  Here are some that we are aware of:

• Access USA-reasonable rates. on-line rate calculator. personal shopping service. 
• MailForwarding.Biz 
• USA Box
  

These vendors have different fees and offer different services. Please visit their websites and read carefully.  Access USA offers a "Personal Shopper" service which will pay for your merchandise for you.  This can be very useful if you are having problems getting an alternate address on your credit card, want to use a check or if your credit card does not support address verification (many international cards do not).  Some have monthly fees and set up fees (but charge less per package) and some have lower fees but charge more per package.

Q: I have signed up with a mail forwarding service. Can I begin my orders?
You can begin ordering.  But, please do not forget the important second step.  Make sure to contact your credit card company and add your  US mailing address as your alternate shipping address. Or, you can use the personal shopper service option that Access USA offers.    USA Box also offers a shopping service.  They will place and pay for your orders for you.

To order, shop as you normally would.  When you check out, enter your new United States street address as the "Ship to" address.  Do not enter your International address as the billing address as our system will not accept international addresses.

Q: Do your shipping rates includes taxes, tariffs, duties, etc.?
No. Treasured Locks rates have never included any fees that might be imposed by your local government.  Our fees include the cost of shipping only.  If you have any questions concerning import duties, taxes, etc., your mail forwarding service should be able to help you.

Q: I bought a product that has free shipping. Does it also mean free international shipping?
Yes and No.  Since we do not ship Internationally, our free shipping does apply to the domestic portion of the your shipping.  Our free shipping offer applies to packages shipped to a street address in the continental United States.  If your mail forwarder provides you with such an address and your order qualified for free shipping, we cover that portion of the shipping cost.  Your mail forwarding service will charge their normal fee for the international portion of the shipping.

Q: My order is taking longer than expected to arrive or has been lost.  Whom should I contact?
Your first contact should be with your mail forwarding service. If they have received the package, they are responsible for getting from them to you.  Treasured Locks is only responsible for getting the package from our location to the address in the United States.  We will use our normal delivery methods which may include delivery confirmation or tracking.  This information will be provided to you when your order ships and can be used to determine whether the package reached the mail forwarding company. 

Q: Do you ship to APOs/FPOs?
We are happy to be able to service our armed forces and are happy to ship to APOs/FPOs with no surcharge.  There are a few things for you to understand to make the process smoother.  First, please do not put the name of the country you are stationed in into the address field.  APOs/FPOs are considered domestic by the United States Postal Service.  We have to fill out customs paperwork.  But, we use Domestic Shipping rates.  If you put the country in, our system will not accept your order. Put the first three letters (usually APO or FPO) into the City field and the last two letters (AE or AP) into the State field.  Put the five digit number into the Zip Code field.

Unfortunately, there is no way to track or get Delivery Confirmation on APOs/FPOs.  The United States Post Office gets the package to the APO and it's up the military to take it from there.  If you contact us about a package sent to an APO, all we can tell you is the date we mailed it and where it was addressed to.  We cannot take responsibility for lost or delayed packages sent to an APO. 

Q: What about International Fraud?
Due to high fraud rates on International Orders and to the lack of a system to verify credit card information in some foreign countries, we reserve the right to require a copy of back and front of your credit card or a recent credit card statement as well as a signed, written authorization to charge your card the amount of the order.  We might also ask for a scan of a picture ID.  If requested, you must send this information in a file to us via email.  (Hint- a digital camera is an excellent way of doing this).