so I had to recently return a toy for a refund internationally,instead of dropping the $50 to use standard tracking I decided to try something out, I put domestic insurance on the package (the insurance means nothing once outside the US but the package continues to be tracked and cost roughly $6) instead of sending ebay the tracking # from the insurance I gave them my customs # it tracked the toy great and ebay sent me my full refund(I had never thought a customs # would be good enough to follow thru on a claim), I don't think this is public knowledge as I have never heard it mentioned and know international shipping tracked for paypal security has been voiced as a concern/problem on the board before

I have always used the customs number for tracking and have heard no complaints, Paypal even recognizes it as USPS tracking.

So what was your grand total for shipping to Japan, and what service did you choose instead of EMS? Just want to compare price to average $30-$40 For approximently a 1 pound or less package that EMS charges, which includes insurance up to $100.

Also, how does domestic insurance protect you from claiming damage compensation for something shipped internationally , how do they determine where package was damaged.

It is true that USPS EMS shipping is very expensive( I cringe when I have to quote a price from USPS for shipping ) but it seems to me the best way, IMHO, to ship overseas and have peace of mind that package is tracked , insured, and also guaranteed an approximate delivery date, that is why I prefer to ship that method.

Ever notice when you get charged EMS from Japan for say a 2 pound package it's around $30 where as you try to do the reverse here and it's astronomical. EMS here, for the same weight back to Japan according to the USPS is $50 And that is the only way to get actually tracking all the way to Japan. It's ridiculous and complete BS that USPS can't track anything beyond out borders. They just try to nickel and dime you for services that would be really simple to do because they're hard up for money.

So Waiting are you saying if you get insurance (even though it's only good while the package is stateside) you can use that tracking all the way to Japan, or any other international destination? I knew about the customs number tracking but that will only track to the distribution center in Chicago (and it's good enough for paypal).