Information
for customers from abroad /
Terms of delivery and payment

Customs regulation, shipping costs and possible modes of payment differ from country to country, so it is not easy to give general information here. But I will at least try to provide you with some guidelines.

Shipping costs

Unfortunately, international freight costs are very expensive. I am sending all my parcels by air mail and properly insured; this is - in my experience - by far the best and safest mode of delivery.

See the following table for the exact amount of the shipping costs:

Customs duty and taxes

These regulations differ from country to country. How much taxes or duty you have to pay often depends on the value of the parcel. Many of my customers reported that they did not have to pay any of these fees, however.

The money transfer

The payment should be made in Euro. Only if that is not possible, we might perhaps agree that the payment can also be made in US dollars (please ask for details). If you would like to know how much a certain Euro-price is in your own currency, you can use this currency converter:

Many people prefer paying with their credit card. I am able to accept Visa, Eurocard and JCB (and perhaps some other cards as well; please ask for details), but please don't transmit me your credit card number by email or internet. I am not allowed to pick up the numbers this way because of the potential security risks. Please use a paper form like the one I have prepared HERE for you.

Apart from paying with a credit card, there are quite a lot of other possibilities how to make the payment. For example, if you prefer paying with PayPal, please ask me for my e-mail address to where you should make the transfer.

Another possible way is to send me a personal (voucher) cheque from your bank account. As soon as the money has arrived on my account, I'll send you the parcel with the doll(s). As far as I know both sides have to pay a certain fee for cashing the cheque. You could ask your bank for details.

Perhaps you can also buy an international money order and send it to me. In some U.S. states/cities for example there are check cashing stations where you can buy them for less than 1 dollar, whereas a bank might charge you $ 15.00 or more. In case you are living in a country where a partner bank of my bank is located, it might also be a possibility worthwile to consider to pay the money in there. I will tell you my international bank code (SWIFT code) as well as my international bank account number (IBAN) on request.

There are other possibilites for transferring money as well, but in general they are more expensive than the ones outlined above. These options are:

	COD parcels ("cash on delivery", "Nachnahme-Sendung"): they are only possible to some countries (not to the U.S.A., for example). You can ask me what about your country.
	registered letters with insured value: the charge for such a letter might well be more than the fee for cashing a cheque. You could ask your mail service for the exact charges.
	an international bank transfer (wire): involves a fee which often exceeds the fee for cashing a cheque. You should ask your bank about details. As I already said, it differs a lot from country to country and also from bank to bank. In most European countries, it seems to be quite easy to make such a payment from one's own bank account.

General remarks

If a doll that I've sent doesn't meet your expectations at all (e.g. because it looks different to the photos in my online catalogue), you are entitled to send it back to me and get your money back. The freight costs are on you then. But the best way to avoid such trouble is to communicate intensively (and perhaps to exchange some more pictures) before sending the doll to you.

Now, if you've already fallen in love with one of my dolls and like to order it, you should either fill in the order form or send me your order by email. In case you have some questions first, please send me an email, too. I will try to answer them as soon as possible.

Last update: 30.11.2010. Webmaster: Björn Benken. © 1999 Barbara Benken. All rights reserved.

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