Shipping caffeinated drinks from US to Europe

[aedwards00]

Hey, I've got a bit of a strange request for information here.

I'm hoping to buy http://cbs.seenon.com/detail.php?p=276931&v=All (caffeinated energy drink) and this http://cbs.seenon.com/detail.php?p=263300 (cup) as part of a birthday present for a friend. As far as I can see, the CBS store seems to be the only place this is available, but they won't ship this product outside of the US. I live in the UK and my friend is in Sweden, so my question is, is it theoretically possible to order to someone in the US, then them personally ship the parcel to Sweden? Or would this break some kind of import/export law? I'm thinking that may be the reason international shipping is unavailable in the first place.

If it would be possible, does anyone have a rough idea of the cost? I reckon the total parcel weight would be in the region of 1.5-2kg, and from looking at the USPS website that seemed to be around $20 with a fairly slow and cheap shipping method, but I'm not certain I've looked at the right part of their various tables. Does that sound like a realistic amount.

Lastly, and maybe a bit of a stretch as I'm not exactly a well known or long standing member here, but would anyone potentially be willing to do this for me? I would of course pay for the order myself, and could send the postage cost via paypal or something in advance once you know the cost, so there wouldnt be any financial risk involved.

There's no rush on this, there's 6 or 7 weeks to go before their birthday still, but if anyone can provide info or help just post or pm me  

Thanks

Adam

[Darth Mandarb]

Have you tried to contact the company directly to inquire about international shipping possibilities?  I have done this before with a company that didn't offer it on their website.  It was quite a bit more expensive, but they allowed it (just didn't through the website).

I dunno about legality issues (it's possible) but I find the former issue the most probable cause.

[aedwards00]

I havent, but might be worth a shot. My inclination was that they wouldnt be able to, as they do offer international shipping for most of their products, but the drink seems to be specifically excluded.

[edit] Think i might have made up that $20 shipping cost i came up with earlier, cant figure out where i got it from now

Actually there seem to be a lot of things they wont ship internationally, but they do specifically state that they wont, as opposed to just having the option missing, cant hurt to send them an email I guess though

[Mati256]

I want to buy some Mead Composition Books, but I can't buy them from Amazon or Ebay.
They don't ship them outside US.

[zabnat]

Also remember the possibility that your packet is caught in the customs, in that case you might have to pay for customs duty and VAT.
I found this via google:

Below is a summary of the new rules for EU deminimis value that enter into effect December 1, 2008:

• A commercial shipment below 22 Euros: no duty and no VAT collected.
• A commercial shipment between 22 Euros and 150 Euros: no duty but VAT is collected.
• A commercial shipment over 150 Euros: duty and VAT are collected.

And as far as I can understand, this is the whole package including the shipping cost.

[benny]

Most places want you to buy their wares, obviously. I can't imagine that this company would turn down the opportunity to sell you something especially if you are offering to pay them to ship it to you. A lot of times the company doesn't want to ship overseas because it is not worth the price of shipping and they don't have an overseas market.

If the company says no to your request then find another company or someone on e-bay selling the drinks who is willing to ship. I can't imagine this is the only distributor for this beverage.

[aedwards00]

Hmm well their customer service person was not hugely helpful - if you cant choose a shipping option on the website it's not available. They list it as a CBS exclusive product, so sadly no other suppliers, and I have tried ebay with no success :s Thanks for the suggestions though anyway.

So I guess if anyone from the US can help by posting the parcel onwards that would be great, just send me a pm, otherwise no worries and i'll find something else ^^