Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. Some say it’s an arbitrary day, but for many of us, it’s a good excuse to use to have yet another day to celebrate and appreciate our love for our partners (or partners to be). If your significant other is in a distant land this Valentine’s Day, read on to find out how you can offer them a gift that will truly touch their hearts.

What options are available to send a Valentine’s gift overseas?

Do a quick search on the internet and you’ll find many online services that help to send Valentines Day Gifts overseas. These services allow you to browse and purchase from their online store, then deliver the bought items directly to your recipients.

The limitation is clear – you will be limited to gift only what is available on that online store. That usually results in your recipient receiving a generic gift basket that does not give off its own identity. It could have been given by anyone, and it could be received by almost anyone too.

Here’s how you could offer a truly unique Valentine’s Day gift overseas this Valentine’s. Open yourself to a wide array of possibilities across multiple stores, curate your very own selection of unique items to gift, wrap them into one beautiful present, then ship that from your home to wherever your partners are. International shipping can be complicated, but we’ll make it so simple, affordable and fast – you’ll be able to try it out immediately this Valentine’s!

Cheap shipping for your Valentine’s Day gift

As the saying goes, “what gets measured gets managed”. Knowing where the costs come from will help you manage your budget well.

• The common mistake of beginners is to ship really large but light packages, not realising it would already have exceeded their budget. International shipping is charged by weight and size i.e. a heavy and small package could cost the same as a light and large package. If you are shipping from Singapore to anywhere worldwide, you can get instant quotes with our rate calculator by entering your package’s weight and dimensions.
• Another hidden cost is duties and taxes. The amount gets determined by customs when your package arrives at the destination country. Then, they charge it to your recipient. The best way to manage this is to understand how to declare your shipment value and then also to use a shipping service like JustShip that offers DDP (deliver duties paid) service so that your recipient will never get charged for a gift you send them.

Ship unique items. The more unique, the more value you will be deriving from the money you are paying! Here are some types of items that are unique.

• Handmade items by you. These can range from something simpler like a handwritten card to home-baked cookies.
• Local items. Send them Singapore items that are not as accessible to your partner who is overseas.

Ship more! Just like McDonald’s fries, most of the money is paid when you order the fries but it doesn’t cost too much more to upsize.

What not to ship

Alcohol and fresh flowers are strictly a no-go for international shipping. Chocolates will likely not be stopped by customs, but the concern is more whether it will survive the temperate changes during international shipping.

Given that these 3 items are also fairly generic and accessible, consider ordering these items from a store in your partner’s country to deliver to them directly.

Safe shipping for your Valentine’s Day gift

International shipping has a notorious reputation. Different countries’ customs have different regulations on what can and cannot be imported into the country. JustShip has had a rich experience shipping for everyday people, so we know what items can make great Valentine’s Day gifts and at the same time be safe for international shipping.

• Handwritten cards
• Home-baked cookies.
  • Regular shippers in Singapore will know Singpost does not ship food. Thankfully, JustShip does!
• Adult toys.
  • Don’t be shy, there’s nothing wrong with keeping things passionate even in a long distance relationship!
  • Regular shippers in Singapore will know Singpost also does not ship electronics. Again, thankfully JustShip does.
  • Unless the battery has a very high Watt-hour (more than a heavy duty laptop), there won’t be any extra charges to ship electronics with us.
• Clothes
• Soft toys.
  • Only thing to be careful of here is to manage volumetric weight i.e. size of the toy. As mentioned in the paragraph on cost, light but large items will also cost more when shipping internationally!

As icing on the cake, you could spray some perfume onto your items before wrapping them up. While bottled perfume is not allowed for international shipping, generous sprays of perfume may survive the 5 day journey of your parcel across the world. If your partner has a perfume scent he/she is familiar with, it can really add a nice finishing touch to the entire gift.

Conclusion

As we always say, better early than late, but better late than never! With Valentine’s just around the corner, don’t wait too long to ship a gift to your partner! JustShip makes it incredibly simple and fast, just fill up our order form and we’ll be at your doorstep on the next working day to pick up your items. If you don’t know how to pack to international shipping standards, JustShip also offers optional packing services that are incredibly affordable and professional! Just pass us your items in a plastic bag and we’ll pack it in our warehouse and ship it out. Your partner can receive your gift in as fast as 2-5 working days. Try it to believe it, ship now!