It was just two weeks ago that I decided to open my webstore to the USA market. My plan was to start slow so I could keep things under control and make sure deliveries went smoothly.
But soon after that, people from different countries started reaching out, asking if they could order as well. I tried handling each inquiry through live chat and email. After a while, it became clear that there was no real way to fully automate this process.
Since I was going to handle each inquiry manually anyway, I figured I might as well just open the store to everyone.
And so I did.
deltabase is now open to customers worldwide — well, almost. There are still a few countries I can’t ship to yet. Rather than listing them all here, just add the items you want to your cart and proceed to checkout.
On the checkout page, fill in your details and click the “Request shipping quote” button.
Once I receive your request, I will calculate the shipping cost and update the order. You’ll be notified by email. If you’re okay with the shipping fee, you can simply complete the order by making payment. The rest needs no explanation.
You might wonder why this process isn’t automated.
The short answer: international shipping is calculated based on parcel size (volumetric weight) rather than actual weight. Model kits are usually light, but the boxes are big — so shipping is based on the space they take up.
For example, a mobile phone may cost over a thousand dollars but comes in a small box, so it’s relatively cheap to ship. A model kit, on the other hand, might cost only $30 but comes in a much larger box — which can make it more expensive to ship.
To automate shipping properly, the system would need the exact box dimensions for every product. It would also need to know how many boxes can safely fit into one shipment, because once a parcel becomes too large, the shipping company may reject it or charge extremely high fees.
To make things even more complicated, Sheik Mainland kits come in many different box sizes, which means every combination of items could result in a different parcel size.
If deltabase were a big company with deep pockets, I could hire a team of programmers to build a sophisticated shipping calculator.
But deltabase is just me. And honestly, I’m already pushing my limits trying to build these systems myself.
So for now, the most reliable solution is simple:
I calculate the shipping manually.
Maybe one day, when deltabase is shipping dozens of orders every day and manual handling no longer makes sense, I’ll revisit automation.
Until then, this is the most practical way to make sure your order is packed and shipped properly.
Anyway — wherever you are in the world: Happy shopping!
