For the simplicity of writing I will write this in English. If someone were to translate it I would gladly edit it in Ukrainian or post another article. I speak some Ukrainian and some Russian but it is not very good.
Hello,
As far as I am aware I may be the only Anglophone here of non-Ukrainian descent. I don't wish to brag about it. In my few transactions I've learned how to easily send money to sellers and I believe if more come (a terrifying thought?) I'm sure a publication on how to handle us "tourists" would be a good article.
I believe most people who would come here will likely have Telegram, Viber, or WhatsApp for communication in addition to the chat function on Violity and will be able to speak or translate rudimentary Ukrainian or Russian. Viber has an integrated translation function and is probably the best chat application for discussion of lots in my opinion.
First things first, the transfer of funds
In a terribly unfortunate turn due to recent events it has become significantly easier to send money to Ukrainians from other countries. Simply put: When dealing with buyers from North America I would recommend using Western Union. At the moment the company has waived all fees for bank transfers to Ukrainian banks and accounts. Using their web or phone app you can now send a wire transfer in seconds straight to a bank card and in 4-5 days to a regular bank account. I have used this for several transactions and it has been very efficient, easy, and most importantly fast.
If you're not comfortable with a wire transfer I believe PayPal is now open to accounts with PrivatBank or MonoBank information. For buyers from Western Europe, America, and etc this will make a transaction significantly easier. I would recommend taking care to ensure that you can't receive money from your PayPal account before accepting payments, however. As as I understand you can transfer a PayPal balance to a Ukrainian bank, but not from a bank to your PayPal.
With the funds worked out, a word on shipping
Nova Poshta is okay but in my experience UkrPoshta has been the best for sending abroad. They generally seem to give less hassle over international shipping and it would appear that Nova Poshta has weird rules regarding packages. I have yet to ask someone if they would like to use Meest, however, I have used Meest to send packages from the USA to Ukraine and it has worked very well. It could be worth looking into, but I would recommend just going to UkrPoshta. Delivery time to the Eastern coast of the USA is generally about 12 days, with packages sent inside the continent taking up to 3 weeks. Surprisingly fast, and still somehow faster than packages from the UK or Italy.
With some items some creativity may be required for sending if you run into a particularly rule abiding postal employee, but don't get yourself in trouble. I personally don't believe you'll get in trouble sending, say, an obr.32 canteen from the year 1937, however, it may be a good idea to send it as a "flask" rather than a "military canteen" to avoid issues.
From my experience these have generally been the only two hang ups in sending abroad. It's a very niche experience but hopefully this will add to the pool of knowledge for everyone. Perhaps one day post will become cheap enough that we can list items here as well and have it be cost effective. Perhaps packages of American candy or some such? That seems to have always been a hit and it's cheap to send via Meest.
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