Discuss the SpreadShirt service and features. Please note: this is not an "official" SpreadShirt forum, it is a peer to peer community for current and future SpreadShirt members. Visit SpreadShirt
Yep, this is correct, and some people do it, particularly with the state of the dollar now. To explain the "regular" shipping is UPS and offers tracking. We are not making any money off shipping with this cost. It is what we are directly charged by UPS, and does include customs handling.
Economy is done via the postal system. The delivery is widely unpredictable. If you need something to a more populated area in Europe, then it is faster than a month, often less than a week. Be careful with customs though that can be a real challenge in this method. We mark everything best we can, but the postal systems all handle things differently -- even based on the customs official looking at it.
If you want to order to Europe, the best option is to order from our European company at Spreadshirt.net. Many shop partners also have EU shops, as well as North American shops.
Our apparel selection is not the same in North America as it is in Europe. We can't get exactly the same suppliers and selection between the two continents, though we try to get exactly the same or substantially similar. About 75% is the same, up to 80% if you consider substantially similar. Sometimes it is a matter of style. For example, the heathered look is not fashionable in Europe, so we don't carry the heathers (or melange as it is called in Europe) there.
I think we use First Class International. I can confirm with the team.
Regarding the .net only shipping within Europe, the reason is because of the agreement we have with our carrier there, DHL. The service that we use with them is for the European countries. We have talked about expanding this, but first, we want to improve the service in Europe. Right now, it is good, but there isn't a tracking option, for example. We want to improve this first before expanding from there. We don't have a high demand to ship outside of Europe or North America. It gets done, but it is small.
Be careful when selecting UPS because it faster. UPS charges additional brokerage fees (separate from customs and duties for your country) for expediting the package through customs for you. Be sure to find out if the brokerage fee is included in the cost of shipping or if you would be charged for it at delivery.
The recent change in shipping charges nearly made me not renew my Spreadshirt premium account. The only reason I did was that I would no longer bother marketing my site in Europe and on European websites and just concentrate in the US where the shipping prices are much lower. Even the economy version is quite high compared to the cost of the T-shirt.
If you have time, I'd love some clarification, our shipping prices did not change in Europe. Do you mean that you were marketing your .com shop in Europe?
I was marketing the .com store in Europe. With the low price of the dollar compared to the pound and the euro it was (just about) still cheaper to buy in the states and have it shipped over. Plus the .com store shipped to more places than the .net one; They would ship to Europe but not the other way around. That of course has now ended. I know I could run a .net store along side the .com one but it doubles the cost, the approval procedure is not the same for designs (the same design can be approved in one site but not the other) and the merchandise differs.
If there was a way to integrate the 2 sites and have much similar merchandise then I would be happy to pay for 2 regions rather than try and run 2 sites simultaneously.
Thanks, Mingled for the clarification. We are working on integration, as we do know that is a barrier. Honestly, we have been surprised at how many people want to have it in both places. I know it seems like a "no brainer" in some senses, but in the other, it is "wow, it really is a global world!" :-)
We appreciate the feedback!
Jana
(who works for Spreadshirt, in case it wasn't obvious!)
i know i wanted a .net site...but i need a dtg printer and they dont offer that in europe yet....... hopefully soon because i hae had cancel order in europe due to shipping/etc,
Shipping costs quite high 
