International orders

We ship abroad by consolidated sea freight. The countries we reach and the sailing cadence are on the Shipping FAQ. This page covers the two things that catch people out: the harbour agent, and the money.

What is a harbour agent and why do I need one?

A harbour agent is somebody at the receiving port who can accept a consolidated freight consignment on your behalf, clear it, and hold it until you collect. It is a real job and most working ports have several; a chandlery, a yard, or a shipping agent will all do it, and many of our partner chandleries act as one for their own customers.

We require one because consolidated freight arrives as a single container for many consignees, and a container does not wait. Without an agent your goods go into port storage at your cost, and port storage is more expensive than the goods in about one case out of three. Give us the agent's name and contact when you order — we will not sail without it.

What does it cost?

Freight is $140 for the first 25 kilograms and $4 a kilogram after that, quoted before you commit. The free-shipping threshold does not apply to international orders and neither does the flat domestic rate.

Duties and import taxes are yours, not ours, and we cannot tell you what they will be — they depend on your country and on how it classifies marine hardware. Your agent will know. We declare goods at their true value and will not mark an order as a gift or understate it, which we mention because we are asked perhaps twice a year.

How long does it take?

Between three and seven weeks door to door, and the variation is almost entirely the sailing date rather than the voyage. An order placed the day after a sailing waits nearly a month for the next one, so if timing matters, ask us when the next container closes before you order rather than after. We close each consignment ten days before sailing.

Does the guarantee still apply abroad?

Yes, and this is the part worth knowing. The Seven Seas Guarantee is honoured in any port through the partner network, from the serial plate alone, so a Tidebreaker bought here and failing three years later on the other side of an ocean is a claim you can make where you are rather than where you bought it. See warranty claims for the process, which is the same everywhere.

Returns from abroad

The window on Returns runs from the day the goods reach you, not the day they left us, so a seven-week voyage does not eat into it. Return freight on a change of mind is yours; on something we sent in error, or a warranty repair, it is ours.