Yes, i did consider the laws of international shipping too Charlie - seems to restrict alot of people these days.
I have shipped various vitamins from the USA - and was caught with a huge customs bill in the UK as the seller had put a value on the items as over $10 - so automatically customs picks this up in this country.
Other seller from Asia always tick the optino on their parcels as 'sample' value under $10 so it is delivered fast and without hold-ups.
I have friends who have used skype and they say it is excellent. All one needs is a mic. It is possible if someone has a microphone and a webcam (they are all-in-one these days) to use a messenger service like yahoo messenger. Then you get voice aswell as visual.
I will look into the laws of importing tinctures into the uk and post back what i find.