Cost of USA postage

[firko]

that tank would cost me 60.00 but take 3 months

Jim, that's how much it should cost to ship a tank by USPS and it only takes a week or two.

you blokes shouldnt go on about how cheap the parts are over their and then we'ed probably get cheap freight.....they read whats on forums too you know....a good seller/businessman checks out what his product is worth so knows the value

You get the odd speculator that bungs on an unreasonable shipping fee to cover any shortfalls in his sale price but that usually occurs after the sale and after you put in a request for shipping costs. The problem that really stands out is when the seller posts a high shipping fee on the ad before you bid. You can see that they've just use the calculator instead of checking with the post office. Did you question the shipping on that RM hub John? If he was a decent seller he'd have rechecked for you and put it in a flat rate box for $14.

USPS is Americas 4th largest employer and employs a lot of disabled and vets and is presently losing money, email killed their mail business so some of that cost comes to parcel post. They are a hell of a lot cheaper than Canada or Royal Mail and I get most things within 3 to 4 days.

The USPS is regarded as the most inefficient government body in the US. They were operating at a loss way before email took away much of their letter service income. Every postal service in the world was hit by the email revolution but what they've lost on letters, they've often more than made up on small and large parcel mail, thanks to online retail and eBay. Australia Post had the same challenges but still manages to make a decent profit thanks to increasing internal efficiency and cutting costs. USPS is stuck in a hole by having to conform to whatever government bill that forces them to employ ex servicemen, thereby creating an overmanned work force. Considering the problems with USPS, the costs are still very reasonable and our items usually get here within a week or two. As Marc mentioned, Royal Mail and especially Canada Mail are very expensive and inefficient...you never quite know when your package will arrive. Canada Mail is the absolute worst in the Western world. They're expensive and if your item doesn't go missing it'll more times than not take a month or more to get here. As in 21st century society, China Post have it down pat...they're extremely cheap to the point that many eBay sellers offer free mail and most items arrive within a two or three days.

The bottom line...if you think the USPS shipping fee quoted is high, question the seller, preferably before you make a bid or even after. You'll be surprised to find that the majority of American sellers will do the best deal they can find for you.

[mx250]

The bottom line...if you think the USPS shipping fee quoted is high, question the seller, preferably before you make a bid or even after. You'll be surprised to find that the majority of American sellers will do the best deal they can find for you.

That's my experience. I've always found the Yanks great - helpful and courteous. Yes I've had a few curt knock backs but 'no skin off my nose' - I don't bid, every ones' happy .

The poms are not bad either - they have given me VAT free prices every time I've asked or checked, and postage ain't too bad.

(I don't even look at Canadian or Spanish Postage quotes )

[lukeb1961]

In my experience with 900+ items from overseas, is that Canadian post has been FAR the worst for price and appalling slowness. I once had a small booklet arrive nearly 7 months after it had (very definately) been popped into the post.

USA sellers are generally just normal people like you and I, so ask if the crazy USPS price is correct for postage. They will usually come back with something way more realistic. I have had a 1/2 dozen refund me without me even asking.

If all else fails, get it shipped to a mate within the USA and he can then send it on. I have had to do that twice and both times it saved me $50-odd...

Luke

[oldfart]

Quote .....      is that Canadian post has been FAR the worst for price.

Luke, for that simple reason I refuse to buy anything out of Canada.

[firko]

Luke, for that simple reason I refuse to buy anything out of Canada. 

Me too...I'm only 5 off my 1000 transaction gold star and in all of those transactions, most have been smooth sailing out of the USA. The three or four times I've ventured into darkest Canada for something it's ended up ugly. A Maico 490 cylinder took four months to get here and even then it had been dropped to the point that the top fin was almost snapped off. A really nice Canadian bloke answered a request I'd made on Marks Swapmeet for a DT2MX transmission but I had to say no to him because I just didn't trust Canada Post. He agreed that they sucked and at his own expense mailed the trans to his mate in upstate New York who then shipped it to me without a problem. The ironic thing was that the trans took three weeks to get from Montreal to New York but only a week to get to Oz.

[mx250]

Luke, for that simple reason I refuse to buy anything out of Canada.

I don't even look. Soon as I see CANADA - next!!!

[mainline]

Craigorio is a good seller... I have bought quite a bit off him, he told me he also loses money off ebays calculator and is running a business and has no time to check each small part....fair enough

Granted, but when you've sold and shipped as much as they have, you should know that an axle isn't going to cost $40+ to mail to Australia. Plus, they took the time to reply to my email to tell me the exorbitant charge was correct

[Marc.com]

Granted, but when you've sold and shipped as much as they have, you should know that an axle isn't going to cost $40+ to mail to Australia. Plus, they took the time to reply to my email to tell me the exorbitant charge was correct

I guess he feels justified in using ebay's calculator and accepts that some people will go elsewhere.... I do, try race jerseys, you can get calculations between $9 and $40 .... I just shop for the best combination of cheap and freight/ still not like Aussie Post are exactly giving it away..... blame everyone's film star wages/

[IT490K1983]

Granted, but when you've sold and shipped as much as they have, you should know that an axle isn't going to cost $40+ to mail to Australia. Plus, they took the time to reply to my email to tell me the exorbitant charge was correct

I guess he feels justified in using ebay's calculator and accepts that some people will go elsewhere.... I do, try race jerseys, you can get calculations between $9 and $40 .... I just shop for the best combination of cheap and freight/ still not like Aussie Post are exactly giving it away..... blame everyone's film star wages/

No disrespect intended as some of us may earn filmstar wages indeed, but that is not an excuse for duping/robbing/misleading or ripping people off. The principle of honest open dealings should not change or vary based on who you are, where you are from or how much you earn. And if something goes wrong or something unforseen causes havoc, it should be put right; no if's, but's or maybe's. Do the right thing; it's much easier in the long run. 

[firko]

The thongs were $9 and the seller wanted $28 to ship them to Australia which for two pieces of rubber 3'' long is about 20 bucks past my 'soak it up' limit. I've sent the seller four requests to recheck the shipping fee but to date I've had no answer. You can bet your sweet bippy there'll soon be a 'non payment' message headed my way.

As I mentioned before I've been disputing the shipping on a pair of 'Baby Haviana' little kids thongs. I finally got a reply from the seller today that proves that if you don't ask, you'll never get a result. Here's his reply........
Dear firko,
I understand your frustration with the cost of shipping. I would not want to pay $28 in shipping for a $10 pair of flip flops. We used to ship First Class Mail and it was much cheaper however, it was not trackable and packages were getting lost or taking forever to arrive. It will cost $13.25 to ship these in a small flat rate but the small flat rate is not trackable. Only Regular priority, Medium Flat Rate and Large Flat Rate are trackable. We will make an exception for you and ship them in the small flat rate and refund the difference as long as you understand it will not be trackable once it leaves the US. Are you ok with this? I can ship them tomorrow.
Thanks and Merry Christmas!

[Rossvickicampbell]

got my new JT gear from the States for $43 I think it was to Perth - good mate of mine, from a different shop, was charged $98 (or thereabouts) to NZ?

[jimg1au]

canada post
got a parcel posted on the 19/9 2011 recived it today 1/12/2011
not too bad for them at least they didnt lose it
jim

[Marc.com]

got my new JT gear from the States for $43 I think it was to Perth - good mate of mine, from a different shop, was charged $98 (or thereabouts) to NZ?

Its a crap shoot and you just have to take the rough with the smooth..... I have one seller who will send me a complete frame for $112 USA to Japan and you see other quotes for $800 .... I have put it down to how friendly they are with the people at the Post Office and how uptight everyone is.

Its like Japan still has sea freight so I ship a bunch of things here and then consolidate them and forward them sea freight in bulk. Its like the auctions themselves, sometimes you get a shit kicker of a deal and other times not.

[VMX247]

I ask them

yep thats all it takes....33$ for a rubber washer    can be downgraded to 12$. 
cheers A

[steveo247]

I know some people hate this topic but..
Bought a thing on ebay usa, small box around the size of a VCR tape (remember those?!?!) and would weigh slighty more. would not weigh 1kg.

didnt ask postage first (yep, im making a bad habbit of this mistake)
 he then sends me an invoice with $77 postage!
I assumed it was a mistake, you know how the auto calculator comes up with crazy prices sometimes?
and sent him a message, asking for a new invoice with the correct postage price.

This is his very confusing response, i can hardly make any sense from it.


"Steve, Yes the shipping is indeed $77.75 which is crazy i agree, but because of a major price increase which just went into effect a few weeks ago with USPS, and sending it the only export way possible now which is Priority expedited international shipping, the size of the box for packaging and secure reasons to attach all export documents to and Ebay/Paypals policies on protecting you and me that you recieve it, it has to be insured and with signature confirmation return reciept and with all that it adds up fast!, plus Ebay is going to charge me a percentage of the shipping now also which is one of there new ways to get another piece of the pie and not counting there percentage they get on the selling cost of the item and listing fee out of my pocket, plus Paypal will also get a part of it for me recieving the money, plus i ship asap and have to drive 20 miles to do it!, thats why i always put in my listings for international buyers to contact me first to see what it would cost to get it there!, thats why i quit buying internationaly myself for these same reasons, export/import shipping has got out of hand!, and im about to the point where im going to stop selling outside the USA for the reasons you are asking about! So yes, the invoice you have is correct and im sorry thats the way it is, but i cant change what shipping cost and lose anymore money on it! i hope you understand this!, Sincerely, Mike "

Now i am willing to complete the transaction, as i know its my fault for not asking first. and i do really want the item.

BUT i am just going to send him a message asking why he cannot simply put it in a priority international medium flat rate box (i think they are 40ish bucks)
The thing would nearly fit in a small flat rate box, but my understanding is that the small flat rate box's do not require a signature on delivery and the medium box's do.
Which is why the medium is needed, to be able to track delivery.