Going Postal

[GWRdriver]

I rarely feel the need to vent about something I feel is unjust (or unjustified) but I have one today. I know that international post has gone up rather dramatically. Yesterday I inquired of a British tool merchant the cost of shipping a small lathe accessory to the USA via surface post. The tool merchant (and the accessory) are well known and IMHO needn't be named because my feeling (but not certainty) is they will have done their best to minimize the cost of packing and shipping. The tool itself is quite small and is priced at £25, without VAT. The cost of post to the USA is quoted at £25.

£25?! £25 for surface post for a 4x4x6 parcel weighing less than 2kilos? How can that be? I was gobsmacked. That's not simply unreasonable, or excessive, or even prohibititve (and it is that), but it's utterly insane! It's as if the attitude is, if you are fool enough to pay that, we are brazen enough to charge and take it. Unfortunately such costs will virtually put an end to any future orders for model engineering goods from the UK.

OK end of rant. I'll be in England in June and if I still want one it I'll pick one up over there. Considering the post cost, the VAT will be a bargain.

 

[///]

It's the same problem going the other way and in my experience it is a US thing.
If I want to purchase something from the US the postage(to Australia) is not far from robbery, but ordering from the UK or anywhere else in the world is far, far cheaper... less than half.

 

[clivel]

Even here in Canada, I find it is generally far cheaper and far faster to order from the UK than the US.

UK sourced items arrive here within a week, often as fast as 3 days after placing an order, whereas the far more expensive US "Priority Mail International" takes a minimum of one week, but more often two.

 

[aarggh]

Funnily enough, generally when I buy from UK the post isn't too bad to Australia and is pretty quick, around 7-10 days, but when I need to buy from the US, I routinely get quoted 2 -3 x the USPS flat rate box prices as if it's a normal cost, and it takes up to 5 weeks! The worst are the ones who "must" send everything via UPS, that's fine within your own country, soon as you go over the water, it's more often than not, astronomically expensive.

What I don't understand, regardless of source or destination country, is why so many sellers build such over-inflated postage costs into the net profit, all this does is alienate customers, usually permanently, and further push them towards Chinese suppliers.

cheers, Ian

 

[lennardhme]

Unfortunately the problem lies in the US.
Goods from the UK are now much cheaper & faster to get here in Oz. We still have a Govt. run postal system so that country folk receive an equitable service, & I believe this still applies to the UK.
Must be costing the US a lot of business not being competitive anymore.

 

[OrangeAlpine]

Hey, if the postage is too high, have it sent Fedex or UPS. It's not like you don't have a choice.

Bill

 

[Swifty]

Purchased an item from the US last year, item cost $12, minimum handling charge $50, postage $45. Had to pay as I was desperate for the part and it was only available from the US. Who is ripping us off now!

PS. Part only weighed 500 grams packed and would have fitted easily in a 1/3 size shoebox.

Paul.

 

[///]

Hey, if the postage is too high, have it sent Fedex or UPS. It's not like you don't have a choice.

Bill

Actually, as someone else has already alluded to, we often don't have the choice.
Many US retailers seem to use USPS/UPS only.
Obviously they do it because it is easier for them... but what they don't know is it's costing them in the long run with lost sales.

I have been looking at a QCTP from A2Z or LMS.... the A2Z shipping quote? $50
Cheapest option from LMS? $65 !!
That 25 quid freight in the first post is looking pretty good to me.

 

[aarggh]

Many US retailers seem to use USPS/UPS only.
Obviously they do it because it is easier for them...

Actually, I've found a lot of the sellers only use UPS/Fedex as they get "special" rates but pass on the full rate plus extras, so they get a generous kickback from every parcel they sell. Years ago I bought a bunch of parts off a US ebay seller, as the part was about 1/3 the cost of the same thing locally, so with 3 allowing for post I'd come out at around 2/3 cost at the most, the seller refused to combine the items, so I had to pay for 3 x UPS satchels, each containing a gbic (tiny network device) around 0.5" x 1" x 2.5" at a cost of $55 each! With the exchange rate it ended up costing me around $250AUD for 3 items I paid $60 total for, that would have fit in a padded envelope for $12US. Full price locally was $75 ea, but the seller refused to combine. Since then, I'm extremely careful to be sure I don't get ripped off. One of my main hobbies is electronics, and I still routinely see components that weigh a few grams, being charged at $40-$80US postage each! Which is just obscene to say the least.

cheers, Ian

 

[jack620]

You can email the seller and point out that the item you want will fit into a (for example) USPS medium flat rate box that costs $XX. They will often acquiesce. I think they are just trying it on with the postage sometimes.

 

[AussieJimG]

Yeah. Two pairs of scissors at $15 each plus $52 postage from US. Ned Kelly at least had the decency to wear a mask

But Australia Post has now got into the act and jacked up its prices by about 300%.

Jim

 

[aarggh]

Generally a lot of them if you approach them politely, and just inquire exactly that, will be fairly accommodating, or at least set postage to not a huge amount over cost, but it's funny as I'm watching an item right now marked as worldwide that didn't have the int postage cost listed, and I've emailed him twice now in four days and I'm still waiting for an email back! I kinda suspect I won't be hearing anything! On the other hand, it's not always bad at all, I've had the pleasure to have dealt with some of the most amazing people possible, that have really gone out of their way to be as helpful as possible, and keep costs to the minimum! One guy in Philly that I bought a bit of network/storage kit from, actually went and scoured the markets over several weeks to pick up an additional, hard to get bit of gear at the time (Emulex fibre channel switch) to use with the gear I bought off him. People like that really make your day!

cheers, Ian

 

[OrangeAlpine]

So it seems the problem is not postage, but the seller's attitude and the high cost of shipping packages. Personally, I've always found USPS to be the most economical. The minimum cost of shipping a package UPS seems to be about $10. I never purchase an item until I know the shipping cost and consider it part of the cost of the item. Too high, I don't buy. Still it burns me to pay $10 shipping (UPS) when the part could be taped to a postcard, dropped into an envelope and sent for less than a dollar. Sometimes you have no choice. Either pay the price or trash the machine. Unfortunately, the seller usually knows that.

Bill

 

[AussieJimG]

I tried ringing the (US) seller once asking for a small gasket to be put in an envelope and posted. They told me that US law required them to use USPOSTAL at robbery rates.

I no longer buy from US if I can possibly avoid it. Recent experience with Canada was the same: ripoff prices and loooong delays so Canada is off the list as well.

Jim

 

[seagar]

Is it any wonder we buy from China and U.K. these days and not America.

Ian.

 

[aarggh]

Despite the bagging the Chinese get, and there can often be quality control or other issues with a lot of their stuff, I think we'd be absolutely screwed in OZ without them. I look at local prices, which are just Chinese imports anyway, but at 3-10 (or more) times the cost of buying it direct from China. I don't get the deal on how the postage is so low, I know there's massive subsidies, and artificially low costs, but at the same time I have never, ever, dealt with anyone from China who even considered ripping off on postage, or working in massive "P&H" charges on top of the astronomical postage costs. The complete and utter lack of greed is quite astounding at times. And it makes no difference if your spending $1 or $1000, you still get very polite and accommodating service.

Almost all the Chinese I've dealt with understand in a lot of cases that selling is a relationship, whereas many, many other sellers see buyers as a wallet to be fleeced at that point in time, and they don't look past their nose to see that ripping one person off, or providing a bad experience, means they've not only lost that customer likely for good, but that customer will also advise his/her friends that the seller is crap and to avoid them.

No-one has any qualms with making money, it makes the world go around, but I do have trouble when dealing with sellers with deceit, bad manners, and ripping people off, that's just bad karma.

cheers, Ian

 

[///]

...
I don't get the deal on how the postage is so low
...

It's got me stuffed too!
I've bought a few items over the years that I've needed urgently, for a crazy low BIN price like $2.99, with FREE postage!
Almost makes me feel guilty to buy the item haha.

 

[davewaldo]

Is it any wonder we buy from China and U.K. these days and not America.

Ian.

I'm new to this game, what stores in the UK and China do Aussies find good to buy from? A google search doesn't show much.

 

[OrangeAlpine]

I tried ringing the (US) seller once asking for a small gasket to be put in an envelope and posted. They told me that US law required them to use USPOSTAL at robbery rates.

I no longer buy from US if I can possibly avoid it. Recent experience with Canada was the same: ripoff prices and loooong delays so Canada is off the list as well.

Jim

I think they lied. Stuff gets popped into padded envelopes and sent at first class letter rate every day. The only questions posed by the postal clerks involve safety.

Although I do not fully understand the USPOSTAL terminology. We have United States Postal Service (USPS) which is a quasi-governmental agency. Also United Parcel Service (UPS) which is totally privately owned (no gov't involvement).

Stuff sent to Canada from the US can get expensive really quickly. It's stupid. A small package sent to California (2500 miles) will cost $6.00. Sent 500 miles to Canada, almost $15. And slow. I've always thought the slowness was due to Canadian customs, but do not know for sure.

Bill

 

[Banjoe]

I have an excellent record buying from US companies. Usually free shipping in the lower 48 so I have the packages sent to a drop box just into North Dakota. A scoot across the border, a $5 pickup fee that is offset by filling up with cheap diesel, and home again. Border costs are usually zero, the diesel gets super mileage, and life is great.

The option is to order from Canada, pay a minimum of 30% higher first cost, and then get hit with the added shipping & handling scam that adds another 15%-25%. No thanks when there are hard working people trying to make an honest buck and providing reasonable prices. I'll support that crowd any day.