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In lugnet.market.shipping, John Patterson wrote:
> In lugnet.market.shipping, Mike Walsh wrote:
> > I received a BL order from someone in Spain. Packed up and ready to go, the
> > package weighs 9 pounds.
> >
> > http://ircalc.usps.gov/IntlMailServices.aspx?Country=10395&M=2&P=8.5&O=0&sd=1
> >
> > No "surface" or "economy" options. Based on these prices, shipping is 40%
> > more than the items I sold! Am I missing something or did the USPS
> > eliminate a bunch of shipping options. I am not selling nearly as much as I
> > used to so I am not completely up to speed on what the USPS is doing.
> >
> > Mike
>
> There is no more ground shipping to ANY country from the US. International
> Priority mail is usually the least expensive and there is also flat rates to
> most foreign countries if not all. Flat rate does have a maximum weight. This
> all happened when the raise in rates. So everything is air now, to Europe,
> Canada, Mexico and all other countries.
> John
I should have said First Class international is the cheapest way, Priority is
also abailable, but they both go air.
John P
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In lugnet.market.shipping, Mike Walsh wrote:
> I received a BL order from someone in Spain. Packed up and ready to go, the
> package weighs 9 pounds.
>
> http://ircalc.usps.gov/IntlMailServices.aspx?Country=10395&M=2&P=8.5&O=0&sd=1
>
> No "surface" or "economy" options. Based on these prices, shipping is 40%
> more than the items I sold! Am I missing something or did the USPS
> eliminate a bunch of shipping options. I am not selling nearly as much as I
> used to so I am not completely up to speed on what the USPS is doing.
>
> Mike
There is no more ground shipping to ANY country from the US. International
Priority mail is usually the least expensive and there is also flat rates to
most foreign countries if not all. Flat rate does have a maximum weight. This
all happened when the raise in rates. So everything is air now, to Europe,
Canada, Mexico and all other countries.
John P
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In lugnet.market.shipping, Bob Parker wrote:
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So the question becomes, are other carriers such as DHL, FedEx, UPS now more
competitive than USPS when shipping international packages?
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Very doubtful. I once did a trade with someone in the UK, sending him ~$20
worth of action figures (box about the size of a six-stud tub, but not a lot of
weight). UPS only offered Worldwide Expedited, with a $30 pricetag attached.
USPS shipped it either first class, parcel or airmail for $3! I think there was
an option in there that made it cheaper on the basis that it was just bulk goods
with no personal communication, like how you can get book rate shipping on a
book, as long as you don’t slip a letter or birthday card inside.
Honestly, this might be something where it’d be better to take the box in to an
actual Post Office and see if they can come up with any cheaper options. At 9
lbs., I’m doubtful, but it’s worth a shot (or at least a phone call).
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In lugnet.market.shipping, Mike Walsh wrote:
> I received a BL order from someone in Spain. Packed up and ready to go, the
> package weighs 9 pounds.
>
> http://ircalc.usps.gov/IntlMailServices.aspx?Country=10395&M=2&P=8.5&O=0&sd=1
>
> No "surface" or "economy" options. Based on these prices, shipping is 40%
> more than the items I sold! Am I missing something or did the USPS
> eliminate a bunch of shipping options. I am not selling nearly as much as I
> used to so I am not completely up to speed on what the USPS is doing.
You didn't miss anything but the weight limit. First class is _still_ available
for shipment to Spain (you can find it if you click on the "Rate charts and
complete information for Spain" link and scroll down towards the bottom), but it
maxes out at 4 lbs. and ~$30. You'd need to split your package up into three
boxes to ship first class, but then you'd be paying ~$70 ($23.20 per 3lbs.
box!). So, not very economical at that point.
This is why the bulk of the bulk business on BL is probably limited to North
America. At least shipments between the US and Canada can still be shipped by
truck, so the prices aren't jacked up. Most over-the-pond orders are probably
for minifigs and hard-to-find or unreleased parts, where the cost-to-weight
ratio is going to be really high anyways, so the shipping costs will stay pretty
low compared to, say, $10 worth of black 2x4 bricks.
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In lugnet.market.shipping, Mike Walsh wrote:
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I received a BL order from someone in Spain. Packed up and ready to go, the
package weighs 9 pounds.
http://ircalc.usps.gov/IntlMailServices.aspx?Country=10395&M=2&P=8.5&O=0&sd=1
No “surface” or “economy” options. Based on these prices, shipping is 40%
more than the items I sold! Am I missing something or did the USPS
eliminate a bunch of shipping options. I am not selling nearly as much as I
used to so I am not completely up to speed on what the USPS is doing.
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From what I understand, yes, international ‘surface’ shipping has been removed
as an option from the USPS. Only what would have been ‘air’ shipping is offered
AFAIK. I guess they assumed that taking away ground would not be a huge problem
due to the slow speed of ground compared to the relative high speed air option.
So the question becomes, are other carriers such as DHL, FedEx, UPS now more
competitive than USPS when shipping international packages?
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