Buying USPS.

[Ian UK]

Why is it lately that when buying things from the US I feel like I have been buying shares in the USPS?:mad:

Being in the UK we dont have much choice but to buy from the States or off E-bay but at present some of the sellers are ripping people off with postage!:mad:

I know the cost is more than just the post value and there are packaging and other variables to consider I usually pay around the $15 price for a spydie to the UK thats reasonable. :)

Yesterday I got 5 knives in my CC order from Spydieguys for $12 BRILLIANT!:)

So why are some people charging $30 on Greed-Bay for a jester or Ladybug to the UK? :mad:

Rant over.:(

[swingshot]

Yesterday I got 5 knives in my CC order from Spydieguys for $12 BRILLIANT!:)

(


That's one of the things i like about Spydieguys, - unlike many they don't gouge on international shipping costs.

[dialex]

Been there when I first got my first Ladybug. I don't know exactly how much did I pay for it, but it was a lot. :(
As for the mysterious dynamics of the shipping charges... well, I guess it's just another way to make some extra dollars. :(

[stoneman]

It's just as bad here in Canada. I wanted a meerkat that was going for around 40 bucks but the shipping would've been another 29.95 WTF is that all about? There's no rhyme or reason to it. If it would've been a ladybug the shipping would've been more than the knife. The worst of it all is that if you pay that ridiculous fee, they still send you the package in the cheapest/slowest way possible:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

[bluemist]

Stoneman and Stoneyman, I get you guys confused. Now I see one of you is up Great White North way and the other somewhere in the Everglades.

[Jay_Ev]

There may be many reasons for the high price USPS charges for shipping. One of the big reasons is the increased use of e-mail. As more and more people every day send letters, pay bills, receive documents, etc. by e-mail, the less revenue the Post Office generates. E-mail is way more convenient, it doesn't cost anything, you don't have to stand in long lines at the post office and it gets there instantly. It might not sound like much, 0.42 cents to send a letter, but multiply that 0.42 times one million (and I have a feeling there is more than one million e-mails sent on any given day) and you will get the picture. So I think to offset this lost revenue from stamps, the USPS may be charging more for other services, like shipping packages. If you happen to live in the U.S. you will notice a one or two cent hike every year in the price for a stamp. Over the past few years, I have saved several hundred dollars that would have otherwise been spent on stamps. Just my 0.02

Jay

[Yuri Orlov]

There may be many reasons for the high price USPS charges for shipping.Jay, it's not the prices that USPS charges that have Ian upset, it's the inflated prices that some vendors are charging that exceed the actual USPS shipping costs. :)


Many sellers factor in the "paperwork" when pricing international shipments. As stoneman said, we deal with the same thing here in Canada. There have been many small items I've wanted to purchase, but when they charge $20 for shipping, and I know it can be shipped for less than $2, I can't and won't shop there. I don't mind paying a fair price for shipping, and even a couple of bucks extra for the "paperwork" is perfectly fine. But when someone is simply inflating the price to increase their profit, that's just not cool.

[Jay_Ev]

Jay, it's not the prices that USPS charges that have Ian upset, it's the inflated prices that some vendors are charging that exceed the actual USPS shipping costs. :)

I follow what you're saying now, Yuri and I agree:) A while back I was looking for a pen & couldn't find it anywhere (I'm very particular about my pens) but I was able to find it on-line. The pen was four bucks but the shipping was nine:eek: . That's outrageous, it shouldn't have cost more than two bucks at the most. I'm now sitting here with a $13 dollar pen:mad:

Jay

[gt_mule]

Don't forget that USPS rates are going up as of 5/12. Must be nice to be a government-sanctioned monopoly.

[tonydahose]

I follow what you're saying now, Yuri and I agree:) A while back I was looking for a pen & couldn't find it anywhere (I'm very particular about my pens) but I was able to find it on-line. The pen was four bucks but the shipping was nine:eek: . That's outrageous, it shouldn't have cost more than two bucks at the most. I'm now sitting here with a $13 dollar pen:mad:

Jay

how does it write?:p sorry, i couldn't resist

[araneae]

There are lots of folks on ebay who are plain old scam artists charging twice or more actual cost. I don't mind paying a bit over cost. Having done some selling myself I realize there is time involved in packing, shipping and the ever rising cost of gas.

On the other hand I once had some one tell me I should be able to send a knife international for the same price as domestic. Another bidder tried to tell me I should ship express mail after they had won an item and paid for 1st class mail.:rolleyes:

[JspyEDC]

I know the cost is more than just the post value and there are packaging and other variables to consider I usually pay around the $15 price for a spydie to the UK thats reasonable. :)

Yesterday I got 5 knives in my CC order from Spydieguys for $12 BRILLIANT!:)

So why are some people charging $30 on Greed-Bay for a jester or Ladybug to the UK? :mad:

Rant over.:(

Your welcome, Ian for the 12.00 shipping charges for your CC knives. That's only because you are in the collector club and will purchase from us all year long!! If you bought one knife (not CC) I would charge you and your Mother 16.00 for overseas shipping.... (sorry, man!)

I'm glad you brought this up, so I might explain why foreign shipping is so expensive.

1. Half of our business is overseas and we ship 40-60 packages per week to normally 4 continents.

2. Pay Pal charges me 3.2X % for a US sale and 4.50% for a sale outside the US.

3. Packaging, label printing, and customs paperwork that must be filled out by my Store Manager costs us about $3.25 in labor and materials per package.

4. Driving to the post office (2 miles) and waiting in line an average of 30 minutes each day, costs about 15 dollars in time and fuel, divided by 8 Foreigns per day, so about 2.00 per package for that.

5. Putting that altogether... a $100 Spyderco knife, package weight of 7 ounces generally costs around 7.00 for 1st Class International postage. + 4.50 for Pay Pal fees outside US, + 3.25 packaging and paperwork, + 2.00 for driving to and waiting in line at the post office....total..... $16.75.

Oooops, looks like I'll have to raise our eBay foreign shipping prices again!!!
(FYI, It's cheaper on our web-site!!)


I really would almost ship to EUR and Australia for free. I told my parents the other day that if I ever travel to EUR or Australia, I probably would not spend one night in a hotel due to the great friendships I have developed with Spydie-nuts from all over the world.

[swingshot]

Don't forget that USPS rates are going up as of 5/12.



Again? Didn't some of the rates go up last year too? *grumble*

At times, i think USPS engage in policies designed to make international shipping more trouble than it has to be.

[Ian UK]

Yuri

You got it in one what I was saying.:)

JspyEDC:spyder:

It was not you I was having a moan at, I know if I buy from you its about $15I accept that, (and if I buy a few you do combine) as I said I understand that its petrol and packaging and time what I cannot understand is how a private individual can charge $30 for a parcel that gets to me stamped $5.70unless he has to drive 400 miles to the post office and camp out overnight :mad:

What alot of US sellers forget we in the UK run the gauntlet of import tax which is a hit and miss random customs thing and can add if unlucky £18 ($36) onto each packet depending on how the customs declaration is filled in. So it is a costly think to buy a Spydie in the UK and I assume other countries outside the US.:(

Sometimes I have to pay (Depending on company) $22 FedX granted still a bit more than most or what I would want to pay but I get it in 2 days so thats is a sweetner.:eek:

The other day I was looking for an Assist 2 for my collection found one on the web dont remember which shop about $57 went through all the checkout but when I got to post age they wanted $100US to the UK.

In the end I was going to post it to my good friend GM's in the US (as it was freepost) then have him post it on, but they never replied to any e-mails, probably to busy counting their postage revenue.:mad:

Like I say I dont mind a fair bit of time, tax and packaging but $30 for a ladybug from a private seller is just covering themselves for if it sells cheap and makes it cheaper to list on e-bay with a lower starting price as they want the no reserve 10p listing but the certaintly it won just go for 99p and thats why they are listing with high postage IMO!:mad:

[The Deacon]

No offense Ian, but how is a seller's decision to overcharge for shipping make you feel you're "buying shares in USPS". Seems to me the excess money would be going in the seller's pocket, not the US Post Office's. On the other hand, if the shipper is using a more expensive service, perhaps it's because that's the only way they can have some recourse, or more precisely some way to give the buyer recourse without getting screwed, if the item goes missing.

One of the reasons some US sellers are reluctant to sell to buyers outside the US is that too many foreign buyers expect sellers here to send the item the cheapest way possible, without insurance. On top of that they expect the seller to lie on the Customs form as to what it is, what it costs, and why it is being sent so that they can avoid paying duty, which is imposed by and paid to their own government. Then when the package never arrives, they want their money back. I'm not defending the guy who charged you $30 then spent less than $6 on postage, but perhaps some of the difference went to pay for private insurance.

I do agree some eBay sellers price their shipping to cover themselves when they start a listing at a penny. To me, there's nothing wrong with that, as long as they are up-front about it and list the shipping cost. I can then either pass on the auction, or calculate my max bid based on the shipping, which I always do anyway.

I'm not defending the guy who charged you $30 then spent less than $6 on postage, but perhaps some of the difference went to pay for private insurance.

[Ian UK]

Paul

I wasnt having a go at the US Post Office it was just a catchy title for the thread, I fully understand that when buying on e-bay you take the total as a whole not a total plus post, but in the case in question there was no insurance thrown in believe it or not it was extra.

Also its not a case of cheating the Goverment its a case of our post office if the customs charge you import tax they too then add £8.50 ($17) on as a handling charge! so it as you can imagine makes a $40:spyder: cost about £70:mad:

I just think instead of starting an item off at 1p they should pay the extra 15p initial listing and start it off at $9.99 or whatever it is over there.:(

I wasnt really having a go at USPS sorry if you or any one else have taken offence it was not intended that way.

[Yuri Orlov]

No offense Ian, but how is a seller's decision to overcharge for shipping make you feel you're "buying shares in USPS". Seems to me the excess money would be going in the seller's pocket, not the US Post Office'sIt was just a play on words, bro.

[The Deacon]

Hi Ian, Sorry if I missed the intent of you title.

For the rest. Still not sure what a US seller can do without "bending" the law to prevent or reduce the costs that buyers outside the US get charged by their own governments as "import fees" of one kind or another. If you are saying that it can be done, then perrhaps you could enlighten those of us who are in the dark as to how that can be done.

I do wonder if the "handling charge" issue is limited to the UK, can't recall seeing anyone from anywhere else mentioning that. In fact, my old, limited, and very outdated understanding of international postal law was that it prohibited countries from tacking on additional postal charges. From what I've read elsehwere, it sounds like the UK is doing an end run around that agreement by charging it for handling by customs.

As for eBay sellers grossly overcharging for shipping, filing a complaint with eBay may be appropriate. I do believe that's one of the few complaints they actually take the time to investigate as they see it as taking money out of their pocket.

The problem is differentiating between high and excessive. Would it, for example, be unfair for a seller who has only one or two items listed, lives 15 miles from the post office, and drives a car that gets 10 mpg to assume only one of them may sell and include the nearly $12 in gas and perhaps "something" for the hour of their time, as part of the shipping and handling charge? Yes, that's an extreme case, and I'm enough of a cynic to believe that 99% of the time the vast majority of the difference is pure profit for them, but I think you see my point.

[Ian UK]

Deacon

There is no way without "bending" the rules but when they are "bending" them its time to fight fire with fire.:(

I think you are right about complaining to e-bay its time they clamped down on it they charge enough.:mad:

They get 3 bites of the cherry

1, A listing fee.

2, A selling fee.

3, As they own Paypal a % of the transaction.

It is so annoying when a (and its always a rare one you cant shop around for) knife costs 2-3 times more by the time you get it than when you bought it.

We have enough problems with drugs and illegal imigrants getting into this country, to worry about taxing the odd knife.:D