Us Postage On Ebay

[ian1964]

It's fair to say I am always looking for a bargain when buying a new Fountain Pen to restore. Which means it is becoming impossible for me living on Australia to buy anything from the US. The reason, the ridiculously high postage costs. Am I missing something? How is it I can buy the same pen from the UK or Europe (which is further away) for 50-75% cheaper because of the postage costs. The same pen from the US for $20 and then $24 - $50 postage! Obviously I don't buy it from the US. Anyone know why this is?

 

Suffice to say I have not bought a pen from the US in months and many from The Uk and Germany.

 

Anyway, any thoughts?

Edited February 28, 2015 by ian1964

[TheRealScubaSteve]

USPS is high. It cost me $7 just to send 4 ml of ink to Scotland. $11 to send a 5x8 notebook across the country First Class.

[Cryptos]

It costs about $14 to send a single pen from the US to NZ (cheapest option).

 

Ebay sellers who charge higher, often ludicrously higher, fall into one of two camps in my opinion: those that think Pitney Bowes are doing them a favour (boy, are they the deluded ones!), and those that choose to use higher rates because losing overseas customers has no impact on their business model (if they even have a model). Oh, I am sure there are some other minor groups with slightly different reasons here and there, but I think these are the main ones.

 

Now that may sound a tad cynical but it is based entirely on the replies I have had from dozens and dozens of shipping enquiries to a broad range of eBay sellers. In a global context the US postal service is an absolute joke. I've had things delivered more quickly and better handled from just about everywhere else. The only problems I have EVER had have been with US post. As a large part of the eBay market is US based it basically screws the rest of us, and I doubt very much that US post really gives two hoots about that.

Edited February 28, 2015 by Cardboard_Tube

[ian1964]

You are probably correct. It's a shame though. Having said that and for what I want, the UK is a much better resource for older pens to restore.

[northlodge]

A long standing problem;

 

with some US sellers quoting $40 - $45 to ship a pen to the UK, then our tax man having a regime that adds a further significant hit, before Royal Mail make their charge for playing at tax collector.

 

I to have generally given up on buying from the US.

 

That said the small number of Australian items I have stumbled on through ebay also came with a hefty shipping charge to the UK.

 

I suspect that the real problem is the "ebay requirement" that delivery can be proved. This accounts for 60 -70% of the postal cost from the UK

[ian1964]

To be honest I am not a seller and so am completely unaware of your tax regime. I can only imagine it's different here as I have never even been aware of any kind of tax. Even more interesting is that the likes of Amazon take off the tax thus making it really good value to buy from them. Case in point this very week is the brand new Waterman Carene from the UK that only cost me 60 Pounds Sterling plus postage! So, Amazon from the US and Europe are much more attractive than EBay. It's a funny old world.

[strictlyobiter]

I have completely given up on buying from the U.S. market. The postage rates have priced me out, be it because of astronomical USPS rates or a seller's intention to discourage overseas buyers.

 

As a subplot, I often find UK to Ireland postage rates to be crazy too. However a quick change of address to my UK PO Box or a note to a seller usually rectifies this.

[Cryptos]

Tell me about it!

 

If I am in the market for books I get them from The Book Depository in the UK (apparently). As cheap, if not cheaper than Amazon - even though it is a subsidiary of same - and totally free shipping. It's a killer deal. Occasionally Amazon offers free shipping on selected goods but it is rare. Actually most of the time I end up sourcing stuff in Japan as the rates are way better, and the delivery is swift.

[Goudy]

I did ask a US eBay seller recently if he had a cheaper shipping option to the UK than the $52 Priority Express for the small pen I was thinking of buying. He replied that in order for sellers to be covered by eBay & PayPal's protection policies, they need proof of delivery, and apparently that means either Priority Express "or for some countries, Priority Mail International".

[sargetalon]

I'm in the U.S. and when I sell on eBay, I usually exclude international bidders for this very reason. I find international shipping from the states quite pricey and unfair to the buyer. The cheapest option is first class international package but that's still something like $15 when it only cost me $5 to ship the same pen in the states via priority. That new international shipping option that eBay is pushing on us where we send it to eBay and they handle the international delivery seems like a great deal for the seller and a horrible deal for the buyer so I avoid it.

[claudewick]

In Brazil the problem is similar, but worse. Brazilian post office and customs office are an additional problem. International packages might wait months (literally) for customs clearance (at this very moment I have 9 packages waiting clearance since december and another 9 since january). Unexperienced brazilian buyers and (mallicious ones, too) get nervous with that situation and ask for a refund only to see the package arriving after 4, 5 or even 6 months later.

 

For this reason there's a lot of sellers that don't ship to Brazil and when they do so is at a very high shipping costs.

 

The solution I found (and maybe it can apply to you in Australia) is to subscribe a re-shipment service, I use Shipito, but there are others. They provides me some US adresses and I make my purchases just like an US citizen, paying very low shipping costs and sometimes even free shipping. And when the package arrives at the warehouse they send me an e-mail with size, weight and a photo of the package .

 

After this there are several actions that I can request from them (at a charge, of course) like opening the box and taking photos of the product, split the package into smaller ones (if there are several itens in it), consolidade 2 or more packages into one, to save on shipping costs and so on. After this you can ask them to ship to you with a lot of different shipping methods to choose (from airmail economy through FEDEX, for example)

 

Using this service now I can buy from seller that usually don't ship to Brazil and I'm saving on shipping costs. For example, a single pen shipped directly from the seller to Brazil costs an average of USD 40, using this service the same shipping costs decreases to around USD 10.

 

Just as a disclaimer I'm not sponsored by any of these companies, I'm just a sattisfied customer.

 

Cheers

[alc3261]

I get US purchases sent to a US friend who re-packages them and sends them on to me.

The actual cost of postage is usually $15-20 as compared to $50 via the original seller - this includes ebay, Goulet Pens, Chatterley Luxuries and many others etc, etc

[checkrail]

A long standing problem;

 

with some US sellers quoting $40 - $45 to ship a pen to the UK, then our tax man having a regime that adds a further significant hit, before Royal Mail make their charge for playing at tax collector.

 

I to have generally given up on buying from the US.

 

That said the small number of Australian items I have stumbled on through ebay also came with a hefty shipping charge to the UK.

 

I suspect that the real problem is the "ebay requirement" that delivery can be proved. This accounts for 60 -70% of the postal cost from the UK

One thing that often surprises me is the number of sellers who routinely send items by ordinary mail without proof of delivery or will if asked. I can never bring myself to do the same.

Kind regards

Timothy

[northlodge]

One thing that often surprises me is the number of sellers who routinely send items by ordinary mail without proof of delivery or will if asked. I can never bring myself to do the same.

Kind regards

Timothy

 

I will usually only do this for cheap items or to a buyer I have a history with.

 

I do get irritated by those UK sellers who charge overseas buyers less than they do for those in the UK; insisting on recorded delivery for the later but economy mail for the former.

 

Bizarre!

[ian1964]

For me it is more frustrating than anything else It is also rather sad for the genuine good small seller who is losing a raft of potential customers. I still spend $000's each year with Amazon.

 

Actually, I did buy some pen repair stuff from a US seller called Sulman2000 the other day on EBay and without any request he (Larry I think is his name) refunded half my postage to my Paypal account. Amazing and I was absolutely over the moon. I will definitely buy from him again. A great business model here. He will definitely be getting a lot more of my custom

[billf]

I live in the US and am certainly aware of the pricey nature of USPS shipping. That said, there are some inconsistencies. I cannot help but wonder at the high end prices for some shipments from the US to other countries. I suspect that comments alluding to artificial inflation are correct. I note that a recent order from the UK which I made was shipped for a flat 20US. That is consistent with previous experience. Obviously, if the item is 40US, that is really expensive. My items were higher in cost, so the shipping was not out of line. Oh, and that 20US paid for registered mail, which, at least with the USPS, is about as costly as you can get.

[Barkingpig]

It works both ways as well. One seller in France quotes minimum shipping @ $40. to US. I purchased a pen from a person in the Netherlands & the shipping was $30. to US YET Courrone du Comte sent me a bottle of ink (much more involved packaging than a mailing envelope for $13.83. So it seems to me that there is a variance of shipping prices COMING to the US as well. I think it all cases it just has to be "factored" in & be found worthy of purchase.

[Chrissy]

I suspect that the real problem is the "ebay requirement" that delivery can be proved. This accounts for 60 -70% of the postal cost from the UK

You don't have to have proven delivery if you don't want to. You can send cheaper items by 'standard' mail or 'standard airmail'. All it means is that if it does get lost, you have to make a claim to Royal Mail rather than just providing a tracking number for ebay/PayPal purposes. You're still covered up to the Royal Mail limits.

 

I send bottles of ink or lower value pens worth up to about £25 by 'standard' mail in the UK and internationally. I have never had to make a claim for a failed delivery

[Chrissy]

 

I do get irritated by those UK sellers who charge overseas buyers less than they do for those in the UK; insisting on recorded delivery for the later but economy mail for the former.

 

Bizarre!

I absolutely agree with you. That really irritates me too.

[alc3261]

You don't have to have proven delivery if you don't want to. You can send cheaper items by 'standard' mail or 'standard airmail'. All it means is that if it does get lost, you have to make a claim to Royal Mail rather than just providing a tracking number for ebay/PayPal purposes. You're still covered up to the Royal Mail limits.

 

I send bottles of ink or lower value pens worth up to about £25 by 'standard' mail in the UK and internationally. I have never had to make a claim for a failed delivery

I have but it was reasonably painless.