Why is postage from the US to Australia so variable?

[lsc2803_hwvnuiw86]

Postage from the US to Australia is very expensive but why is it so variable? On a single item - a Greenleaf Orchid dollhouse kit - sent by the same method, the postage varied from $AUD 95 to $AUD 526. 

Also why can items bought from the same seller not be sent on the same parcel with combined postage? Having to pay postage several times over really inhibits buyers. I wanted to buy six items from the same seller in the UK but having to pay six lots of postage was not acceptable.

[countessalmirena · Accepted solution]

Search these boards for the many many threads on this very topic; you’ll note that it’s been complained about many times by many posters. Outrageous as its cost may be, the GSP (Global Shipping Program) is in many cases the only way to obtain some items from international sellers. Alternatively, use a parcel forwarding company as the US delivery address and then combine all of the parcels into one shipment - but you’ll then be paying GST to the parcel forwarder on the shipping plus on the insurance and on the total cost of the goods, as they are required to collect that to be sent to the ATO.

The shipping cost for the overseas portion of that shipping is automatically generated based upon the dimensions and weight entered in the listing for the item by the seller. Quite a few sellers, especially if they charge a flat or free domestic postage charge, don’t enter the dimensions and weight information since of course it’s irrelevant for their local buyers, and they may not even be aware that their listings are opted in for the GSP.

It is worth asking sellers if they would please be able to specify size and weight details for the item, as this will then enable a more appropriate price to be generated for the international shipping component.

The GSP quite flatly does not enable combined shipping costs, as you would see in reading the T&Cs… and sellers can’t enable it. The only possible way to solve this is for the buyer to contact the seller and ask very politely for a new listing to be made with the various desired items in that one listing.