Posting overseas is SO expensive

[kitty-kat-kollection]

Tonight is the 5th time I've been asked if I'll post an item to an overseas buyers (I don't have this option selected). I have my Aus Post booklet and check the website for exact location costs, but the 2 times I sent overseas, I was left a bit out of pocket because I misunderstood the Aus Post information. I didn't bother the buyer with it as it was my fault. One was to the USA and one was to Sweden.

So this newest buyer is from Brazil, and the cheapest prepaid satchel is $28. Um...the item itself is only $12.

I just feel like I'm appearing like a bad seller as I basically have to tell these people that yes, I can send it but...the cost...

[porcelain_dolls_by_me]

By regular airmail with tracking.

4kg package from USA to Australia costs the equivalent of $A130

Same weight package from Australia to USA would cost only $A78

By Express mail the numbers are $A175 and $A90

Australia is a bargain!!

[digital*ghost]

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@dazzledayz wrote:

As AP are pricing so high, there is absolutely no incentive for other players like DHL etc to go much lower themselves.

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They (DHL) have economy services, which is what I use for international shipping. (GM Packet and Packet Plus - max insurance $50, max package weight 2kg, they also just got RACA certified, with no increase in prices of affect to the parcel processing flow....according to them, anyway)

Tracked to the US starts from around $7.50, and is charged by the gram, though Aus Post can be cheaper (if you have a top tier discount), once the parcel gets on the heavier side. 

It's a little on the slow side (3 weeks - in real terms I think that's decent, but in a lot of eBay buyer terms, that's slow, hence why I still quote Aus Post prices for enquiries on eBay, as their tracked services average 2 weeks to the US), and unless you can drop your packages off, you need to be sending enough for the pick-up fee to still make it worthwhile, but a decent option for sellers sending lower value, small items regualrly (my pick-up fee is $10 per collection - no good saving $10 on a parcel service if you pay it in the pick-up fee anyway; I only do 2-3 pick-ups a week). 

[lyndal1838]

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@porcelain_dolls_by_me wrote:

By regular airmail with tracking.

4kg package from USA to Australia costs the equivalent of $A130

Same weight package from Australia to USA would cost only $A78

By Express mail the numbers are $A175 and $A90

Australia is a bargain!!

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Once you exceed the 4lbs weight limit for using the USPS First Class Mail International the other services become exceedingly expensive.

[kitty-kat-kollection]

I find to the USA ok, but the places these buyers are in like Sweden and Brazil is ultra expensive. It is putrescent.

[purplemon18]

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@digital*ghost wrote:

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@dazzledayz wrote:

As AP are pricing so high, there is absolutely no incentive for other players like DHL etc to go much lower themselves.

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They (DHL) have economy services, which is what I use for international shipping. (GM Packet and Packet Plus - max insurance $50, max package weight 2kg, they also just got RACA certified, with no increase in prices of affect to the parcel processing flow....according to them, anyway)

Tracked to the US starts from around $7.50, and is charged by the gram, though Aus Post can be cheaper (if you have a top tier discount), once the parcel gets on the heavier side. 

It's a little on the slow side (3 weeks - in real terms I think that's decent, but in a lot of eBay buyer terms, that's slow, hence why I still quote Aus Post prices for enquiries on eBay, as their tracked services average 2 weeks to the US), and unless you can drop your packages off, you need to be sending enough for the pick-up fee to still make it worthwhile, but a decent option for sellers sending lower value, small items regualrly (my pick-up fee is $10 per collection - no good saving $10 on a parcel service if you pay it in the pick-up fee anyway; I only do 2-3 pick-ups a week). 

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I actually started using DHL after the last time you mentioned them, thank you.

I tend to do 2 shipments a week with about 8 items in them, and save about $5 per shipment compared to large letter mail. Plus I don't have to deal with trying to get international stamps out of Auspost anymore (really big plus actually). It varies a lot because they charge per gram, but I generally break even at the 4-5th item. My next shipment is currently 7 items and I will save a whopping $19.74.

As for delivery times, I don't think it is slower, at least to the UK. Conveniently I had a customer buy 2 items off me a day apart on the day I switched. I asked him how long each took and they arrived after exactly the same number of days. The remarkable thing is that his order sat on my desk for 2 or 3 days waiting for me to have enough orders to actually book a shipment. So really, DHL would have been faster if he had ordered 4 days apart. Of course it is just one example, and other items could be a lot slower

[purplemon18]

Generally, in order of cost it goes:

New Zealand

South East Asia

USA

Rest of the world

For speed and reliability, generally any "westernised" destination is pretty reliable. I most commonly get asked where their item is for Russia and China (excluding Hong Kong). I'm probably going to drop thos destinations.

[digital*ghost]

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@purplemon18 wrote:

As for delivery times, I don't think it is slower, at least to the UK. Conveniently I had a customer buy 2 items off me a day apart on the day I switched. I asked him how long each took and they arrived after exactly the same number of days. The remarkable thing is that his order sat on my desk for 2 or 3 days waiting for me to have enough orders to actually book a shipment. So really, DHL would have been faster if he had ordered 4 days apart. Of course it is just one example, and other items could be a lot slower

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Shipping times to the EU seem to be a little faster than to the US, but I think it might be due to most of my packages being routed through Germany, so it's relatively quick to all the other EU destinations (some go through NZ - which is actually the most expensive destination to send to directly for some reason - the others start at under $3 untracked, while NZ is over $4). 

The best thing about it is that it's based on weight alone - no more keeping packages under 2cm to qualify for letter postage (which makes some items cheaper to send internationally than domestically through AP parcel post).