I just need some clarification from some of you Stateside guys that ship overseas.

When you send stuff from the Post Office, do you just get charged a postage cost, or is the postage cost made up of a number of costs.

I recently bought some grips on eBay, and the seller charged me $17US Airmail postage. I thought that was steep, but figured I would pay it, and see what it actually cost. When the parcel arrived, the cost on the outside of the parcel was $8.40US.

I contacted the seller, and he said the postage cost was $8.40, but there was a $7.68 Excise tax, and a $1.22 International Duty fee. Can anyone tell me if they incur these costs when shipping? I just want to make sure this is legit.

This isn't a moaning and whinging post. I just need some feedback

malarky.

Yeah? No such thing as those charges?

he is full of it......

all so you better check with Andy were you can buy stuff from....lol....i think you can only buy from NZ, but you better check with him...hehehe

The shipping cost for a set of grips from AU to USA will be: up to 250g AU$8.00 not including packaging
250g to 500g AU$13.00 not including packaging.
The packaging would only be a few dollars...yep 2 bucks. there is NO other charges
These prices are straight from the Australia post booklet and do not differ no matter where in the US it goes.....east or west coast its all the same.

USPS tag on the package is what the person paid at the Office. As a frequent shipper, I try to guess as close to the actual cost to ship out items. You don't the total cost until you have the complete address. The seller has 3 types of USPS shipping to use. It sounds to me like he set the price on one and then shipped it the cheeper one. One thing not here is the time and cost he spent to get the package to the Station. I always charge a few $s for that- not $9 though. Just one side to see. Tommy

The seller probably quoted a rate for Airmail Parcel Post, and then got to the Post Office and found out that he could ship Airmail Letter Post for half the money. Or, he might have overestimated the weight of the package. These are common and understandable mistakes. Unfortunately, it sounds like once the seller had the extra money in his pocket, he didn't want to give it back.

Another remote possibility is that he uses some sort of shipping service that charges the extra fees. I doubt it.

I've discussed shipping philosophies with many eBay sellers, and we fall into two camps. Half of us would IMMEDIATELY refund an $8.60 shipping overcharge. The other half would NEVER give it back. The former group considers the latter to be dishonest; the latter group considers the former to be foolish. Both groups feel that their philosophy is completely ethical and exclusively correct.

I appreciate your feedbacks on this. I though the same, that what was on the USPS label was what was paid.

His explanation for the higher shipping cost was due to increased fuel prices, which isn't the case here at all. Indeed, I have never been charged extra shipping charges at all.

I sent a message to back to him, basically calling him out. It will be interesting to see his response.

Excise and Duty? No one pays duty on an outgoing parcel containing $15US grips..

USPS insanity.

Boxed CD , sent normal mail from FL to PA ~$2.75
Same Boxed CD sent Airmail from FL to Australia ~$1.85

The prices are not exact but I remember it was about US 70 to 80 cents cheaper to Airmail the CD to Australia rather than send it from one state to another in the US.

Anything thats small , light & falls under the maximum weight limit USPS sets for these air mail packages get's airmailed cheaper from the US to Oz than it does from State to State in the US.

The US postmen might not be shooting each other up at work anymore (Going Postal) anymore but they are still a bit weird with their charges on some international airmail shipping costs.
I've found a number of useful loopholes in the USPS airmail system that let you ship more weight for the same price by air or sea from the US to Oz , it's taken me a year or so to find the little glitches & establish a regular trading route from the US to Oz & I'm sure more will turn up in the future.

When shipping from Oz to the US there aren't half as many cost cutting methods or loopholes to find & use ,
so far.....

JB

Make sure the seller isn't sending using 'global priority'.
It's NOT standard USPS airmail and is more expensive.

Standard USPS airmail uninsured for grips should be around $6 - $8 US (4-7 days).

I'm getting sick of people mis-quoting or hyping up the cost of postage.

Especially tyre-kickers who want to charge a 'handling and shipping fee'.
That's just taking the ****.

I don't care if you had to walk to the post office to send it.
Get real.

....and the price of fuel went up?

Say what?

The guy is a dick.

He replied, and said "we had to pay several charges due to your (meaning my, as in New Zealand) countries regulations"... WTF? I've never heard that before.... Now he blames my country...

This definitely wasn't global priority, this was good old standard USPS airmail, and quoted 4-6 days delivery. I'm looking at the label right now, and it says $8.40...

Fubar...

Care you let us know their ebay id so we can be forewarned.

I just sent rims to the UK for $15, so grips should be alot less!! He's full of it.

I just received a plate from the states. I bought it for $5US ,and payed $17 postage. Here's what the postage amount was on the front.

And this is what i bought...

I'm not to worried about the cost...just thought it was interesting that it fits in this topic. The plate is just what i was after ...so i think it was worth it.

Looks like the lid off a tupperware container.... You sure its a number plate? LOL

Sorry, couldn't resist

there are some honest people out there - I got quoted $70 on postage for a frame from the US and the guy sent me a $10 refund when it turned out cheaper. This is how reputable honest people do business. What goes around comes around.....
And that's a repop tupperware lid - it doesn't have the official tupperware logo - you got ripped off roy

I had 2 tires sent from Earl in the US. He charged me $30 airmail. I thought that was ok considering they got here before stuff from Victoria that was sent the same day! Go figure!
Nice tupperware lid Roy! hehehe

Now that you mention it...it DOES look like the lid off my lunch box. hahaha LOL.

just the other day i won some gt power series cranks.
the seller didnt have the shipping price in the auction but i thought hey it wont be too much. the seller sends me an invoice........30 freakin dollars for shipping!!! from ny to az....the seller is greedy!!!i didnt email him for a reason why it was so much,im goin wait till i get the package to see what he actually paid and then i will call him out!!!! i hope they are sent overnite ups or something or im goin be mad!!!!

Yes, there are some shipping scammers out there. I bought a Hutch headset lock from a guy in the UK. He charged me 8 quid, and said that was for insured express mail, and that I would have to sign for it.
14 days later I came home, to find the parcel sitting on my front doorstep, and the total postage cost on the envelope? 2 quid...

I agree there are some very fair people out there. But there are also some shipping scammers too....

eBay doesn't charge a final value fee on the shipping, only the closing total. The final value fee is a higher percentage than the listing fee, but added together equals 10% or more of closing costs. He may have tried to get his advertising costs from shipping price. Plus packaging is never cheap, I pay $5 / box. That's not including the $15 roll of paper tape, special shipping tape. But that roll lasts awhile. I realize after selling that I pretty much gave the part away. The fees, the paypal percentage, added to the expense of prepping items for international delivery, filling out 2 different customs labels... this makes shipping international more difficult. There is global express, registered, Parcel and letter post rates. What you get quoted and what gets actually done may differ, when you have 15 auctions ending and everybody has special requests, special payment timelines, you end up going to the post office about 10 times. It's not as easy as riding a bike, being an eBay seller. It's very easy to rub somebody the wrong way. Have some compasion, try it, before slashing the guys who are giving their parts away. Because after all is said and done that's how it feels.

Shipping / Handling = Price on package plus price on materials handling. You're only viewing the shipping charge, not taking account of handling tme. Is that fair? If you see 'actual charges only' that means handling is FREE, so is the BOX.

So you're standing at the counter, knowing you have $9 to work with to get this package across the world. When you arrive and you think you have your paperwork all figured out, they tell you that certain packages of certain size ship with special services and either are or are not insurable. So this will have an effect on my decision what method to select. I wanted insurance, but if that's not possible I have to upgrade to registered and compelte a different set of forms. I'm realizing that I don't know what I'm doing at this point. So rather than blow off the rest of the world and say I don't ship there, I take the box and set it on the counter with the persons name on it. I ask for all the different options to get it there. The USPS worker quotes me a few prices. I return home with the package, inform the buyers what their options were and take the package back a 2nd time. This way I get paid the proper ammounts for shipping but it takes a special 'quote the box' trip to the post office. Our office is open 24 hours a day, so I'm one of those 3AM visitors because there is no line to wait in. A 3PM visitor will stand in line for 1 hour, sometimes 2. As a global seller, pleasing the buyer has meant making sacfrifices I wouldn't do for anybody. I wont get out of bed at 3AM for very many people, but in order to have international peace, I'd do anything.

[ January 10, 2006, 10:10 AM: Message edited by: The Eventide ]

Item Value

Listing Fee
Final Value
Shipping Cost
Handling Cost
Paypal Fee

Here's the list of the items that a seller is trying desperately to reclaim. With the right buyer it's easy. International can prove difficult.

It's customary in US to TIP a service worker for thier time, especially if they're polite to you. But haggling is rite of passage in many other parts of the world.

What a contrast. I'm also a buyer and have been inclined to 'pick up the tab' on those charges, thoughtlessly. I wonder what people think of that? Ignorance? Generosity? I have no idea. But as a seller I understand the world wide customs are diff and take each buyer as they come.

[ January 10, 2006, 11:24 AM: Message edited by: The Eventide ]