International Shipping - Parts

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Ronald Sieber
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International Shipping - Parts

#1 Post by Ronald Sieber »

I am shipping a bare case to the U.K. and would appreciate any comment regarding the usual shipping channels and who offers the most value.

I looked at U.S. Postal rates and they seemed competitive after I compared them to those in the rate book for Fedex, a 198-page document. Even my Fedex counter guy struggled with obtaining a quote out of it for me.

I haven't checked out UPS yet.

Thanks in advance,
=rds

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John Brooks
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Re: International Shipping - Parts

#2 Post by John Brooks »

First Weigh and Measure the package, if you know the destination postal code, any carrier can give you a quote. International economy by air, is about as cheap as you can get to deliver quickly. There are trucking carriers like Pilot or TNT, who will stage the package in a port and then fill a container going to Europe. When it arrives, they brake down the container and truck it from Rotterdam or port of entry. There is also space available air to England with the airlines.

Intermodal container is about half the economy air freight cost, but takes a few weeks to get delivered. I would remove the case studs and ship FedEx international economy, 4 days to about anywhere. Remember you are charged by the pound and cubic foot, and then customs and VAT/GST. Product samples for evaluation, or commercial airliner parts for repair are duty and tax free.
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Dan Epperly
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Re: International Shipping - Parts

#3 Post by Dan Epperly »

Ive always found that USPS had the cheapest rates for shipping via air, UPS and Fed Ex always were more expensive.
For sure shrink the size by pulling the studs as they will base rate on size and weight. Use foam and packing peanuts.

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Vic Skirmants
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Re: International Shipping - Parts

#4 Post by Vic Skirmants »

NO to packing peanuts. Useless for heavier items.

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Adam Wright
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Re: International Shipping - Parts

#5 Post by Adam Wright »

USPS is the cheapest to go international, your only problem comes up when the box gets too big, but you can get all the specs on USPS.com
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David Nicholls
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Re: International Shipping - Parts

#6 Post by David Nicholls »

Everyone "Down Under" believes that the shipping rates from the USA are ridiculously high.
Even the smallest package can cost $100. !!!!!
Rates from Europe or the UK are half of that, or sometimes even Free.

Guess where we prefer to go shopping ?

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Re: International Shipping - Parts

#7 Post by Norm Miller »

David Nicholls wrote:Everyone "Down Under" believes that the shipping rates from the USA are ridiculously high.
Even the smallest package can cost $100. !!!!!
Rates from Europe or the UK are half of that, or sometimes even Free.

Guess where we prefer to go shopping ?
Everything here is ridiculously high.
The rates to and from the UK seem so too.
USPS trying to recoup cost of advertising?
 

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Steve veytia
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Re: International Shipping - Parts

#8 Post by Steve veytia »

I just shipped a set of engine tin to Belgium with USPS. They were about $50 cheaper than UPS. Total cost was $92 based on 14 lbs and 36 inch long X 36 inches in diameter (first time I've seen that measured). They all base rate on volumetric dimensions (weight X package dimensions).

I shipped a case earlier in the month domestically and it was $58. So, I would imagine you'd be in the $90 - $120 range in pricing.

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Re: International Shipping - Parts

#9 Post by Brooks Herrick »

FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 7, 2018

THIS SUBSIDY FOR CHINA IS DUMB AS A POST
Overseas competitors undercut me thanks to an old mail treaty.
By
Jayme Smaldone

President Trump tweeted in December that the U.S. Postal Service isn’t charging Amazon enough to deliver merchandise. But it’s not Jeff Bezos who is getting the lowest rates. In fact, it’s a major economic competitor of the United States—China—that is getting a sweetheart deal from the USPS.

I learned of this because it undercuts my company, Mighty Mug. We sell a patented travel mug that we mail customers from our warehouse in New Jersey. Over the past two years, China-based competitors have flooded the market with knockoffs of our product. e pay the USPS $6.30 to ship a Mighty Mug within the U.S. In a web search for infringing items, we came across a fake Mighty Mug for $5.69, with free shipping all the way from China. How is a Chinese retailer able to sell a product and send it 8,100 miles for less than our shipping costs alone?

The answer has to do with an international agency I’d never heard of—the Universal Postal Union, founded in 1874 and now a United Nations agency. It sets intercountry rates for mail delivery.

The UPU has 192 members divided into groups based on the strength of their economies. This classification dictates the amount each country pays in terminal dues—that is, the fee to a foreign postal service for delivering inbound mail. Less-developed countries get significant discounts on shipments to more-developed ones. The UPU classifies China a “Group 3” country, along with countries like Cuba and Gabon—even though China has the world’s largest e-commerce market.

Many developing countries can take advantage of this system, but China has done so like no other, partly because of the volume of its exports to the developed world and partly because its government aggressively subsidizes the trans-Pacific leg of the journey.

While it costs my company $6.30 to deliver a one-pound package within the U.S., the USPS delivers the same package from a Chinese shipper for just $1.40—less than a quarter of our cost. And the Chinese advantage increases with the weight of the package.

This low-cost shipping arrangement is not a two-way street. While a Chinese company can ship a mug here for a little more than $1, the USPS would charge my company $22 to ship a mug to China.

Adding insult to industry, the USPS loses money on these inbound China shipments. And American citizens are paying for it. As the Government Accountability Office stated in a 2017 report, “inbound international terminal dues mail does not cover its costs for delivering that mail in the United States. As a result, USPS’s net losses on this type of mail more than doubled from 2012 to 2016.” Meanwhile, “rates for outbound international terminal dues mail has resulted in net positive revenues for USPS.” In other words, American businesses are hurt by low-priced Chinese imports, and above-market shipping rates for exports.

This is not America first; it is America last. If our leaders want the U.S. to be able to compete in a global marketplace, they need to make changes now. I love and thrive on competition in business, but not if my competitor has both its government and mine in its corner.

Mr. Smaldone is founder and CEO of Mighty Mug.

Appeared in the February 7, 2018, print edition.

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Ronald Sieber
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Re: International Shipping - Parts

#10 Post by Ronald Sieber »

Thanks to everyone for posting useful data and advice on this topic. I am new to selling and shipping, so I was having a Sergeant Shultz moment ("I see nuttink! I know nuttink!") in making a decision. My box is packed, ready to weigh and ship. I'll report back on what I found for the good of the cause.

Regarding the article that was also posted, this is something that our legislators should be working on, something that they could all agree to do something about. I'm going to forward it on to them. What an example of wasteful subsidizing!

=rds

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Adam Wright
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Re: International Shipping - Parts

#11 Post by Adam Wright »

Here is one thing I don't understand. If I send something to Asia it costs somewhere between $25-50 if it's not too big. But when I order something from China it costs about $7, and the label says it goes from China Post to USPS as a partnership. It doesn't add up.
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