International Postage

[johnmrson]

I'm really getting sick of people trying to gouge on international postage for shaving items. I just bought a straight for the US that would ship in an envelope for around $7 or at worst $13.95 for a small box. Anyway, the seller sends me an invoice for $27.95. What a joke.
Luckily I have a US postal box with a mail forwarding service otherwise I'd be in trouble.

Well The Last Singing Cowboy, you've sung your last tune as far as I'm concerned. Trying to charge that sort of money for postage is tantamount to theft.

[Kcaps]

I hear you as a Canadian. Sometimes on eBay I will pay $10-$20 for shipping and the package says $4 when it arrives..... At least the good people on B&B have been reasonable so far!

[apino]

I hear you as a Canadian. Sometimes on eBay I will pay $10-$20 for shipping and the package says $4 when it arrives...

A few weeks ago I bought something from Canada on eBay (shipped to Europe), asked for the p&p a day before the auction closed but didn't get an answer. I still bid thinking he must have had a busy day (my mistake). Turned out the shipping charge had well over $10 for packing & handling alone. And how was it packed? In an envelope with a thin layer of bubble wrap around the razor!

[perogee]

I'm really getting sick of people trying to gouge on international postage for shaving items. I just bought a straight for the US that would ship in an envelope for around $7 or at worst $13.95 for a small box. Anyway, the seller sends me an invoice for $27.95. What a joke.
Luckily I have a US postal box with a mail forwarding service otherwise I'd be in trouble.

Well The Last Singing Cowboy, you've sung your last tune as far as I'm concerned. Trying to charge that sort of money for postage is tantamount to theft.

I have looked at some of his auctions, and that is the very reason that I have never bid on one, just ridiculous levels.

[luvmysuper]

Until folks start leaving negative feedback for ridiculous shipping charges, this will continue.

[mdunn]

shrug. its annoying, but i just think of it as a starting price (instead of the 1 cent or whatever, call it a starting price of $12).

but yeah, ive been quoted $50 for a single straight from the US to me - tis a good thing ive a conus address too!

[Shavely Manden]

Until folks start leaving negative feedback for ridiculous shipping charges, this will continue.

+1. But you're not going to buy an item just to leave negative feedback on shipping...if shipping's marked, you're just going to go away. And there's no feedback at that point.

Maybe we should start contacting sellers and mentioning that we're not bidding b/c of high shipping charges. Maybe they'll get the hint eventually.

[pauls51]

I agree that International shipping is exorbitant... Hence the reason why I have tried to stick to purchasing locally! ..... I got quoted 50 odd dollars for international postage for a wallet!!!!

[Maher]

Until folks start leaving negative feedback for ridiculous shipping charges, this will continue.

+1 I have even walked away from the purchase if the seller demands an outrageous shipping charge. Negative is the best thing to do. If you have paid by paypal you can always claim a shipping refund from paypal, they have that as a refund option. good luck

[bjh618]

That is precisely why I stick to the BST and local sales.

[apino]

I don't think leaving negative feedback is justified as long as the shipping & handling charges are given in the listing. And usually they at least ask you to confirm the costs before bidding so no grounds for negative feedback there either. There is however the star rating which you can (and should) give in these cases.

One thing I've learnt is never bid on the assumption that international shipping will be reasonable if the domestic rate seems reasonable!

[mretzloff]

$27.95 is a complete joke. For $25, I was able to send five soaps and three shaving creams to Europe a week ago. That straight should not even cost $10 to send in a box.

[Mark1966]

I try to ask before bidding but sometimes have only seen things at the last minute. In that case I won it cheaply but was quoted postage of nearly double the final auction price - so we agreed to cancel my bid.

Prices quoted for a single (uncased) DE have ranged from $US10 to $US53. The reason I've been given on the higher costs is that they are sending super-duper signed and tracked because that is required by PayPal - interesting that most just use First Class International.

I have in-laws in the US but don't want to abuse the privilege with them, unless of course I find that red-dot, double ring toggle in mint condition

[ackvil]

Until folks start leaving negative feedback for ridiculous shipping charges, this will continue.

+1. I did this for an CONUS delivery in which no amount of postage was specified - my mistake. I left a negative feedback on the seller for charging double what priority mail cost.

[maxman]

Many of you international folks know that I will ship anywhere.
At home I have a digital scale, a tape ruler (like a seamstress would use) and all the appropriate forms provided by Canada Post. If you ask them for the forms, they will give them to you.
It's not rocket science to figure out what to charge.
You pack the box. Weigh the box. Measure the box.
Go to the Canada Post website and put in the dimensions and weight.
It will give you a price.

I've passed over many excellent Ebay auctions because of high shipping costs.

If you don't say anything, it means they get away with it.

[Maineac]

Just to rehash the obvious. Many sellers use inflated postage just as an attempt to make more profit from the unwary.

I just add the postage price in my mind when bidding on anything. When I see a ridiculous postage rate I just move on.

[DESkydiver]

I dislike having to ship any of my eBay sales international, because the “Print Shipping Label” feature, when you try to select the service it only allows you to select one of the Priority or Express packages, and not First Class International. In fact the USPS site will not even allow you to purchase First Class International label online, and must physically go to the local office to do so.

So for me anyhow, if I ship international, I’ll ship outside the eBay tools by going to the Post Office and fill in the customs declaration form and ship First Class International (FCI). One example, I just shipped to France… if I used the eBay Print Label tool the cheapest I could have shipped would have been a Priority Medium Flat Rate Box for $44, or go to the Post Office and ship FCI for under $10.

Therefore, I think some of the perceived gouging is due to the limited selection available with those eBay/PayPal shipping tools, in conjunction with lazy sellers not willing to find an alternative method. Hence the issue may not be intentional, but an issue with PEBCAK (Problem Exists Between Chair And Keyboard).

[Thebigspendur]

It's a known fact people use shipping to pad their profits. However it's not only individuals who do this. I've bought things from large businesses who have charged fifteen bucks to ship a 5lb package UPS within the U.S and they send it via the economy class that takes 10 days to arrive.

They just use their shipping dept. to make additional profit.

[apino]

I just add the postage price in my mind when bidding on anything.

+1.

When I do conversions from USD/GBP/AUD to euro I quite consciously never calculate it without the shipping cost included. Bidding in foreign currency + RAD can be a bad combination if you don't have the patience to keep track of the "real" price.

[global_dev]

The shift towards poor total pricing in regards to S/H costs which is why I gave up mostly on ebay a long time ago. It only took a quick moment after ebay started to see that sellers figured out how to game unsavvy buyers.

I think the issue maybe the Handling part of Shipping & Handling. I certainly think its reasonable to charge Handling, but i don't need Handling that is priced at white-glove service, when neither white glove is wanted nor received.

My best experience with S/H ever is with WOOT! when they shipped me a 65" LCD TV for $5 S/H with a ridiculous price on the TV to boot.