My apologies if this has been asked again. I just shipped international. It was $35 with tracking but I was told it would take an entire month. If I wanted it priority with tracking it would have been $65. This seemed so wrong when the same thing from Asia is $20 to $30 depending on the country. Some of you have a lot of international shipping experience. Were these prices correct? Is there a better way? Thank you.
International shipping has gone up quite a bit!! Even first class shipping with tracking is $23.50. Always wise to get actual quote before offering overseas shipping.
Yes, there is a better way. Don't ship internationally. It sucks. I tried to ship a box to Australia recently and instead the idiots took a week to ship it 1.5 miles back to my house. For no apparent reason. A surprising number of USPS workers have NO FUCKING CLUE how to ship an international package.
I’ve only shipped two International packages. It’s kind of terrifying. I have shipped one first class to Germany for about 15 bux and one EMS to Japan, which was about 65 bux. I was absolutely blown away by the latter. People always ask me if I will ship internationally, and it definitely can be difficult to calculate.
I used to have a BF in the UK, and mailing anything international was super expensive! From past experience, shipping a Flat rate box was the best deal, but it's still expensive https://blog.easyship.com/what-is-the-cheapest-way-to-ship-internationally ^^^This was posted in 2017, so it gives you a convenient way to compare shipping rates (I'm not endorsing their "product", just posting this for comparison tables) Good luck!
International out of the US has always been ridiculous, in my opinion. When I was in Japan in 2015 my lady sent me a Bluetooth speaker that I’d forgotten. The box was 5x5x5 and cost $45 and change to ship. But boxes from Mandarake that are twice that size cost me $14 via EMS or DHL.
This is why I no longer can buy any toys from Skullbrain. Thanks. And add to that eliminating Amazon, ebay, 'any major retail/manufacturer', etc. Consumerism remains, as ever, US-centric. Not that I love, or have the money for, regular shopping, but the fact that it isn't even an option in 95% of cases, and the other 5% cost more than the value of the item, is something that irks me to no end. I did actually use to to enjoy the BST side of this board; now it is only a headache and a source for sadness. I will also take this opportunity to share some positive aspects as well though, and give a big warm and fuzzy Thank You to David, who has generously been babysitting some toys for me, in the interim of being able to sort out reason.
Oh, I've got no fear there, Gracie. In fact, I am trusting he will, and if I am honest, knowing he will get a chance to enjoy them too is half the reason. And I have already been treated to some photo sessions of toy adventures that might await me.
I must have shipped internationally close to fifty times since I arrived in the US four years ago. It sucks every time, and to my knowledge there's no way around the high costs attached to Priority Mail unless you have some sort of special arrangement with USPS or a courier, as an employee of a massive company that ships with them, for example. The best you can do is read up on the dimensions and maximum weight allowed for First Class and try to stay within them, so you're only paying $25-30 or so. That said, I avoid First Class. Maybe this has changed but as far as I know there's no guaranteed delivery date attached to a First Class package, which makes following up with insurance more difficult if someone loses your box in transit.
This is just from my experience but I've had a box via Priority damaged, and I've had no problems with First Class. I think it depends more on the country that you are shipping to rather than the service used between the two. After all, both services are "Registered" mail in the sense that they will be handed off to the foreign country's equivalent of USPS. More importantly, be aware of the more "risky" countries to ship to, such as Brazil, etc. I would say that EMS is the quick AND safe option, but it cost me almost $70 to mail a package that was about 1lb. Regardless of the destination country, price will always be prohibitively expensive, so I usually only ship internationally to people buying >$100 worth of goods (nobody buying a $15 toy wants to pay $25 for shipping).
Whatever you do, DON'T go to a US Post Office. They are fucking clueless and always make things a hassle. More than often they are misinformed as well. I do all my international shipments through PayPal's shipping / label creator. That way I can just type all the customs info. It also shows ALL the options when USPS employees usually just give you one or two. You can try different options and see the pricing.
FYI, I've often had trouble creating international labels thru PayPal when there is no address linked to the transaction. In these cases I would recommend USPS click and ship. (see their website) Whichever way you go, Customs form will now print on/with the label (it did not do this five years ago). This makes the paperwork very easy, as opposed to filling it out yourself at the PO, as mentioned above.
Shipping costing more than the actual contents blows my mind every time! Having someone trustworthy stockpile Stateside and ship a bunch together is the only way to make buying worthwhile . . although even then, $65-80 to ship is a killer! Not to mention the $40 import duty and handling charge if the package is marked over $20! But for what it's worth . . . Thankyou to those in the US that are at least willing to ship International!
Why is it that 100% of these "should I ship internationally" threads are started by US sellers? I've never seen a collector in another country question whether they should go through the hassle of shipping to a foreign country like the US, even though the rate of package loss and damage there, as well as scammer buyers, is somewhat high. It's assumed that the risk will be taken, the shipping form will be filled out, and the line at the post office will be endured. The irony is 75% or more of the "look what the post office screwed up now" posts are started by US collectors. The world is shrinking, powerhouses like China are growing at exponential rates, and the luxury of thinking that every country besides the US is a "foreign place" will soon be untenable. Food for thought.
You can bet I'll complain about shipping even more if I end up moving back to Pakistan, don't worry It makes sense that US-based collectors complain more when the country is large and populous enough that we wouldn't need to ship internationally most of the time. Collectors elsewhere are more used to dealing with the risks and annoyances of international shipping, but that doesn't make it less annoying. Besides, people all over the world try to avoid that hassle where they can. The toy collecting community in Singapore is pretty insular for the same reason as the USA; there are a lot of collectors in the country who can meet locslly, and customs forms suck. You could make the same point about Hong Kong, where there's plenty of international shipping but also a ton of local action. Better that we figure out more painless infrastructure for shipping internationally than suggest everyone just suck it up. But for the time being, we will indeed have to just suck it up.
^The great irony there is 100% of the toys that this forum is dedicated to originated outside of the US and had to be shipped to the US by someone who had to fill out a form, wait in line, and take the risks of shipping internationally.
This is no excuse, but because the USPS (as usual) can't run efficiently, let alone make a profit, they began sub-contracting a lot of the distribution work to outside sources (non-USPS workers). This is just one, of many reasons as to why things are getting shipped to places they shouldn't be or getting delayed. However, what service out there will let you mail a letter for fifty cents and parcels within the ConUS for as cheaply as they do? I guess it's a balance in patience...
In @SaintOfSpinners defense this is not a "should I..?" thread. He did and was dismayed by USPS's steep prices, asking if there was a better alternative (to the best of my knowledge UPS, FedEx, DHL etc. are even more expensive). Also pointing out the disparity in price between USPS and outbound packages from Asia which cost less than half as much. Americans seem to complain more (about everything) than other cultures. The ever-growing influence of social media has only made the matter worse...
Smurph read me right. It wasn't "should I..." but "is this correct and what is the alternative". I believe toys should go to those who want them no matter where they are. Standing in lines and filling out forms isn't an issue. In my recent case I went in with the knowledge of what it should cost me with tracking. The clerk told me, and insisted, on something else. I ended up having to go back to find out after shipping that the item won't be tracked until it gets scanned in its destination country. What I learned is that I should not ship out of Hollywood where they are busy dealing with chaos and riffraff but rather in my neighborhood, Alhambra, which is heavily Chinese and is far more used to the international, especially Asian bound, shipping.
@SaintOfSpinners if you have a printer and can measure & weigh the package, the most convenient way is to use USPS website. Price-wise it runs the same as what you noted above, but there is an option to pay via PayPal. Don't forget to print the SCAN form in addition to customs paperwork. It's used by the USPS to register as accepted in the system.
As some mentioned, I have used postage through paypal now, it's cheaper than USPS for some reason and you get the same service. Might be something to look into. Doesn't matter if paid as gift or goods, you can still create labels Hope that helps!
This is what I've done as well. It's definitely the path of least resistance. But for some reason I feel like PayPal doesn't make it easy to find so here's a link in case in helps anyone: https://www.paypal.com/shiplabel/create/
