mjeff87 Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 I'm trying to get a set of drum brake backing plates to a new club member over in Sweden. I've got them properly packed in a 12"x12"x8" cardboard box. weighing 10.1 lbs, wrapped and padded to withstand a nuclear holocaust, or UPS, whichever is worse. (We use UPS here at work, and I've toured a UPS main distribution facility....I know how they handle parcels and package accordingly). Anyway, I did the online calculator for UPS and ended up with $174 as my cheapest option. WTF. I'm going to go to an actual UPS store and have them estimate it in person, maybe I put something wrong in the online form. If that's the actual price, I'll be shopping around some. What about (gulp) USPS? I would imagine FedEx/DHL are going to be pretty much the same as UPS, no? Anyone going to Sweden anytime soon and want to carry along a package for Hakan? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 USPS. Make sure this is a "gift" otherwise he'll have to declare value and pay tax on his end. I've shipped pistons to Germany, half the size and weight, was $56. I saw your communication and I figured it would be about $125 to ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjeff87 Posted March 11, 2019 Author Share Posted March 11, 2019 LOL, they actually are a "gift"......no charge for them but he is going to reimburse me for the shipping. That's why I'm trying to keep the cost down. I did check DHL and the online quote I got was $47. That's a bit more inline with what I was thinking ($50-ish). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 2nd the USPS suggestion. There's an international agreement between official postal agencies that dictates the rates, so often it's cheaper because it is essentially shipped/received at a loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 Also USPS will ship via air, he may have it in 5-6 days if not caught up in customs. DHL may take 5-6 weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjeff87 Posted March 11, 2019 Author Share Posted March 11, 2019 Getting a little better....I ran to the post office at lunch. $78, arriving in 12-14 business days. Not sure I'm going to get much better than that, but am trying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 7 minutes ago, mjeff87 said: Getting a little better....I ran to the post office at lunch. $78, arriving in 12-14 business days. Not sure I'm going to get much better than that, but am trying. That's a bargain.............do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 Sometimes there's an overlap in weight or size groups, where two smaller or lighter packages together will end up costing less than the big heavy one. At least I encountered that with getting Lada parts from Europe once. But yes, so far the most reliable way for me to get things shipped has been the mail. Admittedly I tend to live in pretty remote places, but I've had a few packages get started on the return trip because the courrier wouldn't bring it all the way here and didn't bother telling me or the sender that I had to go get it myself at their depot 100+ miles away. And do you think they'd ever offer to give the sender a refund if I didn't pick up on it and arrange an intercept? Ha! No. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schardein Posted March 13, 2019 Share Posted March 13, 2019 Here's a crazy idea. Ebay has the global shipping program. If the country is included, then you pay shipping to a hub through USPS and then ebay takes it from there. I don't know exactly how it works, but I have sold many items to people overseas. I pay USPS rates to Erlanger, KY and that's it. Ebay sends me an email when they receive the package and then another when it arrives at the destination. So I've shipped packages all over the world for first class mail rates (if under 16 ounces) from MO to KY through ebay/USPS. There may be another hub, but that is where mine always go. Set up an ebay account, list the item for a dollar plus actual cost of shipping, have the buyer standing by to purchase as soon as you list it. You'll pay ebay and PayPal fees one dollar, but save big on shipping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted March 13, 2019 Share Posted March 13, 2019 eBay global shipping sucks. 50% of the time you lose tracking once it hits their hub, and you've got no clue which service ends up with it. The seller frequently doesn't seem able or even willing to help either. See the thing I said earlier about needing to know which service sends me stuff because it's 50/50 whether it gets to me, unless it goes via mail. It also tends to double the shipping cost because it needs shipped twice, and it takes longer to get stuff. But of course the seller doesn't see the shipping costs or extra time... Classic example, back in September I ordered NOS ecodes for my ZJ. I couldn't get both from the same seller, but by coincidence the two I got shipped from the Milwaukee area. Both shipped the same day, one via global shipping, one just usps. They hit the mail at the same time, and were on the same shipment through a couple transfer facilities to Cincinnati. Then they split, regular mail to Toronto area, through customs, and I got it within a week to Fairview, AB. The global shipping program package, on the other hand, went from Cincinnati to Erlanger, KY (total distance of like, 10 miles) via Dallas and Memphis, which maybe is a fluke, but still took three days. Then it sat in Erlanger for a couple days, before going through the rest of the trip, five full business days behind the other package at double the cost, with the end result being an extra eight days before I got it... at double the cost. It also showed up with a little bit of damage because the seller just sent it loose bouncing around in the box, while the other seller took the time to open the box and add packing material, sorta irrelevant but shows they cared more about the item making it to the buyer, unlike the guy who just took the easy route out and used the shipping program. That's pretty much been my experience with the shipping program more often than not. Now I just try to avoid things that ship through it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schardein Posted March 13, 2019 Share Posted March 13, 2019 36 minutes ago, gogmorgo said: eBay global shipping sucks. I vaguely remember having this conversation before. All that is transparent to the seller. So I can understand, the buyer pays extra for shipping through the GSP? For what it's worth, I've shipped, guessing 50 items through the GSP and never had a complaint from a buyer. Many of those were "free shipping", which means I covered the cost of shipping, which is factored into my asking price. If there are extra shipping charges, I can't see that as a seller. Perhaps quality of service varies by country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted March 13, 2019 Share Posted March 13, 2019 I don't know what the seller sees, as I've never tried selling anything. What I do know is usually tracking info quits updating once the packages hit the shipping facility until a day or so after the packages arrive, when suddenly all the "missing" updates become visible. I've only attempted to contact the seller/eBay about it if the item hasn't arrived by the end of the window, but almost always just get an "I don't know what's going on" from the seller, eBay takes too long to respond and then says they can't do anything unless I open a dispute, and then either the package shows up within a few days or I start contacting the local couriers hunting for it. eBay themselves also aren't hands-on on the shipping, they contract it out to another company, so I don't know how much knowledge they initially have on what's going on. As for cost, I've never seen one with free shipping. Initially when they first rolled out the program, there was the shipping charge, and the there was a "brokerage" charge of $15-$50 that was a separate line item at checkout. Now there isn't a "brokerage" charge, but shipping is almost always about double or on smaller items at least $10 more than from sellers who don't use the program, which on its own is incentive to avoid them. What it costs to ship is what it costs, so I imagine most buyers just suck it up, at least the ones who are even paying attention. Especially after they rolled the shipping and "brokerage" costs together so it just looks like expensive shipping. I don't really see the advantage of including middle men for things that are both bought and sold in small quantities. It just adds complexity and there's almost no way it can reduce costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjeff87 Posted March 13, 2019 Author Share Posted March 13, 2019 ^^^yikes I think Hakan and I have settled on USPS. I got a quote for about $80 USD, so I'm going to head back to the local post office on Friday. Hopefully, the quote is accurate, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted March 14, 2019 Share Posted March 14, 2019 On 3/13/2019 at 11:46 AM, gogmorgo said: eBay global shipping sucks. Yes. They'll charge $100 to ship something that would go in the smallest USPS flat rate box, or they'll charge $5 to ship something that requires a much bigger box and is way heavier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjeff87 Posted March 15, 2019 Author Share Posted March 15, 2019 Package shipped today via USPS.......$78.35 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjeff87 Posted March 19, 2019 Author Share Posted March 19, 2019 I've got to say, I'm pretty impressed with USPS. I checked the tracking this morning, and the parcel just left Denmark last night en route to Sweden.....Hakan should be getting them pretty soon. I also signed up for e-mail updates on tracking and delivery, and as I was typing this I already got an e-mail status update. I had my reservations about using USPS, but I'm feeling pretty good about them right now. I probably just jinxed it by saying that, though It'll probably fall out of the plane somewhere over the Swedish countryside and never be seen again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyav8r Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 I think UPS and FedEx are partnering with the USPS for some deliveries to residential addresses. I know I’ve seen a lot of Post Office trucks running nights and weekends, especially during the Christmas season. Several of my online purchases have been delivered by USPS and I use the flat rate boxes often when I ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now