shipping rates are stoopid!

[photo_fred]

Beemermark, I've bought and sold with the US a lot and have never had any issues with damaged goods. Never had anything lost. Always delivered to the US within 8 business days.The prices aren't overly good but if I'm willing to pay for the shipping charges, why would it be a problem for anyone to ship from the US to Canada? You wouldn't be footing the bill for shipping. Really bad argument for refusing to sell to Canada. What I usually find is that the person from the US don't want to be bothered with doing the extra bit of paperwork for customs. Don't know why as we have to go through the same when selling to the US.

 

[Rayt]

Yeah I get bike parts and model cars all the time from China on ebay and shipping is free! Or $6.00 ePacket delivery from Hong Kong at most!

I don't know how they do it, bought some nice battery holders recently for a dollar for two, free shipping! Arrived in a week.

I am in Hong Kong and bought a 100' can of HP5 for $45 from B&H last month. Shipping via DHL economy was $6.01. It took nearly 3 weeks to get here because the package was routed through Germany. Today I ordered one B+W filter for $69 and again shipping was only $6.

 

[lynnb]

We (in Australia) have found that querying quoted outrageous postage rates from some US e-commerce sites can sometimes lead to a dramatic downwards revision of postage costs... it doesn't hurt to send them an email asking why they charge so much (and mentioning comparison costs).

B&H revised their shipping costs to Australia not so long ago.

 

[ChrisPlatt]

Yeah I get bike parts and model cars all the time from China on ebay and shipping is free! Or $6.00 ePacket delivery from Hong Kong at most!

I don't know how they do it, bought some nice battery holders recently for a dollar for two, free shipping! Arrived in a week.

China Post is heavily subsidized by the Chinese government.
I guess they figure encouraging international sales is good for China.

In USA the postal service is expected to be self-supporting,
yet is subject to government mandates...

Chris

 

[photomoof]

China Post is heavily subsidized by the Chinese government.
I guess they figure encouraging international sales is good for China.

It works, I buy stuff from Northern Ireland for the same reason, they offer a good flat rate on large stuff like bike wheels.

 

[Out to Lunch]

Hi Joe, you are in Canada and complaining about shipping rates. Imagine how it is in Europe. The US/Europe courier rates are ridiculous. I have stopped buying stuff in the USA and now rely on European retailers, most of which offer free shipping within the European Union. Cheers, Peter