International Shipping Update

Ives

Ives

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I had some interest in the parts I am selling from The Land of Oz and the UK. I made enquiries at UPS and was quoted $168.15 for the postal option to the UK. I talked to David in Oz and he suggested USPS for his package. I checked with my PO and with the package in hand they quoted me less than $35 for a 6-10 day delivery with a declared value of $100 ( I cheated). That was OK with David so I shipped it off. With that in mind I went back to the PO and, again, with package in hand they quoted me less than $30 to the UK. Turns out UPS's dirty little secret is they ship via USPS for international and mark it up 5.6 times basically for doing nothing but filling out the customs form. The customs form is very simple, in triplicate and tracked and my PO clerks knew all about the UPS markup.
Caveat here is that the package that I gave to the PO was just mailed this Monday and we will see how the USPS and OZ mail performs but my guess is they will and I'll have discovered an inexpensive way to ship internationally.
Has anyone else had good or bad luck with USPS?
Regards, Jon
 
Jon, overall i have had good luck with USPS. domestically i took a small box to UPS, and they wanted 12 bucks to ship it to Texas ... went to USPS and it was 4 bucks. now i just go to the post office for starters. i sent some stuff to the UK and Italy and it all arrived just fine.
 
I have used USPS to UK, Italy and Oz. If you want Priority it is much more expensive but you can include insurance.
 
I had a package lost that I shipped to Sweden via USPS. I had to refund the buyer and eat the cost of shipping and of the part itself.

Insurance is a joke. I've had MANY claims in the past and had ZERO claims accepted and paid out. Tons of documentation too.

Total crapshoot.

They're basically the only game in town unless you want to spend big bux on DHL.
 
USPS operates no airplanes, they own no airplanes. The airlines, Amazon and UPS/FedEx do the air hauling for the USPS.

"The agency boasts that it reaches every address in the nation, including 160 million residences, businesses, and Post Office Boxes (PO Boxes). However, for one of the world's largest delivery services, there is something surprising about the agency: it doesn't operate any aircraft."
 
...it doesn't operate any aircraft So, if I have it right, the PO lets the other carriers do the heavy lifting, literally. It passes on the savings, and they are huge, to its customers. Rob, unlike you, I have had great success with the PO for decades shipping parts. From backs and seats of coupe seats sent seperately and boxed by me from large pieces of cardboard duck taped together to small parts like coupe rear taillights. In all those years I have had one claim. Like you I got nothing from the PO.

So I will keep boxing them up, lugging them to the PO, listening to the postmistress groan and get out her dolly, and send the parts on their way.

Moreover, I, with the help of two members here, Bill W. and Autokunst, have shipped hundreds of CSRegister and CSRegistry badges, lapel pins, and decals all over the world. Europe, the Middle East, Asia, everywhere!! Of those hundreds only two were "lost." They both went to the same person, and I have my suspicions but that's all I will say.

Footnote: Before paypal and its ilk I often sent parts to the buyer before I had received their check. I have never, not once, been stiffed. And that certainly says something awfully positive about the members of this board.
 
The international USPS parcel shipping rate while not cheap, it is a reasonable amount. Mailed a 14 lb package to Spain a few weeks back and it arrived in Spain in about 4 days,

Here is when the drama begins. The package has been held up in Spanish Customs since 10/15 and has not moved at all ever since. Don’t know how much longer it’s going to take. So in this instance, USPS has done it’s job.

I just purchased something from Japan and the package arrived from there to SF via FedEx in a super fast 2 days. Shipped out of Japan on Tuesday and it’s out for delivery today. Don’t know the what the International FedEx rate is, but I’ll consider using them next time.
 
I sent a small box (with two hats and a coffee mug - gift items) recently to a friend in Istanbul I used USPS.
Made it there easy enough - but, took forever to go through the Turkish system before it was ultimately delivered.
Took 4 days to get to IST - 3 weeks to finally be delivered after that.

Yep - Like mentioned above - once the parcel is in the destination country, the USPS is out of the picture and you are at the mercy of the local delivery situation.
I have shipped to/from Germany, Denmark, Turkey, Canada, Mexico...
Never had a problem as such, but there have been some delays.
IMO - Just need to have clear handwriting on the forms, be absolutely certain you have the address correct and be patient.
 
fun facts for USPS international shipping-

if you label the package with your (the senders) name as B. Smith instead of Bob Smith- it will be returned to you.
if you send a thermostat to the Middle East- you must identify it as a automotive coolant part or it will be rejected and returned to you as a bomb making device.
 
Airmail was implemented in 1918 under the auspices of the Dept of the Post Office between DC, NYC and Philly. They bailed on US run aircraft in 1926 and went with contractors. Too many government pilots were dying and so there have been no aircraft ownership by USPS for almost 100 years. During WWII the Army Aircorp carried the mail for a short and disastrous period but other than that its all been by contractors. In 1976 the term "Air Mail" was abandoned and the system was structured to use best available transport. I think that the USPS is doing a very acceptable job and working with all the other vendors like UPS, DHL, Amazon and all the other International post offices. Top that off with the automation of package delivery and we are lucky to have that resource.
Regards, Jon
 
We have a box at the PO and a physical address. The PO box is located in Solebury, PA. Our physical address is also in Solebury but mail to mail boxes(physical addrress box), curb side, comes from New Hope PA. We have an awful driveway, a steep hill, gate at the top with mesh to keep the dog in and the deer out.

Now that the PO has contracts with UPS, DHL, Fedex we can give senders the physical address of our local post office where our box is located. So many packages are delivered to our post office, Solebury, they had tall metal shelves in the lobby for packages. And they have a heavy duty dolly for the heavier packages. There is a 75 lb limit, but like most of America now people ignore the limit, Fedex delivers and the Postmistress must struggle with heavy packages.

Just re-read this. Who's on first??
 
My wife has sold some items to Japan and one tip she learned is to ask the buyer for their address in Japanese so she can post that on the address label to facilitate the final delivery. Translated addresses aren't always accurate.
 
lip277 said:
IMO - Just need to have clear handwriting on the forms, be absolutely certain you have the address correct and be patient.
Click to expand...


So true! One should fill and print out the USPS Customs declaration form instead of doing everything at the post office. Just fill out the weight, box dimensions, type of delivery service and parcel contents (be very descriptive) and the postage will be calculated automatically. Save a lot of time at the PO.
 
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