Move to the USA?

Import "taxes" are stupid.. but how else are they gonna prop up the socialist agenda?

For anything below 16 ounces, I use USPS first class mail.

Over 16 ounces, it goes either USPS priority or Fedex ground (If I am shipping within the US). If shipping to outside the US, and I am not using the eBay global shipping program, it goes USPS first class if below 2lb and no dimension is over 16 inches. Other carriers are stupid crazy with what they want to charge.

Once you get over 16 inches in any one dimension for the package, prices skyrocket.

You could always just order from China. They have a special deal which gives them super-low/free shipping rates. How else do you think they are able to ship stuff that they charge 99 cents for for "free"?

Also, when shipping to a different country, there is extra paperwork and having to deal with customs. I am sure there are some things you are not seeing that raise the cost of shipping to another country.

cyclone3d wrote:

Move to the USA? […]
Show full quote

Move to the USA?

Import "taxes" are stupid.. but how else are they gonna prop up the socialist agenda?

For anything below 16 ounces, I use USPS first class mail.

Over 16 ounces, it goes either USPS priority or Fedex ground (If I am shipping within the US). If shipping to outside the US, and I am not using the eBay global shipping program, it goes USPS first class if below 2lb and no dimension is over 16 inches. Other carriers are stupid crazy with what they want to charge.

Once you get over 16 inches in any one dimension for the package, prices skyrocket.

You could always just order from China. They have a special deal which gives them super-low/free shipping rates. How else do you think they are able to ship stuff that they charge 99 cents for for "free"?

Also, when shipping to a different country, there is extra paperwork and having to deal with customs. I am sure there are some things you are not seeing that raise the cost of shipping to another country.

Thanks man.
I see some of your points.
For sure there's some additional paperwork. But, come on! Do we wanna compare a couple of extra forms to fill or deal with customs, with the extra cost of FUEL, mileage, wear and tear, TIME!!! of going to Alaska?? And yet they don't overcharge.

Alaska is almost beyond the planet, but it's the same country, so same price.
Other country, higher price.
To me it's just policy, just an excuse companies use to get more money. No real additional cost for them.

Another thing, YES INDEED!!!!
I never really thought about it!!!
China is way more freaking DISTANT on the globe!!! How comes they can ship for free even computer cards, and not between US/Canada?
What does it mean "special deal"?

The China deal as I understand it was put in place a long time ago to help them become more industrialized by being able to export stuff for cheaper and it was never changed once they did. And a few years ago, the deal was made even sweeter for the Chinese.

Why we continue to prop-up one of the worst human-rights violators is beyond me... well not exactly. Just follow the money and it explains it all.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/storyline … m=.c129f645949c

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Archive-Shippin … to/td-p/2838826

https://labs.ebanx.com/en/marketing/how-can-c … ecret-revealed/

cyclone3d wrote:

The China deal as I understand it was put in place a long time ago to help them become more industrialized by being able to expo […]
Show full quote

The China deal as I understand it was put in place a long time ago to help them become more industrialized by being able to export stuff for cheaper and it was never changed once they did. And a few years ago, the deal was made even sweeter for the Chinese.

Why we continue to prop-up one of the worst human-rights violators is beyond me... well not exactly. Just follow the money and it explains it all.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/storyline … m=.c129f645949c

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Archive-Shippin … to/td-p/2838826

https://labs.ebanx.com/en/marketing/how-can-c … ecret-revealed/

This is a total shame.
Do we wanna talk about the fact that China has been authorized by other countries to print other currencies?

Over here, we don't have "import taxes". But the eBay's so-called Global Shipping Program shipping partner Pitney-Bowes charge it anyway.It's daylight robbery. They even re-pack everything to their own convenience, arrives late, and the packings are not what you call a "first-world" country's performance. Once I received a tablet in newspaper packaging dumped in a box. Contacting the seller revealed that Pitney-Bowes repacks them to reduce weight and save more money for themselves.

I then stopped buying anything from eBay that has this dubious GSP, or any seller that have resorted to this program. I know Pitney-Bowes takes away all the hassles of packing and sending to foreign countries, but their services to the buyers here are not what we call competent or worth the price.

Even the Chinese send things in better packaging and there are no such "import taxes" imposed by them.

Malik wrote:

Over here, we don't have "import taxes". But the eBay's so-called Global Shipping Program shipping partner Pitney-Bowes charge it anyway.It's daylight robbery. They even re-pack everything to their own convenience, arrives late, and the packings are not what you call a "first-world" country's performance. Once I received a tablet in newspaper packaging dumped in a box.

I then stopped buying anything from eBay that has this dubious GSP, or any seller that have resorted to this program. I know Pitney-Bowes takes away all the hassles of packing and sending to foreign countries, but their services to the buyers here are not what we call competent or worth the price.

Even the Chinese send things in better packaging and there are no such "import taxes" imposed by them.

Very interesting.

For listings I have quantity of, I have listings that use the GSP and listings that don't use the GSP.

I very rarely have anybody buy from the listings that don't use the GSP.

I have been buying from eBay before GSP was introduced. The difference in buying experience after GSP was introduced is completely...bad. Suddenly there are import taxes, which shot the price too high and not worth it. And the packing.. I have edited my post above to give an example.

Anyway, the "import taxes" alone is enough to deter me from buying anymore from those who use GSP. Sometimes, the tax they charge shoots up my cost to double.

For my country there are no taxes imposed on electronic and computer items. I previously bought a Schenker XMG laptop direct from Germany, and there was no tax, as displayed in the customs declaration form.

I agree with Malik, I don't like GSP.

In my case the reason is a profound inconsistency!

Literally, I've saved the screenshots (don't have them in this computer, but if you want I'll post them later). Sometimes the same type of item had shipping costs of $15 from a seller and $70 from another seller (same country to same country).

Escalating shipping cost has become a hindrance to buying some things online, that's for sure. Nowadays even if somebody on eBay is taking the bother to offer an old, untested motherboard for nearly free, it still costs a significant amount of money just because of the shipping cost. Modern eBay encourages sellers to hide this by listing items with "free" shipping, but shipping is the biggest component of why the item prices start where they do.

==
I suspect the shipping rates via USPS to remote places in Alaska (and Hawaii, and Guam, etc) are constrained by politics and probably subsidized by other transactions. I doubt USPS meets it's cost when shipping to many of these places. Same thing with "Media Mail", an old political mandate that magically makes shipping a lot cheaper based on the supposed cultural value of what's in the box.

None of that applies to FedEx or UPS though, and I think those companies do charge a lot more for shipping to remote places.
I just checked FedEx. Shipping a 5lb box from California to NYC costs $17.35 via FedEx Home Delivery (the cheapest ground service). Above that is FedEx Express Saver for $47.41, then FedEx 2Day for $61.22.
Shipping the same box from California to Anchorage AK costs $72.37 for FedEx 2Day. That isn't terribly more expensive than using the same service to New York. The big difference though is that with Alaska, there is no option for anything cheaper. You have to use the 2Day service.

So going to a city in Alaska is a lot more expensive, but only because the cheaper ground services aren't offered. Makes sense really - they won't drive a truck to Alaska, so only the Air services are offered. Once they're putting the package on a plane, sending it to Alaska probably isn't much more expensive than flying it to New York. The remaining cost difference probably comes down to lower shipping volume to Alaska which implies less economy of scale.
I haven't checked what it costs for FedEx to ship to a more remote (non-city) place in Alaska. I'm guessing it gets a lot more expensive or just not offered. But with USPS, they have to ship to nearly every US address and can't jack up the price.

======
International shipping from the US got way more expensive a few years ago. It something like doubled or tripled in a short timeframe. I used to occasionally sell items to Canada, but it hardly ever happens anymore. I'm not surprised, and on the rare occasions somebody from Canada does buy something, I cringe at what they had to pay for shipping.

It's really unfortunate. I don't know the details of NAFTA or whatever other "free trade" agreements the US and Canada supposedly have with each other, but apparently it doesn't apply to us lowly citizens who send things through the mail. If it wasn't for all the bureaucracy, taxes, and politics there's no physical reason it should be this expensive.

===
The cheap (obviously subsidized) shipping from China is something that definitely irks me. They can send a product halfway around the world, across an ocean, delivered to a customer's residential address via our own USPS services, for less than it costs me to send an empty envelope across the street. I somehow suspect this isn't good for the domestic economy. And in the end we have to be helping pay for it with our own postage rates.

shamino wrote:

Escalating shipping cost has become a hindrance to buying some things online, that's for sure. Nowadays even if somebody on eBa […]
Show full quote

Escalating shipping cost has become a hindrance to buying some things online, that's for sure. Nowadays even if somebody on eBay is taking the bother to offer an old, untested motherboard for nearly free, it still costs a significant amount of money just because of the shipping cost. Modern eBay encourages sellers to hide this by listing items with "free" shipping, but shipping is the biggest component of why the item prices start where they do.

==
I suspect the shipping rates via USPS to remote places in Alaska (and Hawaii, and Guam, etc) are constrained by politics and probably subsidized by other transactions. I doubt USPS meets it's cost when shipping to many of these places. Same thing with "Media Mail", an old political mandate that magically makes shipping a lot cheaper based on the supposed cultural value of what's in the box.

None of that applies to FedEx or UPS though, and I think those companies do charge a lot more for shipping to remote places.
I just checked FedEx. Shipping a 5lb box from California to NYC costs $17.35 via FedEx Home Delivery (the cheapest ground service). Above that is FedEx Express Saver for $47.41, then FedEx 2Day for $61.22.
Shipping the same box from California to Anchorage AK costs $72.37 for FedEx 2Day. That isn't terribly more expensive than using the same service to New York. The big difference though is that with Alaska, there is no option for anything cheaper. You have to use the 2Day service.

So going to a city in Alaska is a lot more expensive, but only because the cheaper ground services aren't offered. Makes sense really - they won't drive a truck to Alaska, so only the Air services are offered. Once they're putting the package on a plane, sending it to Alaska probably isn't much more expensive than flying it to New York. The remaining cost difference probably comes down to lower shipping volume to Alaska which implies less economy of scale.
I haven't checked what it costs for FedEx to ship to a more remote (non-city) place in Alaska. I'm guessing it gets a lot more expensive or just not offered. But with USPS, they have to ship to nearly every US address and can't jack up the price.

======
International shipping from the US got way more expensive a few years ago. It something like doubled or tripled in a short timeframe. I used to occasionally sell items to Canada, but it hardly ever happens anymore. I'm not surprised, and on the rare occasions somebody from Canada does buy something, I cringe at what they had to pay for shipping.

It's really unfortunate. I don't know the details of NAFTA or whatever other "free trade" agreements the US and Canada supposedly have with each other, but apparently it doesn't apply to us lowly citizens who send things through the mail. If it wasn't for all the bureaucracy, taxes, and politics there's no physical reason it should be this expensive.

===
The cheap (obviously subsidized) shipping from China is something that definitely irks me. They can send a product halfway around the world, across an ocean, delivered to a customer's residential address via our own USPS services, for less than it costs me to send an empty envelope across the street. I somehow suspect this isn't good for the domestic economy. And in the end we have to be helping pay for it with our own postage rates.

Quote everything point by point!
Thanks for the thorough research and explanations!

The more I know the world, the more I'm convinced the cure will be only one: meteorite.
(And I'm saying this not with desire or resentment. I don't want that! But as a sad observation).

shamino wrote:

Escalating shipping cost has become a hindrance to buying some things online, that's for sure. ...
International shipping from the US got way more expensive a few years ago. It something like doubled or tripled in a short timeframe. I used to occasionally sell items to Canada, but it hardly ever happens anymore. I'm not surprised, and on the rare occasions somebody from Canada does buy something, I cringe at what they had to pay for shipping.
It's really unfortunate.

Do you know how I could start ordering stuff from the US?
I'm using crossborderpickups.ca

I registered on their website, so I've been assigned a Unit Number at their US Niagara Falls website.
Everything is managed via email notifications and online portal.
I get the stuff at their facility @ Niagara Falls.
Then they ship stuff daily from there to their facilities in Canada.

Given the stuff I buy on eBay and stuff, except a couple of times, it's usually either very small packet or small. Which means I only pay $4 (CAD) or $7 (CAD) per packet.
They take care of the so-called shameful "brokerage" (an ADDITIONAL fee that FedEx, UPS, DHL, and company charge, besides shipping, and besides the import tax/duties). So the "brokerage" is waived.
Then I go to their office to pickup here in Canada, and I pay their service + duties + Canadian Sales Taxes (HST in Ontario, which is 13% of the price of the product).

Well, there are really weird things.

China post in general: Lets say you want fast the 2 torx screwdriver sets or cnc drills. THey say that the delivery is 2..5 weeks. The trick is there to order from 3 different places/sellers. SOmething will arrive then within first 2 weeks and the other 2 packages 5 weeks later or one package gets lost. SO far thats the thing about economy seashipping. It can arrive in 2 weeks, but also in 5 weeks or got lost.
If the thing does not arrive in 5 weeks they still ask you to wait one week more, and then one week more. But 35 days should be more than enough as mostly they arrive during this period. Whatever you do but in case the thing appears not up to quality (as their tin or soldering tips are low quality) they first try to offer "half refund" or so you try to resell it... better to refuse and demand full refund always.

Postal services...

Estonia: Eesti Post.

The local postal service can say anything just to get away with that. In Estland the politician said that the costs for shipping depend on the receiving country costs and their wages what they have there,
so, based on this logic it should be the same cost if I ship to Canada from Estland, Sweden, or Finland. Still it does not explain why it is cheaper to send a non-standard letter to canada from Finland than from Sweden or Estland.
All the lands are having different fees while from Estonia it is the most expensive, if to send a letter to Canada. (compared to Finland and Sweden postal office fees).
Also there are several reports (from electronics forum) where people complain about the Eesti Post have opened the packages and repacked the sensitive electronical equipment. (Of course they had no ESD environment!)
They require the items shipped in a standard envelope, and a nonstandard letters are getting with extra fee, therefore the higher cost.
No problem about shipping the non-standard sized letters from Finland or Sweden though, they get stamped just as they were ordinary letters.

Sweden:

Since Postnord company take over it is half hell there.
The letters vanish or are put on the wrong adress, they are skipping delivery round several days; they mark that they have visited with delivery rety, but actually did not. Also I had to chase several time postmen, becouse the packages were already returning without waiting the proper time or the message about delivery is not arriving. Several delivery services do not show up in a time... etc. and there are no real postal offices anymore (mostly it is a corner in the shop where the humanbeing just says "I dont know. I just work here", are confused themself too about changes very often. So, the customer service is almost non-existent.
Funny thing about the Sweden regarding about the packages is that the non-tracked packages have better success arrival rate than the tracked ones when they are from China or other European Country.
Also they do not update tracking information.
It has happened 2 times to me that the package from Italy went back becouse of Postnord did not do his job. It is much more tedious to get those tracked items.
Also Sweden is the one which has the extra fee to all packages from china, even if it is with zero cost. It is about 8USD minimum robbery...or custom fee but you cant even see it in your local postal office before you first pay it and which is forced upon payment by phone or their cards). So, if waiting several packages then you do not know which is which. And when getting 2 SRAM chips on different letters then each of them are charged 16USD. It also results with higher cost for all small-cost items from Chinese comrades bought through feebay. If not paying then the letter just go back, but they do not really show you what it is.
Later there were made exception for just one chinese site: Wish.

The trick here is just to order the packages to your friendly neighbour on the another country whom you visit quite often or just they resend it. Compared to swedish postal punishment-fee for chinese packages the shipping inside EU is much cheaper

Finland:
no such troubles so far, the packages and letters arrive from China arrive to the door, and to get a delivery to other name the written letter is enough to show for the "postal point".

Malik wrote:

Over here, we don't have "import taxes". But the eBay's so-called Global Shipping Program shipping partner Pitney-Bowes charge it anyway.It's daylight robbery. They even re-pack everything to their own convenience, arrives late, and the packings are not what you call a "first-world" country's performance. Once I received a tablet in newspaper packaging dumped in a box. Contacting the seller revealed that Pitney-Bowes repacks them to reduce weight and save more money for themselves.

I then stopped buying anything from eBay that has this dubious GSP, or any seller that have resorted to this program. I know Pitney-Bowes takes away all the hassles of packing and sending to foreign countries, but their services to the buyers here are not what we call competent or worth the price.

Even the Chinese send things in better packaging and there are no such "import taxes" imposed by them.

So there from they took the boxes in order to put another package in... The thing is that to me it has arrived that box in a box. Otherwise it has happened to me too from that GSP that inadequate packaging.
It is very tedious to get any information where it is, which courier it is now,