Cost of deliveries

[larry phelan 1Participant @larryphelan1]

Came across a post here regarding the high cost of deliveries from England to anywhere else,often much more than the cost of the items involved.

I have experienced this many times,item value £10 delivery £13/14.

Needless to say,that,s a non-starter.

Strange to say,not all suppliers seem to be bound by this creed,very odd !

Wonder what the position will be after next year ?

Watch this space ?

[larry phelan 1Participant @larryphelan1]

[Dod MoleParticipant @georgeclarihew]

You should try living up here£2.20 item in a large national chain shop, £.20 on their website, £27.20 charged to their card and delivered in a small padded envelope. No wonder our local friendly MEP (not for much longer, hopefully)*

*if ever we get this brexit sorted.

[GrottoParticipant @grotto]

I’ve bought a few items from the UK where they don’t charge VAT (as it’s an export to outside EU), and freight cost is only a bit more than the VAT. It does seem to depend on weight.

I have found some sellers have really high freight charges but guess they don’t really wish to get into selling overseas.

I still don’t understand how Aliexpress sellers can do free shipping. Often I can buy items with free postage from China for a fraction of the cost I can buy exactly the same thing locally.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Our family has sold a few things on eBay that had to be sent overseas. After being stung by the high postal costs we list UK only now.

Neil

[Mark RandParticipant @markrand96270]

It's very difficult to work out where people are referring to when they don't have a location in their (non-existent) profiles and don't mention a location in their posts.

[JonParticipant @jon]

Simple just build it in to overall cost.

Pretty much daily buy and sell overseas worldwide anything from 20p to £4800+, weight grms to 5kg. Probably had 6000 odd transactions but check for extra transfer costs involved.
South Africa today paypal took £5.5 on a £90 job. Banks can charge for paying in cash £32 for £2340 and so on now found a better way to avoid.

US the worst the last 5 years, light weight jiffy bag item they may well want of the order £26 to 'ship'. For us thats £1.90 ish to £3.30 for 85gr.
Cheapest NL 5kg on a 3 day £18 ish.

To a non EU country ie Mexico, NZ etc you literally sign a CN22 declaration thats it, takes 1 minute.
Since were still in EU theres no vat payable to UK, it goes to seller in that country bought from usually at a lower hike and no import duty and extra charged again for customs etc.

Think its tough now wait till you start paying import duty, vat on existing products from EU next year.
We have to buy in as we sold everything off the last 2 decades even London buses and airports we have nothing.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by larry phelan 1 on 11/12/2018 20:06:57:

Came across a post here regarding the high cost of deliveries from England to anywhere else,often much more than the cost of the items involved.

…

Strange to say,not all suppliers seem to be bound by this creed,very odd !

…

It's beyond me exactly how it works but there's an International arrangement organised by the Universal Postal Union that allows postal authorities worldwide to recover the delivery cost of items received from abroad.

The system is gob-smackingly complicated and the rules are written in legalese. Recovery costs are paid in a currency called SDR (Special Drawing Rights operated by the IMF), which is referenced to the US Dollar from the daily rates of a basket of currencies consisting of the US Dollar, Euro, Pound Sterling, Renminbi and Yen.

Then different rates are applied to developed economies and undeveloped economies. Undeveloped economies pay less to encourage growth, but everyone is gradually moving the higher group. Movements between groups take place in a 5 year cycle. Bottom line – you tend to see higher charges between countries like the USA and Australia, than say Australia and Thailand.

Another reason for high or low costs is the way post is moved. I believe everything posted between the US and UK travels by air, which is top-rate. Heavy items can individually shipped but this is also expensive. Much of the stuff we receive from China travels at the lowest possible rate – in bulk in shipping containers. It is possible to reduce charges by routing goods via third party countries, but I'm not sure it's entirely legal.

More costs arise each time an item crosses a border. Inside the EU there many are opportunities to reduce costs because the countries involved can operate as a single unit with lorries moving freely over long distances. Not quite so easy to economise within the EU when items have to be delivered across a sea-way to the UK and Ireland, but generally UK – Germany will be cheaper than UK-USA.

Mixed in with this are the commercial carriers, with whatever rates they care to apply. Depending on capacity and commercial considerations some rates are loss leading, others profit taking.

It also seems that the big guys can use their financial muscle to get preferable rates based on volume. It's possible for the small guy to to get cheap rates too but he has to sort out the details for himself, and his time costs make searching expensive. If you buy from someone who doesn't have an existing arrangement, or someone who isn't prepared to look for the best rate on a case by case basis, you're liable to pay over the odds.

Not sure this is anything like a proper explanation. What's charged for the same item can vary over an incredible range. Strong suspicion that some ebay sellers make their money out of post and packing, not what's in the parcel.

It's another mess! Brexit makes it more unpredictable.

Dave

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

I get stuff sent from the UK to Australia regularly. If I get the seller to use Royal Mail small package service, delivery costs are reasonable. Yes, sometimes a 5 quid item costs 6 quid to get delivered, but it's still half the price of buying locally, if i can find the item, which usually is not the case. Other delivery services seem to be more expensive so I avoid them. If a seller insists on using them, I don't buy from them. I have found most will use Royal Mail if requested. (eBay's own Global Shipping is usually more expensive.)

It actually costs more to get small items sent from Sydney, NSW, to where I live (1500 miles north in Queensland) than from the UK. Go figure. Takes about the same time too, 10 days or so.

But US shipping costs have gone through the roof in recent years. So stopped buying all but essentials (Harley parts) from there. Can make it economical by placing large orders at a time.

I still don't understand why some UK eBay sellers don't ship outside UK because of the perceived high cost when the buyer pays the shipping. Have had this a few times with used lathe parts etc. Seems a uniquely UK thing. Never found a Yank reluctant to take my money.

Aliexpress shipping is dirt cheap/free because the Chinese government subsidises/pays for it in order to promote their country's global trade. Too bad others don't follow suit. But seems like since private enterprise began taking over from the Post Office in the West and bringing new "efficiency through competition", prices have gone ever upwards.

[SamsarandaParticipant @samsaranda]

Ten years ago when in Australia I purchased castings for a model horizontal stationary engine; most of the castings were either aluminium or gunmetal, the flywheels, qty 2, were cast iron and at 7 1/2 inches in diameter were fairly weighty. The lighter castings were able to be stowed in my suitcase but higher authority decreed that the flywheels would put us way over on our baggage allowance so I packaged them up and used Australia Post to mail them to myself home here in the UK. The cost was eye watering, I can’t remember the exact amount and I never did reveal to the wife how much it cost, to add insult to the situation I was charged VAT before customs would release the package for delivery. I now understand why transport charges are so high and now whenever I can, I make use of sites like Banggood where delivery charges are zero; recent purchases have been despatched from Thailand post free.

Dave W

[JonParticipant @jon]

Letters and what they call large letters are good, £3.35 sub 100g and £5.15 to 250g and thats Air Mail, usually gets there in 5 days to Aus, 2 days to NZ.

Wherever you go over certain weights the price can be shocking.
For instance RM up to 6kg is over £228.2 and they wont pay out when stolen same with any couriesr as well last 1 1/2 decades so don pay it.
Substitute for up to 2kg its £184.

Anything over a ceratin weight its worth while approaching dedicated couriers. Some will have three brand names even use other couriers to get the product to its destination.

[Mark RandParticipant @markrand96270]

Posted by Hopper on 11/12/2018 22:48:06:But seems like since private enterprise began taking over from the Post Office in the West and bringing new "efficiency through competition", prices have gone ever upwards.

That seems to be the down side of allowing private enterprises (and the more astute nationalized organisations of other countries) to skim off the profitable parts of the mandate, while leaving the difficult bits to the original state-run organisation.

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

Posted by larry phelan 1 on 11/12/2018 20:06:57:

I have experienced this many times,item value £10 delivery £13/14.

Needless to say,that,s a non-starter.

I don’t see any correlation on this point. Shirley, the shipping charges could easily vary significantly, dependent on weight or bulk, as well as the destination?

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Years ago my dad had a job that often took him to the US. A colleague needed some replacement parts for his 1960s Chrysler and – to save carriage costs – asked dad to buy them in the US and bring them back as hand-luggage. He had bother finding the parts, manhandling them on to the plane, and then back to his car.

Back in the UK he presented the bill. 'Good god!' said the ingrate 'this is more expensive than the dealer in Chippenham.' After that dad stopped doing favours!

Dunno if it's still true but the Aussies I worked c.2000 with were shocked to find good Australian Wines about half price in the UK compared with Australia.

There is no such thing as common sense…

Dave

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 12/12/2018 10:49:16

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Jon on 11/12/2018 22:05:54:

Simple just build it in to overall cost.

But then you make the item unappealing to UK buyers, who are the most likely market.

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

Whilst it is understandable that, because of the distances involved, it costs more to ship an item from, say, UK to North America, and even more to the Antipodes, than within UK, perhaps the driving factor is the General Requirement to Extract Excessive Dosh from the customer? This known technically, i believe, as Market Place Pricing (or what the suckers will bear),

A few years ago, in U K, the sales of Bacon fell. Soon afterwards, so did the price in the shops! Cause and effect?

Howard

[thaiguzziParticipant @thaiguzzi]

Posted by larry phelan 1 on 11/12/2018 20:06:57:

Came across a post here regarding the high cost of deliveries from England to anywhere else,often much more than the cost of the items involved.

I have experienced this many times,item value £10 delivery £13/14.

Needless to say,that,s a non-starter.

Strange to say,not all suppliers seem to be bound by this creed,very odd !

Wonder what the position will be after next year ?

Watch this space ?

Sounds a wonderful deal.

Try living here, and we have 37% import tax and VAT on top of the price inc the shipping….

And then we've got the private couriers, DHL, Fed Ex et al, who can make charges up ass they go along.

The cheapest, bestest, most reliable postal services i've found are Royal Mail and USPS.

Sunshine & clear blue skies, shorts & barefeet on Xmas day does help make up for it……

Edited By thaiguzzi on 12/12/2018 14:50:29

[larry phelan 1Participant @larryphelan1]

No shorts and bare feet here on Christmas day,let me tell you !

Enjoy it !!!

[An OtherParticipant @another21905]

To Mark Rand:

This point about lack of a public profile has come up before, and I believe Neil summed it up at the time (to paraphrase) 'its not compulsory'

Personally, I will not post a profile or any other information about myself unless I so choose on any website – I always use a false name, and would never provide an address or contact number. The reason I do not have a profile on this site is because of past abuse, and secondly because of the increasing need for internet security. If I was so inclined, you have already posted sufficient information in your own profile to make it relatively easy for a hacker to start stealing your online identity – your name, and a locality, with some indication of your occupation. I won't provide details for obvious reasons, but it wouldn't be difficult to get an address. and then many other details are easily found. I suggest a little paranoia might provide better protection.

Its easy to say 'rubbish – no-one would do that' I say wait until it happens to you.

If it concerns you so much that you do have personal information on a particular person, you can always send them a PM, and see what that gets you.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by larry phelan 1 on 12/12/2018 17:44:11:

No shorts and bare feet here on Christmas day,let me tell you !

…

Lucky you – I never get invited to that kind of party!

[Mark RandParticipant @markrand96270]

Posted by An Other on 12/12/2018 18:40:07:

Personally, I will not post a profile or any other information about myself unless I so choose on any website – I always use a false name, and would never provide an address or contact number. The reason I do not have a profile on this site is because of past abuse, and secondly because of the increasing need for internet security. If I was so inclined, you have already posted sufficient information in your own profile to make it relatively easy for a hacker to start stealing your online identity – your name, and a locality, with some indication of your occupation. I won't provide details for obvious reasons, but it wouldn't be difficult to get an address. and then many other details are easily found. I suggest a little paranoia might provide better protection.

Its easy to say 'rubbish – no-one would do that' I say wait until it happens to you.

If it concerns you so much that you do have personal information on a particular person, you can always send them a PM, and see what that gets you.

I trust you will also never cause annoyance by posting about 'here' while not defining where 'here' is. Which was the point of my post.

As for security my mail server, which is in the computer cupboard in my workshop, rejects several thousand spam emails per day. That is part of running a mail server and five dns domains. Likewise, the post man knows where I live as do many suppliers I have dealt with over the years. If I ever make a claim on my car insurance, lots of lawyers seem to think that I need their help to get rich. Gee whiz.

[Martin CottrellParticipant @martincottrell21329]

Posted by An Other on 12/12/2018 18:40:07:

To Mark Rand:

This point about lack of a public profile has come up before, and I believe Neil summed it up at the time (to paraphrase) 'its not compulsory'

Personally, I will not post a profile or any other information about myself unless I so choose on any website – I always use a false name, and would never provide an address or contact number. The reason I do not have a profile on this site is because of past abuse, and secondly because of the increasing need for internet security. If I was so inclined, you have already posted sufficient information in your own profile to make it relatively easy for a hacker to start stealing your online identity – your name, and a locality, with some indication of your occupation. I won't provide details for obvious reasons, but it wouldn't be difficult to get an address. and then many other details are easily found. I suggest a little paranoia might provide better protection.

Its easy to say 'rubbish – no-one would do that' I say wait until it happens to you.

If it concerns you so much that you do have personal information on a particular person, you can always send them a PM, and see what that gets you.

I have to say I agree with Mark although putting your location in your post is far more helpful than expecting readers to search a profile to (hopefully) glean the location information. Nobody is expecting you to give your full postal address; your country of residence (in the context of this particular thread) would be quite adequate. "Over here…" could refer to anywhere from the other side of the same room to the other side of the planet whereas "Here in Romania…" puts you nicely on the map without exciting the identity hackers.

Regards, Martin.

Edited By Martin Cottrell on 12/12/2018 19:54:51

[Phil WhitleyParticipant @philwhitley94135]

shipping rates, rip off Britain, or rip off EU?, found out last year that shipping from UK to Germany is far more expensive than shipping from Germany to the UK using the SAME CARRIER? needles to say, I never got a straight answert as to why this was…………………………

[PeroParticipant @pero]

Observations from a long distance shopper (Perth, Western Australia ):

With a couple of exceptions (although still fairly expensive) shipping from the USA is now prohibitive on nearly everything. My exceptions still seem to be able to manage to get a just about acceptable cost from their carriers.

Shipping from the UK ( generally about AUS$100 per shipment ) is also bad but a few of the suppliers seem to have some control over shipping costs.

Unexpectedly, Germany has proven the most reasonable of the Western nations for shipping costs. Unsure why but I have taken advantage of it a few times.

Shipping from China ( Aliexpress ) is variable. Quite often " Free " if you compare a similar item where a shipping charge is applied the total is often the same showing it is a built-in cost. Shipping on some heavier items is high but cost plus shipping ( now with Australian GST ) can still be less than comparable cost in Australia. The addition of the GST was supposedly to help the local retail trade but since they are selling the same Made in China items with an exorbitant mark-up I suspect that the end result is more about helping the government than anyone else ( no surprises there ).

One way suppliers could possibly help would be to offer a slower, but less costly shipping option, if available. On almost all occasions I don't desperately need the item tomorrow ( or in a few days which is generally as good as it gets here ). A couple of weeks to a month would be more than adequate. Which in fact is almost a certainly a given if the Sydney mail exchange gets hold of it!

Alternative shipping options used to be given by some suppliers but they now seem to be routinely locked into contracts by the various carriers which largely seem to be to the advantage of the carrier and not necessarily the supplier or the purchaser.

Since shipping costs seem to be set largely by weight ( engineering items being small but heavy ) I usually try to purchase a number of items at a time, checking the shipping costs as I go to ensure I get the maximum value out of the shipping cost. Not always possible when purchasing a special one-off item, but useful for nuts and bolts and small tools.

Apart from that its just a case of do I want it/need it when the shipping cost is factored in ( and far too often the answer seems to be yes! ). However, more and more often I simply pass on things when I know the shipping costs will make the cost more than I am prepared to bear.

Inevitably it is the suppliers that are being punished ( by loss of sales ). The carriers do not seem to care. Business must be too good!

Pero

[larry phelan 1Participant @larryphelan1]

I was surprised at the amount of feedback resulting from my recent Post.

It would appear that this issue and that regarding the "Pre Inspection" of machines before delivery,touched a sore spot with many Members.

Does no harm to give these topics an airing now and then.

Thanks to all who responded.

[Author]

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