Whoa .. International Shipping

[Hans Tucker]

Ok .. may have read about it on IIS but now I experienced it. Went to buy a item from Farpoint Astro for around $60USD ... get to shipping .. price was $75USD :eyepop:. Hit cancel pretty fast.

[mura_gadi]

True,

US mail monopoly or what?

Buy EU and you normally end up about square after VAT is removed and postage added for an EP.


Steve
Ps, Gets worse from eBay, 1 ep from US on ebay (ebayagena) add $85 aud for shipping an ep.

[N1]

Was that an eyepiece or a counterweight? Big difference.

[AdamJL]

I looked at getting a TS Optics scope… 130mm refractor. Shipping? 500 dollaroos. No thanks.

[etill]

I got a few things from TS before, had to pay a flat 50 euro fee up to a certain size which seemed high given it was just some adapters - but it arrived within the week, during our long lockdown.

So yeah it was expensive for the size of the items, but it was very fast which may make it ok if you were in a hurry. It was an adapter that I couldn't find anywere else so short of getting it made I was kind of ok with it.

[pgc hunter]

Looked at getting an AZ4 or AZ5 mount from the UK. Shipping costs more than the mount itself! Are you kidding me :mad2:

[Hemi]

Shipping costs are bizzare, and not just for international.

I’ve been quoted bonkers rates for within Australia as well.

I actually think it’s most dependent on the e-commerce engine vendors use. The best rates, I find, are from the vendors who have their own shipping calculator based on their direct costs with the courier company.

It’s just trial and error with finding the right price for the item inc shipping costs. I find Astroshop.eu and First light optics are pretty good with shipping costs (and shipping options).

Clearly it’s not going to be worth (in most instances) shipping very small items great international distances in terms of the product cost:shipping cost ratio….although I’m often surprised at just how cheap an overseas item can be to still beat combined Oz prices, as local shipping and Astro gear are mostly considerably more expensive over here.

[gary]

Reality check.


Consider you wanted to ship the smallest, lightest thing you could practically imagine.

For example, you wanted to ship a paper clip to the United States in a thin envelope.

So you decide to go to the post office and airmail it.

In 2019, to mail a paper clip in a thin envelope to the United States was $3.20

Today in 2021 it is $21.00

So you think to yourself, "Hang on. That is crazy. I am not going to spend
$21.00 airmailing this tiny light thing to the US. I will send it by sea mail".

To send it by sea mail through Australia Post today will cost you $46.95

So a few months back when the media was caught up in the hoo-ha of
Cartier watches, there was no media coverage at all about the
eye-wateringly high international postal rates and the implications that
has for Australian individuals and businesses.

The COVID crises has slashed the world's air cargo capacity.
And when you consider that it was theorised the current Sydney lockdown which is costing
perhaps over a $1 billion a week may have started with an infected FedEx aircrew, global
commerce is not without some hazard.

[Finbar]

2 items from APM, Germany, were €90.76, with no postage choice but €54.95. Couldn't find either or equivalent in stock in Oz with no clear idea when more might be in (Covid supply disruptions I imagine). The adapter was particularly wanted (and cheaper than the sought for Baader version), but the more expensive (cheaper than prior listings in Oz) and very light 2nd item helped justify the expense. Would have baulked otherwise at postage higher than the prime item itself.

I think it was flat rate to a certain weight/size, but there was nothing else needed to add and share the postage. Order placed on the weekend, processed their Monday, delivered yesterday, so arriving in 9 days.

Ended happily.

[multiweb]

Who sets the international postage rates? Is it up to the sending country or is it more complicated and depends on other destination countries as well?

[gary]

Hi Marc,

It is complex.

Countries are members of the Universal Postal Union.

There is a system known as "terminal dues".

In a nutshell, say for mail to and from Australia and the United States,
the mail is weighed and say if more mail was coming from the United
States to here than vice versa, then the United States Postal Service
would monetarily compensate Australia Post with "terminal dues".

China has developing nation status so it gets a more favorable rate
on terminal dues than Australia does.

What that means in reality is that Australian individuals and businesses
when they post anything overseas are essentially subsidising Chinese
businesses and Australian buyers who buy a lot of their "free delivery
from China by Australia Post" stuff online.

Approval for increases for basic postal rates here is made by Australia
Post making an application to the Productivity Commission.

Australian postal rates have been going steadily up and up over the
past 14 years. Public servants who call themselves CEO's and
government-stacked board members have been voting themselves
some of the highest salaries in the world for any postal service.

In addition to annual appeals by Australia Post to the Productivity
Commission to increase prices, they do so surreptitiously as well.
One trick is that for international shipping, the postal rates are
divided into zones.

Say the zones are numbered 1 through 6, where zone 1 is the cheapest
and zone 6 the more expensive.

If they want to increase the postal rates to say, Japan, what they will
do with no fanfare is bump Japan up from say zone 3 to zone 4.
They pull this trick regularly.

Whilst Australia post claim they make a loss on letter delivery
(all that cheap crap people buy from China), they make a profit overall
by charging a premium on international post. It helps pay for fat cat
bonuses and for Cartier watches along the way. And yes it stinks.

[Top_oz]

My experiences (buying bicycle stuff) has always been that shipping from the US is really expensive with a high starting rate. So it has to be either a ridiculously great bargain or unobtainable elsewhere to entertain the idea. The UK though was always the other extreme. Somewhat comparable to local costs and often (sadly) faster than trying to buy retail. The rest of Europe somewhere in between.

Similar experience buying Lego (for my kids of course :))

The local post systems always seem much cheaper than anyone pitching themselves as an international logistics type. I suspect the latter come out well on top for ease of use of the seller though.

[Hans Tucker]

Nothing heavy or awkward just this:
https://farpointastro.com/collections/binocular-accessories/products/farpoint-far-sight-mounting-system#

[RyanJones]

I was going to buy a bare naked 8” f/5 telescope tube.... just the tube. From Teleskope-Express it was 37 Euro to buy + 137 Euro to ship !

[ab1963]

Hans B&H Photo $55 and $24.20 inc tax USD

[Capricorn1(Tom)]

Just purchased some replacement screws and 2 Gemini Servo Motor Gearboxes from C.A from Losmandy direct in USA. The cost of shipping was $27 USD....FANTASTIC

[Camelopardalis]

That's because they weigh practically nothing and fit in a padded bag :lol:

[Capricorn1(Tom)]

That might be true... but parts including shipping was significantly cheaper direct from the US

[mura_gadi]

Hello,

Just in regards to what i believe are ridiculous charge rates for international shipping.

Goods:
We can ship oranges from South America to Australia and sell them for $4-$5 a kilo after the supplier, logistics and retailer mark ups...

People:
I can get myself and 23kilos of luggage to LA, USA for under $1200, that's less than $10 a kilo with movies and food.

Its not like the logistics companies need to lay on there own flights either. They can use either cargo or commercial carriers at better rates than individuals can get.

Someone is making a nice mark up in "speciality" items imo. I say speciality items as you can find plenty of junk that offers free postage from all over the world.


Steve

[AdamJL]

there's such a markup on this stuff.

Just priced up some Pegasus Astro gear from Canada because they have stock and Sidereal in Melbs don't.

Just a small power box the size of my hand and a couple of cables, CAD 105 shipping.. what the hell.

that said, all up still cheaper than local :(

[Nikolas]

I've bought stuff from ebay and ZWO overseas, ZWO is usually free postage and depending on ebay vendors average postage is between 20-80 bucks for computer accessories still cheaper than buying locally with postage included.

[Adam83]

Considering all global supply chains issues, looks like shipping times and cost is only going to get worse for a foreseeable future.

[mura_gadi]

Indeed, esp. with the China port closure just recently.

I have started to just reversing the postage locations and get a quote from OzPost, who are remarkably cheaper in some instances. Talk about some hidden costs...



Steve

[Aron]

S-B mount is cheap and sturdy if you want to consider getting one without slo-mo