[78-L] high cost of shipping to USA from rest of world

[Omar Facelli]

Hello Benno and all,

         Omar from Uruguay here, we've dealt in the past several times.
At first I thought to respond this privately, but then I considered 
that other collectors might like to know my opinion, since I deal 
with records internationally since over 20 years now and maybe some 
people out there would like to know how it is in other places other 
than in USA and Europe.
While I read your post with interest, I must admit that it must be 
taken as an educational / informational post only, not as a rule of 
thumb, though even though you believe that the Universal Postal Union 
offers similar services (and fares) in all participating countries.
Unfortunately that is not at all true. In fact in Uruguay it does not 
exist "media mail" or "non priority" services. Furthermore, insurance 
is NOT available here for international parcels.
When I read that you are able to securely ship (I say securely 
because I'm pretty sure you know how to pack 78's to endure the 
international postal venues) for JUST US$ 8.50 and insured, come on! 
I must admit that I'm utterly jealous! <g>
A single record (which after proper packaging) ends weighting between 
1/2 and 1 kilo, costs me 446 Uruguayan Pesos which at the current 
rate (UR$ 19.60 per US Dollar) corresponds to +/- US$ 22.75.
I actually charge US$ 20 to ship 1-3 shellac records to USA.
If you add packing materials, trip to the post office, car parking 
costs, time involved, I'm putting money off my pocket when I sell for 
instance, a single record at US$ 9.99 on eBay.
We should also consider, of course, eBay commission fees (12%), then 
PayPal (+/- 5%) and finally PayPal-CC transfer (another US$ 5 per 
transfer + 5% CC fees), and then you have the final picture.

Finally, rest assured I've already researched the Uruguayan Post 
Office services back and forth to discover that there is no cheaper 
shipping methods, not from here, not at all.
So US record shippers, you're not alone, embrace the club!

Look forward to dealing with you (but not on a single record purchase 
basis!!!) :-)

Omar Facelli (Montevideo, Uruguay)

--

At 12:21 16/04/2012, you wrote:

>For single 78s or a small batch, many people do not know how to take 
>advantage
>of the international postal system. Today I mailed one single 78 
>from Latvia to the
>USA for $ 8.50 - registered (trackable) and insured for up to about $ 46.oo.
>For mailing one 78rpm disc globally, $8.50 is not that much, is it?
>
> From abroad, a record can be sent at the letter rate, or as 
> "printed matter" (which is
>"media mail"), or as a small parcel. All these are international 
>postal standards.
>It is a shame that USPS changed their nomenclature to disguise their 
>increases in rates.
>Royal Mail (UK) and LaPoste (France) followed with idiotic terms 
>like "Chronopost" or "Colissimo".
>
>Many people do not know that a "letter" is not an envelope, but a 
>postal tariff, as
>agreed by all 193 postal services on earth, members of the Universal 
>Postal Union,
>a United Nations sub-entity with headquarters in Bern, Switzerland.
>
>USPS calls the letter tariff "First Class Mail International". 
>Internationally a "letter"
>weighs a maximum of 2kg (4.4lbs). USPS, on the outbound allows 4 lbs 
>only. The letter
>has a maximum dimension of 90cm for all 3 sides, that is 35.5". This 
>allows packages of
>11.8" x 11.8" x 11.8"  or
>13.8" x 13.8" x 7.9"
>
>On the other hand, you may try to find a consolidator, for ex. in 
>the UK, to whom you
>have your purchases sent and who consolidates a parcel every now and 
>then. Make a
>google search (or a search on ebay.co.uk) for "mail forwarding UK".
>
>For my outbound shipments from the USA to Europe, I use a 
>mom-and-pop service in
>the USA for eBay sellers who wouldn't ship abroad. They charge $5.00 
>per shipment plus
>actual, lowest USPS rate.
>
>For larger quantities my first choice is "parcel post".  It is 
>advisable to use all of the 20kg
>(44 lbs) allowed, because "more you add, cheaper it gets", 
>relatively.  I shipped 3 heavy
>parcels to Joel Slotnikoff (bluesworld.com) for his upcoming 
>auction, as a consignment.
>
>For heavy shipments (lots of records), the best thing you can do 
>when you are overseas
>and want to ship the records home to yourself, you should buy some 
>cheap clothing or fabric
>(for padding), declare the "record/clothing lot" as "personal 
>effects" (that's why you need
>the fabric and clothing) and ship by airfreight as "unaccompanied 
>baggage". You need to
>show your airline ticket at the cargo office. You will get 50% 
>reduction on the basic cargo tariff,
>which makes it much cheaper than the postal parcels.
>
>Benno
>
>
>
>
>
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