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

[Paul Christenzen]

And to mail a 4 pound package to Latvia from the US, no insurance costs 
$46.  For $11.60 you can mail a one pound package - but can one really 
pack a record "securely" in a pound?

And there is no US outbound "Parcel Post" - either First Class 
International (under 4 pounds, uninsuarable) or Priority" (over 4 pounds).

FYI:  USPS offers a "flat-rate" box that will hold at least 20-78's at a 
cost of close to $60 - but it HAS TO BE one of the USPS free boxes.

Good luck, Paul

Omar Facelli wrote:
> 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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>>      
>
>
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