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I just was forced to single-box ship a painted wolf to the UK because if I double-boxed, it would have gone higher than the $55 I was quoted using UPS or Fed Ex shipping. Nornally I don’t double box unless it’s overseas or someone buys more than one thing…in this case I was so angry…I just hope it gets there ok. But because of the rates, I may just have to go USPS priority mail for everything EVEN OVERSEAS (my personal no-no for USPS) because the rates are killing me, especially when I quote someone something and then the rate changes drastically when I go to ship it, and then I have to absorb the added expense. This $55 to the UK floored me and it was just to ship the wolf in it’s white box! Can you believe it! This is the same plae that told me it would cost $85 to ship a PYO to Germany DHL or UPS, even more for Fed EX.
One thing I have tested though…USPS Priority ships all single-boxed PYOs very well and fast, and has a decent rate.
wow! thats horrific!! well, let me tell you, i shipped a wolf too to the u.k. (possibly the same person) via usps and it went great! i double boxed with plenty of room to spare and it cost only $15 via their global priority, no insurance per buyers’ request and it got there in about a week, a little over with the weekend. it went great she said it arrived just fine and i did a superb job packing. no problems there. they said at the p.o. that i couldn’t put a tracking # on it without insuring it, and that upped the price group a bit, but not terribly. she didn’t want insurance cuz it was a lot of legwork if it was damaged, too much to be worth it, as she said she went thru that before. i also marked it as a gift so she didn’t get taxed when she picked it up. anyhoo, it went really well for me and my buyer, but that was just one time, but i say give it a shot. 🙂
I just usually send everything that is to the UK…regular air mail…
double boxed….and of all the 100’s of things I’ve sent only had one thing break…
I’ve used Global Priority and air mail for all my overseas shipping (and I’ve done a good deal) and have had great luck. I’ve never used UPS or Fedex for overseas because the rates are so high.
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My art: featherdust.comOMG!!! Water I just realized you live in the same state as me! I live in a tiny town called Alpha. It is about 30 minutes form the Quad Cities (Rock Island, Moline, Davenport (IA)… Wow…I just figured since I was excited… 😆 I’m a dork! 😛
Glad to hear you feel better! Hopefully this Friday I will be able to put in another order of PYO’s and get your Kirin going. I already have the idea…now I just need the “canvas”. 😆 I hope everything goes well on Thursday for you. 😀It must be the same buyer then because she said it only cost her $15 in shipping costs to get another PYO she recently got, so I charged her that…then got shocked at the $55 I had to pay. I guess I’m going to have to make some seious USPS decisions. I NEVER had this problem with the shipping place by my grandfather’s house…they used o give me great rates. I called them and they said that same package would have cost about $20 to ship through them! Unfortunately they are an hour away and I don’t have a trip planned out that way. I had made a special trip to go down there to ship to Germany though, since they charged me only about $45-50 for the PYO griffin and this place by me charged over $80.
Hey collector…going to MFF con this year? It’s in shaumburg at the Hyatt by Woodfield Mall. I’m going out there and if you’re interested we could get together to paint.
Watergazer wrote:It must be the same buyer then because she said it only cost her $15 in shipping costs to get another PYO she recently got, so I charged her that…then got shocked at the $55 I had to pay. I guess I’m going to have to make some seious USPS decisions. I NEVER had this problem with the shipping place by my grandfather’s house…they used o give me great rates. I called them and they said that same package would have cost about $20 to ship through them! Unfortunately they are an hour away and I don’t have a trip planned out that way. I had made a special trip to go down there to ship to Germany though, since they charged me only about $45-50 for the PYO griffin and this place by me charged over $80.
Is this normal, Water? Doesn’t every USPS office have to comply with a certain rate system? I mean, the Swiss Post has a fold-out information paper, it costs so and so much to ship a package this heavy, and that paper applies all over the country. It’s not the same in the States?
I get different quotes many times, even when shipping out the exact same item in the same boxing, although I will say the USPS has never given me alternate rates, it’s UPS/DHL/and FED EX that go up and down depending on the day or place you get a quote from. You’d think it should be all standardized but some places I think have different set-ups with the shippers so they can charge less…like paying more for more services with UPS or something. I don’t know the ins and outs but I know if I get a quote on a Monday it can change by the Monday of the next week at the same store loction. Maybe it’s also how they enter it into the system or the person doing it knowing more how to charge less for something, you know? When I used to work at OfficeMax I knew how I could charge 50% less for someone making copies. Naturally OfficeMax told us all to charge the MAX amount (remember that when shopping OfficeMAX!). It could just be a simple little thing like that. I don’t know, but I don’t like it. I can never get an honest flat figure for someone, even when they ask prior to an auction close. They ask, I get, they win, and then I lose because the rate goes up by the time I get to ship it and then I absorb the fees. So now I may just go USPS for everything.
Are the UPS stores that you’ve been going to “authorized shipping outlets” or are they actually “UPS customer centers”?
The latter always charge exactly what’s quoted on the UPS website, but the former charge rip-off rates that vary from place to place (at least that’s what I’ve noticed in my area).
Watergazer wrote:I get different quotes many times, even when shipping out the exact same item in the same boxing, although I will say the USPS has never given me alternate rates, it’s UPS/DHL/and FED EX that go up and down depending on the day or place you get a quote from. You’d think it should be all standardized but some places I think have different set-ups with the shippers so they can charge less…like paying more for more services with UPS or something. I don’t know the ins and outs but I know if I get a quote on a Monday it can change by the Monday of the next week at the same store loction. Maybe it’s also how they enter it into the system or the person doing it knowing more how to charge less for something, you know? When I used to work at OfficeMax I knew how I could charge 50% less for someone making copies. Naturally OfficeMax told us all to charge the MAX amount (remember that when shopping OfficeMAX!). It could just be a simple little thing like that. I don’t know, but I don’t like it. I can never get an honest flat figure for someone, even when they ask prior to an auction close. They ask, I get, they win, and then I lose because the rate goes up by the time I get to ship it and then I absorb the fees. So now I may just go USPS for everything.
Despite the horror stories for States shipping, I do have to say that USPS has brought me everything I ever ordered from the States in perfect condition. They do just fine for overseas transit – at least to my corner of the world.
mimitrek wrote:Are the UPS stores that you’ve been going to “authorized shipping outlets” or are they actually “UPS customer centers”?
The latter always charge exactly what’s quoted on the UPS website, but the former charge rip-off rates that vary from place to place (at least that’s what I’ve noticed in my area).
That’s interesting info, Mimi. My husband has gotten into a few arguments with the UPS Store over rates. They were never what was quoted on the website and they kept telling him he was doing something wrong. Heh! He lost money on his auctions that way, too.
lamortefille wrote:mimitrek wrote:Are the UPS stores that you’ve been going to “authorized shipping outlets” or are they actually “UPS customer centers”?
The latter always charge exactly what’s quoted on the UPS website, but the former charge rip-off rates that vary from place to place (at least that’s what I’ve noticed in my area).
That’s interesting info, Mimi. My husband has gotten into a few arguments with the UPS Store over rates. They were never what was quoted on the website and they kept telling him he was doing something wrong. Heh! He lost money on his auctions that way, too.
That’s interesting…it sounds like the “UPS Stores” are similar to the “authorized shipping outlets” then. I’ve always shipped my stuff from an actual “UPS customer center”, so I got a shock the first (and last) time that I shipped something from an “authorized shipping outlet” (a Long’s Drugs near me). They charged about 40% higher than what was quoted on the UPS website! 😯
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