Shipping

[RCBH928]

Hello Everyone,

I have noticed the shipping prices of anything is really expensive, I am not talking within USA territory , because you get everything extra cheap and low price. I am taking about international,
the shipping price is unbelievably high!

I went to DHL once where I am and they said its $100+ minimum to send a paper document! and it was like $180 to ship my 360 to the USA, and I was like I don't need this to get there by tomorrow, and they were like this is the minimum!

I mean isn't there a way to ship for lower prices?
My local post office is quite cheap sent my 360 to the USA for like $31 .

So I was thinking, all those people working in business, they can't make profit selling imported stuff?! Where I am everything is imported, nothing is made here, so I was thinking no one is ever going to make a profit this way, so how do they do it?
There must be a cheaper way to ship items!

Any one has background in this matter?
What is so different between FedEx/DHL/UPS and the local post office?
My shipping from here all the way to America takes two weeks or so, its almost similar to the time it takes commercial companies.

Other than getting a tracking system of your shipment, and service like 1 day shipping(which you probably have to sell your kidney to pay for) , I am not sure why shall I use them?

I think there is a less expensive way, but no one is talking
I mean, there are a ton of companies that offers free shipping, on items like $25, How?
I don't mean walmart which owns their own shipping trucks, but those who do not own trucks and jets

[Xonticus]

For a frame of reference, where do you live?

[gtmtnbiker]

I believe he's from Dubai, UAE

[corn619]

Maybe start a small shipping company that undercuts the competitions price greatly? I look at challenges and shitty situations as opportunity all the time though. Kidding aside usually more rural, harder to get to and less traveled areas tend to be more expensive to ship to and from.

If I remember correctly, your from the Middle East aren't you?. If it was only $30 to send your 360 to the U.S through the local post office and $180 using DHL I would use the post office, no brainer. DHL and Fedex suck, avoid them at all cost. I always have a issue "broken shit, delayed deliveries, leaving packages on front doorstep in plain view to name a few" when I buy something online and one of them are the carrier.

[Anapan]

I know in Canada I'm often charged a brokerage fee, a duty tax, and a handling fee for processing said taxes. It's crappy. One of the first things my brother bought on ebay was a box of comics for $4.00. When it arrived at the door the courier wanted something like $70 for shipping. My brother refused and the box was re-listed a week later.
Here's some info/guides from ebay members about shipping stuff domestically and internationally. The tip about cramming boxes up to 70lbs into 4.95 flat-rate envelopes is pretty neat.
http://reviews.ebay.com/TIPS-SHIPPING-U ... 0000083666
http://reviews.ebay.com/EBay-SHIPPING-t ... 0000020131
http://reviews.ebay.com/Shipping-to-Can ... 0000084869
http://reviews.ebay.com/Shipping-Guide- ... 0000066763
http://reviews.ebay.com/UPS-FEDEX-LAWSU ... 0002180422

[jfrost]

Shipping is what prevents me from buying stuff on this website. That and the fact that I would probably pay a ridiculously high tax once the stuff I bought happened to be inside this country.

[Anapan]

There's a lot of politics involved - stuff about preventing sweat-shop products from putting local producers out of business. I think the way bigger companies manage cheap shipping prices is by shipping bulk quantities in huge containers and having it separated at a warehouse to it's final destination.

[Merz]

Here in Iceland you are charged a tax for everything you purchase on the internet outside of Iceland. You are also charged a fee for the post office providing you the wonderful service of calculating this tax, which probably goes to pay those employees with a Mathematics PhD who had to figure out how much to charge you and NOT to the thieves running this sham.

Quit ripping me off society. I was walking through the airport here with my synthesizer and this goon is like "whoa whoa how much is this thing worth?" "uhhhh, like a couple hundred dollars" I said lyingly. "You gotta pay a tax!" I didn't have to since I explained I was moving here.

Btw, could anyone give me an estimate on how much it would cost to ship a slim PS3 from the United States to Europe? Iceland or the mainland if you can, not UK.

[bacteria]

In the UK, an item sent as a "gift" up to £30 is fine; or a purchase up to £18. Over that, you get Customs Tax at about 15-20% and also Royal Mail £8 charge. On items under the amounts specified, you may not get charged tax buy sometimes get charged an "Outside the European Union" tax of about £8.50 if you are unlucky - seems hit and miss if you get charged it or not.

[RCBH928]

I live on a tiny island, we are 45 min by air from Dubai .
Its not the destination, the price is ridiculous plain and simple!

If DHL/FedEx is so expensive and they have a bad service, then who is using those services?
If a 360 costs like $180 to ship, what if I was moving my desktop computer which was like $500? another $500 to ship? I mean is this sane? shipping equals or surpasses the value of the item?
Something is wrong for sure!

What gets me is the world today is all about globalization and business, and trade is very basic thing done thousands of years ago, is it this expensive to move items?
I really think there is something we are missing on here, this is not right...

Like my friend has a Ford Mustang when he ordered a gearbox for it, obviously we do not have a Ford factory here(we have a dealer that will take longer and most likely more expensive to buy from), so he orders it off the internet. If the the gearbox was like $1000, shipping is $700, I mean come on!
Is this fair to you guys?

You probably do not suffer this kind of thing because everything is built local, but nothing is local here.
Some funny stuff is like (honest truth) its cheaper for me to buy a Z06 from America and ship it all the way here, than buy it from the local dealership by maybe $10,000 at least!
Did I mention we got almost 0% tax, as far as I know there is no tax.

Speaking of cars, another thing that makes me wonder is that a whole car costs like $3000 to ship or, but the gearbox alone is $700, any one finds this simply not right?