Jump to content

I have an international shipping question. Help?


Recommended Posts

I need to ship a double LP to Austria and the guy wants a quote for registered mail, saying he had a record shipped from the US last week for roughly $25 registered.

 

I'm trying to mock up a shipping label through the USPS site to get an idea of cost but as I've never done this before for international I'm not sure what to choose in terms of the package size as none of the options appear to be close to roughly 12x12x1. I chose "Package" which seems to generally cover what this would be but once I input all the info and add a registered option, we're looking at around $41 which isn't gonna fly.

 

Anyone have any tips or tricks that might make this make more sense for a n00b? Thanks in advance.

 

http://ircalc.usps.com/

 

tumblr_mo8t9dE5oi1s7gn7ko1_500.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds like you did everything right. It is expensive to send packages internationally.

 

Well I already know that, I just don't know how this guy claims he got a registered mail record sent for $25. I've sent two international records before both as the cheapest option with no bells or whistles and they were around $23 each so I think he might be confused.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As someone who had to have a ton of records sent from US to EU I can tell you that there are big differences between UPS and USPS and other shipping services. It's very possible that he had a record sent for that amount.

 

I'll check out UPS and see if that makes a difference. Thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I recall correctly you can have delivery confirmation for a first class international package without any additional fees. Maybe this is what he meant.

This only applies to certain countries though (it does for mine, so I had to sign for all the packages I got from the US in the last few months).

I'll see if I can dig up a list of all eligible countries.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I recall correctly you can have delivery confirmation for a first class international package without any additional fees. Maybe this is what he meant.

This only applies to certain countries though (it does for mine, so I had to sign for all the packages I got from the US in the last few months).

I'll see if I can dig up a list of all eligible countries.

 

That might be it. I checked UPS and it was wayyyy more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

$25 doesn't sound too far off to ship via USPS to Austria, but it sure as hell wasn't registered. If you print a label online or ship through the post office they give you a customs form # which is trackable, but not insured. You don't have to put the exact measurements through USPS.com if you buy postage, but you need the exact weight.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

$25 doesn't sound too far off to ship via USPS to Austria, but it sure as hell wasn't registered. If you print a label online or ship through the post office they give you a customs form # which is trackable, but not insured. You don't have to put the exact measurements through USPS.com if you buy postage, but you need the exact weight.

Really? That works for Europe too? Thought it was just a Canada thing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I usually guess on the weight but what do you guys figure for a double 180g record with some bubble wrap and a cardboard square? Standard mailer and some tape.

 

Also, thanks for all the info.

 

It's hard to guess because an ounce could mean up to a $2 difference depending on the weight. Unlike media mail which goes in increments of 1-2lbs, most other services have much smaller price increments with weight. If you have some type of postage scale of even a kitchen scale that would help. Otherwise its annoying (and a little more expensive) to just take it to the post office. 

 

I would say $25 is a safe price and if anything you could refund the difference. I have never sent anything registered international but the customs form at the post office for registered is much more detailed and costs about double.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×

AdBlock Detected

spacer.png

We noticed that you're using an adBlocker

Yes, I'll whitelist