This really isn't a matter for shouting, it's just that I have a practical question, I thought maybe Psyche or someone else here may know something about it, and this seemed the forum where it fit least badly....

What's going on is I am discussing selling a small item of vintage audio equipment to a guy in England. Nothing of great value, under $100.00. But he (a typically-broke student) wants to know what this is going to cost him altogether. There's my very fair price, that is known, and I can find out the shipping cost easily enough, but that leaves whatever fees, taxes or duties may be attached to it by the authorities in Britain. Anyone have a feel for how much, if anything, that sort of thing will amount to in a case like this?

Also, it's my understanding that if I entrust this to the US Post Office, for final delivery by the Royal Mail, fees are minimized, compared to a gouging of 'brokerage fees,' etc, tacked-on by FedEx and other commercial carriers for the service of getting the thing across an international border and through the customs wickets. Can anyone confirm or deny this notion?

Thanks so much....

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Never mind. Shipping costs alone were enough to kill the deal. For 22 lb box, would you believe over $90.00 via postal service?

Don't even ask about FedEx or UPS.

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Wow. That's a lot.

For future reference, my recommendation would be to write "educational materials" on the box in big letters. It's the method people use to protect against fees and theft in China

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Yeah airmail is always expensive, and I don't think there are real surface mail services available any more. I would not consider that price unusual for that kind of mass.

sorry i didn't get here in time. i don't know much about shipping costs, and ironically, what i do know i know about shipping items from here to australia. i think it was the case there that the authorities could slap on whatever fees occurred to them depending on how they felt that day, but it's possible my broke and bitter friend was exaggerating somewhat

I even poked around, after it was over, seeing what I could find out about surface (that is, shipborne) transit. There are frieght forwarders who will stick merchandise into odd containers or partial containers that are available. Varies depending on where you're going, and they don't care about weight much--they charge by the cubic foot. About $10/$15 per each, which would have made my package $35.00 or so. But there's a gotcha--minimum charge is $225 or more. Probably the big problem is the import/export paperwork--same burden for a one carton shipment, or a hundred....

There's an unmet need for cheap consumer parcel transit here. Someone could start a forwarding business sending containers between their NY warehouse to their Southampton warehouse, then sending on by mail to anywhere in Europe or North America. Do your customer service over the Internet as much as possible, of course, and try to get that administrative nut down. Make customs paperwork totally the customer's lookout (no guarantees unless they want to spend big bucks for brokerage services). Get the customer base built up and there could be a great mass of money in it.

Of course, the government mail is in the air freight business, so they would try to block this....

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"Neither man nor nation can exist without a sublime idea."
Fyodor Dostoyevsky, 1821 - 1881
QOTD

My BLOG: Things Have Changed

Quote:

i know about shipping items from here to australia. i think it was the case there that the authorities could slap on whatever fees occurred to them depending on how they felt that day, but it's possible my broke and bitter friend was exaggerating somewhat

Goods arriving in Australia by air freight, express courier or post may be subject to Goods & Services Tax (equivalent to VAT, currently levied at 10%) and possibly customs duty. However there is a blanket exemption from both if the package is of a declared value of not more than $A1000.

If it is missing a customs declaration that states the nature of the contents and their value or if the value is over $1000, it all gets very complicated. Also the government quarantine service totally bans import of most plant and animal matter unless heavily processed. Sometimes people in Europe, India, China or elsewhere try to send relatives in Australia ethnic food items that are difficult or impossible to get here. They are routinely spotted by quarantine inspectors, and confiscated.

However there is no problem with obtaining books and the like from Amazon in the US. My wife occasionally buys clothes from Lands End, also in the US. Our stuff always arrives with no problems.