shipping to taiwan???

[brianu]

any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated...

I just had listed a bunch of lots of record albums (empty phono binders, some victor, some generic) on ebay. they all sold, but six or seven of those lots sold to the same buyer in taiwan. the total purchase price would be about $80 or so, but we're talking a total of maybe 15 binders - and they can be bulky and the weight adds up. in any event, I contacted federal express for an estimate at the cheapest rate, and at first was told $800 or $900!!!????!??? then I called the 800 number, spoke with someone who played with the numbers a bit (weight and dimensions) but it still came out to $500 or more.

I had no idea... I offered the buyer the option of just cancelling these transactions, unless he has a better idea (or has a whole lot of money to throw away on this), but I haven't heard back yet.

has anyone here in the US ever sent anything abroad that far? do these estimates sound right?

brian

[beaumonde]

Brian, try USPS Express International. I just send a Columbia BII in 2 boxes to China (38 lb and 8 lb -- phonograph and horn), insured, for $310 or so (trackable, like FedEx or UPS). I don't think those albums would weigh as much. For Priority International, it would be significantly less, but wouldn't be trackable.

[brianu]

Brian, try USPS Express International. I just send a Columbia BII in 2 boxes to China (38 lb and 8 lb -- phonograph and horn), insured, for $310 or so (trackable, like FedEx or UPS). I don't think those albums would weigh as much. For Priority International, it would be significantly less, but wouldn't be trackable.

thanks adam... so that's where that phonophan machine is destined to travel?

I'll look into USPS, although based on their online calculator, the cost per box at 20 pounds each (again, these things are surprisingly heavy and the buyer bought a bunch) is nearly $50, and the calculator only asked for weight, not dimensions, so I have no idea how that might affect things.

[beaumonde]

Yes, to your first question!

Just take the dimensions and weight to your p.o. and ask. I don't trust the online calculators. They have a very generous box size limit I believe. Measure the full circumference of each, just to be safe. Make sure to take the boxes back to the same p.o. In Chicago proper, most USPS employees seem to be very inexperienced with international parcel shipping, and I had some bad experiences until I took the 2 boxes back to the suburban p.o. near my office.

[Shane]

Actually, I believe tracking is available with USPS Priority International.

Its International First Class that doesn't offer tracking, but you can only send up to 4 pounds via that type of mailing anyway.

[Valecnik]

Try "Craters and Freighters". They quoted me a price of $650 or something like that to box up and ship a large upright phonograph to Australia so the albums should be cheaper than that.

[brianu]

thank you everyone for your suggestions. the ridiculous thing to keep in mind is that these were really just a bunch of empty record binders/albums that sold pretty low... several of them, maybe 15 or more, and the total was about $75, so even if postage is $200 or $100, it more than doubles the cost... I don't know, I think it's ridiculous, but maybe a person might not mind paying that.

in any event, I contacted the buyer and he agreed it would be cost-prohibitive and we canceled the seven auctions. funny that they were going in that direction, and the cost of postage led to a mutual cancelation, when it's usually the stuff coming from that direction that sells extremely cheap, $10 to $50 (you've seem some of those asian crapophones???), but with the virtually hidden shipping costs of $400 or $500 that they use to nail you.

[Brad]

Brian,

Googling "shipping overseas" brings up a lot of various shippers. There may be someone in there that has a reasonable rate.