[Asr]

Quote:

Just out of curiousity (I'm not the USA anyways...); is non-continental or territory-status USA destinations not applicable to the domestic policy you've outlined here (except for things like cost, etc; I'm sure they'd be higher)?  Now, I'm sure there aren't that many head-fier's in places such as Hawaii, Guam or Puerto Rico anyways, but just wondering since "continental" part always seems emphasized.

Not sure which part of my post you're referring to, but:
- International shipping to Canada and Mexico is at a lower rate than to other countries
- Domestic shipping to Alaska, Hawaii, etc, is at a slightly higher rate than CONUS (and obviously takes longer)
- I've never tried using the automated machine to ship packages outside CONUS though (and the machine can't be used for Canada/Mexico either)

 

[itsborken]

A good number of our Hallmark stores have post office windows with pretty short lines; I use them frequently for CONUS shipments.   I have no idea if they will do the customs papers.  BTW I just sent out something to Canada at a regular post office; the USPS window lady had to transcribe the form into the computer; I swear their system was about as fast as an old IBM XT.  Pretty sad system here in the US.

 

[fraseyboy]

Excluding the majority of the world from your sales because you don't like waiting in a line IS lazy.

 

[Maxvla]

It's still the seller's choice. And percentage-wise, sales to US buyers on this forum are still the majority. Excluding the majority of the world doesn't mean losing sales, typically.

 

[Samgotit]

Quote:

Excluding the majority of the world from your sales because you don't like waiting in a line IS lazy.

I'm pretty much comfortable with that.

 

[rhythmdevils]

I've never gotten an offer from an international buyer that came anywhere close to covering the shipping cost.  It's usually around 1/3 or less of what it actually costs.

 

[itsborken]

Quote:

Excluding the majority of the world from your sales because you don't like waiting in a line IS lazy.

I hope you don't think you will convince me to sell to you one day by calling me lazy. It isn't working.
 

 

[hollabackitsobi]

Wow, it's surprising how ill-mannered a lot of people outside the U.S. who are posting in this thread are about this. Lazy for not wanting to engage in business with those outside their country due to an inconvenient amount of hoops they have to jump through...? There's no obligation whatsoever for them, as private entities seeking to do business, to make any concessions to appease you. The sense of entitlement is baffling. It also certainly helps your case to insult them like that. That'll make them much more eager to deal with you.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Excluding the majority of the world from your sales because you don't like waiting in a line IS lazy.

You have to consider the kinds of lines we sometimes have to wait in. There's no evening/night service where I'm at in Arizona. When I was in LA, sometimes there was no opportunity to get to a Post Office during the day.

The only option is the Post Office at LAX (the airport) which is 24 hours. The initial struggle there is finding a parking space. The lot is too small and you sometimes circle the lot with several other cars for 15-30 minutes to park. Yes, it's that bad even at midnight. There's no street parking, but you can pay to park five or six blocks away, which isn't practical if you have to walk half a mile with a heavy package.

The lines at night are awful. Sometimes, over 100 people ahead of you with two or three postal clerks. One night, I showed up around 11 and didn't get to the counter until close to 2AM. This wasn't during the holidays, either.

And it's like that all the time. At my old office, sometimes I'd drop off envelopes (pre-stamped, with the machines we had) into the drive-through maildrops there. We often had to meet midnight mailing deadlines for various legal docs. Every time I went it was a zoo. Sometimes, lines were out the door and I struggled to get into the parking lot and to the drop-off boxes. You'd get stuck behind cars waiting to get parking spots, dropping people off with multiple packages, etc. It was always a pain.

I don't know what it's like in the rest of the country, but in LA, it could sometimes be a three to four hour proposition to mail a package.

 

[Asr]

Not as bad as your situation Uncle Erik, but when I used to live in NorCal (Silicon Valley area), the waiting line at USPS routinely took 30 minutes to an hour and it was always a pain in the ass. It helped that my workplace was only a 5-minute drive away but I always hated going to the post office. (It also really helped that we got free lunch at work so I didn't have to worry about that - and no, I do not work for Google.) 

Here in Colorado the waiting line is even shorter and usually takes somewhere between 5-15 minutes (and the post office is so close I can even walk to it too).
 
One other thing I forgot to mention about the automated machine (for those who may not have been aware) is that it accepts only up to a certain size - 12" max on any side of the box. Any bigger than that and you have to take the box to the counter instead (which means waiting in line).
 
For this reason I always prefer shipping FedEx or UPS at least for large packages, where there's almost never any waiting (or if there is, it's really short). The only things I'll ship at USPS will be really small packages, as Priority Mail ($4.60 minimum) and First Class Mail (13 oz weight limit) are way more cost-effective on small headphone amps and cables, respectively (and I can use the machine to pay for them). And international too of course as USPS doesn't assess brokerage fees. Their First Class International rate is extremely cost-effective on things like portable amps and cables (4 lb weight limit).
 
So anyone outside the USA who wants to complain about "lazy sellers" will receive FedEx/UPS shipping and highest declared value for maximum customs and brokerage fees.

 

[fraseyboy]

Quote:

You have to consider the kinds of lines we sometimes have to wait in. There's no evening/night service where I'm at in Arizona. When I was in LA, sometimes there was no opportunity to get to a Post Office during the day.

The only option is the Post Office at LAX (the airport) which is 24 hours. The initial struggle there is finding a parking space. The lot is too small and you sometimes circle the lot with several other cars for 15-30 minutes to park. Yes, it's that bad even at midnight. There's no street parking, but you can pay to park five or six blocks away, which isn't practical if you have to walk half a mile with a heavy package.

The lines at night are awful. Sometimes, over 100 people ahead of you with two or three postal clerks. One night, I showed up around 11 and didn't get to the counter until close to 2AM. This wasn't during the holidays, either.

And it's like that all the time. At my old office, sometimes I'd drop off envelopes (pre-stamped, with the machines we had) into the drive-through maildrops there. We often had to meet midnight mailing deadlines for various legal docs. Every time I went it was a zoo. Sometimes, lines were out the door and I struggled to get into the parking lot and to the drop-off boxes. You'd get stuck behind cars waiting to get parking spots, dropping people off with multiple packages, etc. It was always a pain.

I don't know what it's like in the rest of the country, but in LA, it could sometimes be a three to four hour proposition to mail a package.

 
But you still need to go to a post office to sell within CONUS, right?

 

[Maxvla]

Quote:

 

But you still need to go to a post office to sell within CONUS, right?
​

No, because within the US, UPS and Fedex aren't that much more expensive on average than USPS. It's only when you go international that UPS and Fedex are usually DOUBLE or more.
 
I got a quote to ship a violin to a student in Israel about 2 years ago for my business. Fedex quoted $575, UPS quoted $530. USPS quoted $215. This was with significant insurance and all the bells and whistles since this was a multi-thousand dollar item.
 
In the end she hadn't left NY yet so we just shipped it to her there. The quote from within the US from Fedex was $220. USPS' price was $160.
 
All prices I mention were from my best recollection, but they are close enough to demonstrate.

 

[SiriuslyCold]

Quote:

No, because within the US, UPS and Fedex aren't that much more expensive on average than USPS. It's only when you go international that UPS and Fedex are usually DOUBLE or more.

thanks for that explanation. What I don't get are sellers who say they will ship CONUS only and use USPS, because they still have to go to the Post Office

 

[PFKMan23]

Quote:

 
But you still need to go to a post office to sell within CONUS, right?

 
Nope.  At least not for me.  My local PO offers free carrier pick up.  I would never dream of using this service with an international package, however.  As far as the price differential on USPS vs Fed Ex and UPS.  For the most part since I've used priority mail, it's usually delivered within 2-3 business days.  The comparable UPS and Fed Ex service can cost a fair bit more, but then again I don't have access to any shipping discounts.
 

 

[mark2410]

i think the problem is the US post office network seems to be a hell of a lot crapper than it is in other countries