Has anyone else in the US noticed that international shipping charges are kinda getting out of control? :scratch: I just sold two commemorative coins that weighed 26 grams each to a buyer in France and it cost $7.00 :rolling: Three months ago I shipped the same weight of coins to another buyer in France and it was only $4.00 International shipping is now costing way more than some coins themselves. :heated: Even shipping to Canada has gone up from $2.00 to more than $3.00 in the past few months. :bangg: Its almost not worth it for the low end stuff that only some of us can afford. acing: I dunno guys, but the future may be in virtual coin collecting. Where you buy the coin, receive a certificate of ownership and the best obverse and reverse pictures possible (via email of course) and your coin is stored in a vault somewhere in Utah. :vanish:
same all over the world to send a registered letter from the uk now cost the price of postage plus £7 to register it!!
And priority boxes are even worse. What use to cost me $23 for a three pound box to Brazil awhile back is now $45+; and unless I add extra insurance, chances of safe arrival have deteriorated; two packages that I shipped first class international never arrived at their destination (though this isn't a USPS problem).
Buying bulk coins from the US used to be an excellent bargain. But with the ridicious shipping, it unfortunately is no longer an option. I personally don't mind sellers that reuse bubble wraps just to cut down on shipping price.
Unforunaetly it is one of the reasons' i don't allow any overseas bidders in any of the coins i sell.
Interesting that you say that because I was thinking of opening up my listings to overseas bidders. I just bought five coins from someone in the UK and I was shocked by how much shipping was. I want to say it was like 5 or 6 pounds, which is like $9 U.S. He told me the UK had raised its postage rates recently. On the other hand, I had a person buy one of my items with a U.S. address, and then he told me he now lived in Sri Lanka. Normally I would say no, but I wanted to see how international shipping works so I agreed to ship there and it only cost $1.25 which I thought was reasonable. It was just in a normal envelope. Is it the packages that cost so much? And how can you figure out how much it will cost ahead of time?
HD, you need to break down and buy a scale. USPS has them for $40 bucks, but thats for large stuff. You can pick up a small scale at a local coin shop or hardware store for about $10 to $15. Weigh the coin/s in the envelope or package and use the rate calculation on Paypal/eBay. Just don't list how much international shipping will be, just lettem' know that it depends on where they live. That's the best we can do. Also, packages are automatically rated to start at $2.00 regardless if there is anything in it. The flat rate boxes are a deal if an international buyer purchases several items, but alas they are also going up. $2.00 in the past year I think. I'm telling ye! Virtual collecting is the future. Muahahahahahahaha!!!:devil:
I live in United Kingdom and I buy Roosevelt Dimes almost exclusively from U.S. sellers because they're either not available in U.K. and the E.U. or they are priced ridiculously high. So if a collector is determined to collect U.S. coins they are likely to pay the shipping costs. The service I'll pay for is U.S.P.S. First Class Mail International and I never buy from a U.S. seller who insists on Priority Mail because it's not necessary. British Customs and Royal Mail occasionally have their moments with packages from U.S.A. taking up to 2 weeks but the average is substantially less than that. A Littleton album I ordered on a Tuesday and dispatched on a Wednesday was delivered on Saturday of the same week and Dime coins typically take 5 - 7 working days. I don't know whether this is just unique to me but those packages which are the quickest are those which have an online postage paid label. In supplies, I think U.S. sellers come unstuck when trying to sell albums and folders to U.K. buyers: We can get Whitman coin folders and sometimes albums from Amazon U.K. but Littleton and Dansco are nowhere!
I ship worldwide and always have done. Postal costs in the UK recently increased by 60% on 30th April. I increased my shipping costs to reflect the added amount. The increases are totally out of my control, however folks from overseas are still buying, just this last 7 days had buyers from USA, Australia, Russia.Malta. 50% of my sales go overseas. If you increase the cost of cigarettes and booze folks still buy them, the coin collecting addiction is no differenmt.
I just recently started buying a few coins from overseas because I got to the point where I needed a few coins for my collection and just couldn't find them here. I was also nervous that it wouldn't arrive, but shipments from Ireland and the UK have been good and have only taken a week or two. But just like how some U.S. sellers charge 45 cents and some charge $4.95, the costs vary wildly per seller, and I only go with those who are cheapest because otherwise it's just too much considering the coins usually have no value besides that I need them for the set.
