To anyone who's done a group buy from the usa, how do I send PCB's internationally? Ideally w/out going to the post office? Is that even an option?
For domestic, I can use flat rate boxes and print the labels online and leave the packages on my porch.
But, international flat rate priority mail small box is almost $40, so that's not going to work.
USPS won't let me print first class mail labels online.
I live far away from civilization, so going to the post office is a long drive and a hassle..
Do I have any options? I might just back out of this group buy I thought I was going to do........
For domestic, I can use flat rate boxes and print the labels online and leave the packages on my porch.
But, international flat rate priority mail small box is almost $40, so that's not going to work.
USPS won't let me print first class mail labels online.
I live far away from civilization, so going to the post office is a long drive and a hassle..
Do I have any options? I might just back out of this group buy I thought I was going to do........
IF the original PCB supplier/maker is in China as I suspect, you might profit from their heavily State subsidized mail system to cover at least the first leg of delivery, having them split it: send "American" ones to you who then redistribute as you mention using flat rate boxes, and the "European" ones to somebody living there, who might presumably use some equivalent "inside EU" discounted mail system.
You avoid very expensive USA>EU and viceversa rates.
Alternatively *maybe* Chinese accept a relatively large order and then deliver to different customers using *their* subsidied system, end to end.
Not really necessary, just curious, what kind of bulk purchase are we talking about?
Any project in particular?
You avoid very expensive USA>EU and viceversa rates.
Alternatively *maybe* Chinese accept a relatively large order and then deliver to different customers using *their* subsidied system, end to end.
Not really necessary, just curious, what kind of bulk purchase are we talking about?
Any project in particular?
Ask the customer to pay via a PayPal invoice -- this allows you to fill out the customs form and mailing label via International First Class Large Envelope, or First Class Package.
Or you can get a chum in Holland to send a bunch from their postal system.
For the record, US small shippers are subsidizing Amazon. Priority Mail shipping has more than doubled in price in the last ten years.
All the replies have been helpful, but too late for most of them.
I think the above is what I need.. If PayPal lets me print first class mail labels, that will be perfect. Then I'll just need to acquire some padded envelopes, which I can order online.
Thank you. I was getting frustrated w/ the USPS website.. They even let you select "first class mail" in their online label system, but then it pops up an error that this shipping method is no longer available online.
Not in NJ -- Postmaster requires the sender to state that the contents contain "Nothing fragile, hazardous or perishable" for every parcel over 13 ounces -- could be different in DC.
Postal Service is Fedral - policies are not going to be different in different states. I might be wrong but what you state is same as what is stated in on the declaration page. The sender must sign and date it. That’s same as declaring in front of a postal clerk. Imagine a business in NJ that sends thousands of packages internationally. The burden of declaring in the flesh for each package would just be too unreasonable.
Try it sometime. Tape the signed and declared international prepaid label on your package and leave for the postal carrier to pick it up. I bet they pick it up in NJ the same as any state.
How-to-Use-PayPal-Shipping-to-Mail-Almost-Anything-
Try it sometime. Tape the signed and declared international prepaid label on your package and leave for the postal carrier to pick it up. I bet they pick it up in NJ the same as any state.
How-to-Use-PayPal-Shipping-to-Mail-Almost-Anything-
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There is no real evidence that US shippers or taxpayers are subsidizing Amazon. You should fact check this, granted it is not simple.
The most likely reason the USPS has increased pricing is due to declining revenue from first-class and marketing mail of all kinds combined with increasing labor costs. As you might be aware, politicians schemed to saddle the USPS with the requirement of pre-funding future retiree health benefits, which took effect in 2006. Parcels have been the segment seeing growth in revenue.
USPS is charging Amazon the rate the market will bear. They quite obviously get a better rate than anyone else given their volume. FedEx and UPS charge me a lot more than they charge Amazon too.
Yes, it is. The rules are clearly spelled out in the International Mail Manual. Somewhere in that huge document it states that international mail must be presented in person to a USPS employee. Enforcement varies a lot by post office.....most post offices have never actually read their own IMM, and get flustered when you quote it by page number.
In big city Florida it meant that I had to physically go to the post office, wait in line (up to 1 hour in December) then hand the envelope to a clerk who often argued with me about the rules, which they themselves had never read. Just dropping an international envelope in the mail box got it returned to my house several days later. Our letter carrier who was a personal friend was not allowed to accept international main on his route. During the December craziness I could get him to take some of my small stuff and put it in the outgoing bin. Shipping transformers to Australia in a flat rate box required waiting in line.
Here in rural West Virginia, I print the postage using Paypal. Usually I take them to the post office since it is on my way home from the gym and I go there almost every weekday. When I don't make it to the post office, I just hand them to the letter carrier and she takes them. I asked her is this was OK and she had no knowledge of the restrictions on international mail. Neither did anyone in the post office.
I used to print postage for international mail on the USPS web site. That went away over a year ago. The Paypal thing works, but there are some quirks. If someone pays me for a board using the pay for goods or services option, there is a fee, but the address, email address and the print postage option shows up on the Paypal "details" page. If they use the "send money to friends and family" option, the address, email, and postage options do not appear since you are presumed to know all that.
I use Priority Mail for PC boards in the USA. I can stuff 4 or 5 boards into a 6 X 10 inch Priority Mail envelope which can be ordered directly from the post office for free. They will ship as many as you want directly to your house for free, although I assume that check to see if you are actually shipping with them. Paypal charges $6.95 to print postage for them.
You must use your own packaging for international parcel post. The first price break is 0 to 8 ounces, so weight is important. I buy cardboard mailers from Uline for about 40 cents each. They weigh just under 2 ounces each. Most of my boards are about 3 ounces, so I can stuff 2 boards in one envelope for 8 ounces, and ship most anywhere for under $12.
Accept the fact that some international mail will get lost and figure that into your prices. There is no insurance coverage on international parcel post, and collecting anything from their domestic insurance claim system is a crap shoot at best. Russia, Italy, and India account for most of my losses, so I will not ship to those countries any more.
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