Postage costs - UK to US

[m154cath]

hi guys
as some of you may be aware ive been sorting some of the forum members with Metropolis quad posters.  i thought this would be the hard part but managed to get them without much fuss.
Today i trundled off to the Post Office tube in hand expecting the bill, for 3 posters in 1 tube going to the States, to be about a tenner. just abit gobsmacked when postie told me the cheapest would be £46!!!!!
any advise from those of you who have shipped posters from UK to US or was i just dealing with a total muppet?
P.S. to Ted,Mel & Harry - no need to panic quite yet!

[Harry Caul]

 

For that price, you could take a nice roundtrip flight to Paris for the weekend on RyanAir and mail it from there!

I'll try not to panic... (gulp)... yet.

[brude]

WTF? Sounds like an enterprising postal clerk there.... 

[m154cath]

i didnt get a chance to ring the "helpline" today but ill try 2 mo. this woman just wouldnt budge on the price. better luck 2mo.

[MoviePosterBid.com]

it doesn't seem right.. ask Quadbod Terry

[stewart boyle]

Did you ask for standard air mail? or was that a Parcelforce quote?.
I found quite a difference in price when i was sending to the US.
I didnt find any service improvement in either,Parcelforce say delivery would be after 5 days,it eventually got delivered after 3 weeks, all for the price of about £30.
One i sent standard airmail (which says can take upto a month),took the same 3 weeks to arrive,but cost £6

Stew

Ps It helps if the tube you send in is under 1m in length.

[brude]

Yes, Standard Air Mail usually gets here (New York) in about 10-14 days and is much cheaper.
Thanks, Stew!

[originalcinemaposters]

check the length of the tube if its over 90cms, then the post office seem to think this is the perfect excuse to mug you off!

[m154cath]

i didnt really get a choice of "service" just simply told that it would have to go by Parcelforce because the tube measured over 90cms. the thing is i got back to work & measured the tube - 85cms long. nice waste of time  - just as well that i needed a fag or it would have been a wasted journey!

[Dread_Pirate_Mel]

Something is way off. Picturetrader on Ebay only charges 2.5 pounds to ship quads to US via "Royal Mail Airmail (Small Packets)"

[paul waines]

Something is way off. Picturetrader on Ebay only charges 2.5 pounds to ship quads to US via "Royal Mail Airmail (Small Packets)"

Well how come People in the U.S. want to charge me over $30 to send to the U.K. some even as much as $45. This is why I have stopped buying from the States. It's another $30-$45 on the price of the poster!!!

I have used small packets to send other items to the states, but I don't think a poster tube would not come under that, as they have size regulations as Paul has said. Worth ago at another P.O. maybe.

[guest8]

Something is way off. Picturetrader on Ebay only charges 2.5 pounds to ship quads to US via "Royal Mail Airmail (Small Packets)"

I dont think that would qualify for a quad ... I used to buy a lot from Graeme and typically for under 10 posters in a tube it would be up to about $30 USD for shipping .. IIRC when you got over the 10 poster limit the weight was just enough to tip the scales over to the next price level which was crazy amounts ..

[supraman079]

I think it all depends on whether you declare what is inside the tube as being valuable or not. Postage should be cheaper if you mark it as close to no value as possible.

[MoviePosterBid.com]

nice waste of time  - just as well that i needed a fag or it would have been a wasted journey!

LOL.. I haven't heard anyone talk a cigarette like that in a long time

 

[MoviePosterBid.com]

Well how come People in the U.S. want to charge me over $30 to send to the U.K. some even as much as $45. This is why I have stopped buying from the States. It's another $30-$45 on the price of the poster!!!

I have used small packets to send other items to the states, but I don't think a poster tube would not come under that, as they have size regulations as Paul has said. Worth ago at another P.O. maybe.

Paul.. some people even overcharge for domestic shipping which I don't understand.. Up to 7 posters from my auctions are just $19.00. Shipping & packing costs are not supposed to be a profit stream

[Harry Caul]

Paul.. some people even overcharge for domestic shipping which I don't understand.. Up to 7 posters from my auctions are just $19.00. Shipping & packing costs are not supposed to be a profit stream

On the rare occasions I auction something on eBay I've found I get higher bids if I state up front that I only charge exact cost for shipping (and that what you pay will match what it says on the stamp).  Gouging on shipping is definitely not lost on the bidders...

[CSM]

Maybe the issue is that these new quads are rolled and thus need larger tubes.  Old quads can be folded and sent much cheaper me thinks?

[paul waines]

Quite right Chris, Though on another thread on here when I mentioned I'd stopped buying from the States due to the high postage, you guy's told me $30-45 was reasonable, I said some still offered postage for $10-15, and was told don't do it, it' will take months to get as it's by ship.

Does anyone know where that old tread is?

7 posters for $19, Rich. I may have to start looking at your sales again.

[paul waines]

Found it, but Im no good at doing links. here's what I have.

http://www.allposterforum.com/index.php/topic,312.0.html


It's in the for sale section page 10, cinemasterpieces 170+ items for sale $39.95 to send to the U.K.

[MoviePosterBid.com]

David's shipping rate is the anti-Christ

[quadbod]

Hi, Folks!

We always use full value-declared, fully insured Royal Mail International Signed For Airmail (marked Small Packet) which, for a package weighing 400 grams, costs us around 10 GBP (16 US dollars) plus packaging materials. Heavier packages would be marginally more expensive pro rata.

If you check our items on the excellent MoviePosterBid.com website, you will see that we charge a flat rate of 18 US dollars for any number of posters (up to 10 maximum) in one consignment from UK to USA.

Best wishes,

Terry - www.quadbod.co.uk

[MoviePosterBid.com]

awww Terry.. yer makin me blush..

 

[Ari]

Thats what Sue says.

[CSM]

David's shipping rate is the anti-Christ

Agreed (unfortunately).  Although he does pack well...

[paul waines]

 Although he does pack well...

That's also what Sue say's