shortliner Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 A post from another forum dated 23:01:12 from a US poster "All US Shipping Prices went up today. Priority $10.95 box went up to $11.35 & some are higher. Parcel Post had a good spike too. Delivery Conf. also went up from 5 cents to 15 cents, depending on where it's going. International rates had the biggest jump. One woman at the post office was mailing a flat envelope to the Phillipines & the last time it was $11.00 & this time it was $16.95. So, start checking before you ship something. " Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Sheep Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 conspiricy theory: no one posts letters anymore due to e-mail, the postal services are striking back by hiking the prices of sending things traded online! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Not only that... Royal Mail used to charge £8.00 for the "privledge" of letting you know that HM Customs have hold of your parcel and are about to take their cut.... this "Notification Charge" is now up to £13.50. I recently bought two HO locos from a US Supplier that they had on Sale - excellent discounts, but by the time Shipping, Customs AND RM's Fee were added, I might as well have bought from UK Suppliers in the end.... It was just the availability of the precise models I wanted that meant I didn't. "Rip-Off Britain" is alive and well....... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Wintle Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 The USPS is having financial issues, and so is likely increasing prices to try and offset that. Adrian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
squeaky Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Not only that... Royal Mail used to charge £8.00 for the "privledge" of letting you know that HM Customs have hold of your parcel and are about to take their cut.... this "Notification Charge" is now up to £13.50. I recently bought two HO locos from a US Supplier that they had on Sale - excellent discounts, but by the time Shipping, Customs AND RM's Fee were added, I might as well have bought from UK Suppliers in the end.... It was just the availability of the precise models I wanted that meant I didn't. "Rip-Off Britain" is alive and well....... I didn't realise that this charge had gone up to £13.50, last time I bought from the US it was £8, well I'm in for a shock when my latest loco arrives Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 I just spent $29.50 sending a 6.5 ounce package to the UK.........which was the cheapest but it did include (you had no choice) insurance up to $66.00.............. Best, Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davknigh Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Canada Post has also upped their rates. A simple letter to the UK will now cost $1.80. As an aside, a chum just got an empty envelope from a UK supplier. He had ordered a worm gear but the sorting machinery of either the Royal Mail or Canada Post had succeeded in popping said gear out of the package despite bubble wrap etc.. Cheers, David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Belgian Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 And e-bay are trying to force you to include postage in the auction bids, so they can charge you a % on it as well! (and PayPal, they're doing it twice). JE Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I didn't realise that this charge had gone up to £13.50, last time I bought from the US it was £8, well I'm in for a shock when my latest loco arrives Snap!! I hadn't realised either..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gridwatcher Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 The last 'present' I had from the States had no such unpleasant surprises. I won't say who the shipper was, they hadn't said the value on the outside and it just arrived. No 80 mile round trip and a financial beating at Parcelfarce office in Glasgow added to the HM Customs are about to skin you alive........ Private sellers on Ebay can usually get around it too. Then again I am visiting the US in summer so my plan is to shop while there! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 The last 'present' I had from the States had no such unpleasant surprises. I won't say who the shipper was, .... ....Then again I am visiting the US in summer so my plan is to shop while there! There have been a few times I've had stuff slip through the net, plus once when a Major Manufacturer shipped me a load of parts and marked them as "Commercial Samples Value $0.00" which was very nice of them!! Shopping in the US sounds good, but beware the HM Customs men when you have "Nothing to Declare" on your return.... they will pick up on a suitcase full of model trains when it goes through the X-ray....... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_long Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I've had spares sent from Athearn and they declared 'warranty/repair' on the documents with $0 in the value column, it was a small padded envelope and It missed customs charges. I had a parcel about 6"x4"x4" from an ebay seller in the US total was $45 they charged me $7.95 for the shipping and it too slipped past customs charges and they had recorded $10 value on the box. So it happens quite a lot, I've only ever been caught with a charge for locos. Dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted January 24, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 24, 2012 There have been a few times I've had stuff slip through the net, plus once when a Major Manufacturer shipped me a load of parts and marked them as "Commercial Samples Value $0.00" which was very nice of them!! Shopping in the US sounds good, but beware the HM Customs men when you have "Nothing to Declare" on your return.... they will pick up on a suitcase full of model trains when it goes through the X-ray....... US customs will x ray the bags their end, so are you saying they also scan the bags upon arrival in the UK aswell now? These days I tend to put anything of value in my hand luggage (as long as it isnt sharp, liquid or glass etc) just to make sure it doesnt get damaged or wrongly repacked by security at US end when they inspect baggage. You will soon know when they do as they put a note in your luggage and I have had items broken when they repack after inspection on one occassion as the delicate items I packed in the centre of the bag were packed towards the bags edges so it must have broke when loaded onto the plane or unloading. Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold ngtrains.com Posted January 24, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 24, 2012 >> I didn't realise that this charge had gone up to £13.50, last time I bought from the US it was £8, well I'm in for a shock when my latest loco arrives << I think you will find it is something a little different to a price hike from £8 to £13.50. If someone sends you a package from the USA by the most basic service USPS [united States Postal Service] when it arrives in the UK its size will determine whether it ends up with Royal Mail for the postie to deliver or if its larger it ends up with Parcel Farce. Seperately, if they decide its value warrants a customs charge then they charge their clearance fee based on how it was sent. If it was sent by the most basic service USPS offer they'll charge £8 per package [i'll come back to that per package] if, however, it was sent Priority Mail with USPS then they weill charge you £13.50 fee per package. I think USPS have recently changed their T&C's in relation to the basic and priority mail such that few will now send with the basic service as it offers no guarantees, insurance or tracking. As far as I can tell there isnt the difference in speed implied by the priority mail title. I import a lot of stuff from the USA and the USPS & Royal Mail relationship and service is a constant source of angst. If a supplier sends me a shipment made up of several packages all that is wrong with the USPS/Royal Mail service is well demonstrated. For example five boxes of the same stuff, sent on the same day by one supplier from the same post office and on the same service achieve the following: - A spread of 18 days between the first and last arriving. 3 out of 5 get the 8 quid fee the other 2 get the £13.50 fee 3 out of 5 get correctly charged VAT only, for the other 2 some YTS at Customs decides to charge import duty and VAT [toy trains are VAT only, there is no import duty] and this wasnt the same two from five above One clearly spend some time sat in a puddle The only practical option is to pay the import duty and then try to claim it back which takes and average of six weeks. I have to do it so ofen that I now have a standard letter set up as a template The other joke is they send you a card saying your package is being held at the depot awaiting charges to be paid. My experience of these cards from watching the online tracking and receieving the cards is that they arrive at least a day after you parcel makes it to the local depot but it can be up to a week or sometimes they dont come at all. The final straw is that I usually end up fetching the parcels from the Parcel Farce depot so as to pay the fee over the counter and get it a day sooner than if you pay online. Conversely UPS or FEDEX send you an e-mail when something is shipped with them to you. You can track it all the way. They will tell you when it sets off when it will arrive. Its brought to your door. They bill you for the VAT after the delivery and you get the chance to "discuss" the charge before you pay it and, yes they do charge a fee, but its eleven quid per consignment not per box. Oh and they deliver in about half the time the other shower take. More and more now I am using UPS and Fedex for larger shipments. Yes they cost more but the lack of being beggared about is bliss Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Last Week at my local Post office the USPS clerk advised me that it is no long possible to send parcels as Air Mail they now are all "Priority" airmail. The only exceptions seem to be items that are flat like books. I received a book from Amazon UK yesterday that was shipped Airmail by Amazon on 11th January - 12 days, when 6-10 days is usually quoted. In November last a similar sized book from Amazon UK took 30 days to reach me - it was mailed on the 20th November. Mail service between the UK and USA (and vice versa) is now the longest I've experienced in 20 years. Best, Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gridwatcher Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Guys I wasn't planning to (or likely to be allowed to) bring a whole loco roster back with me........ an odd loco perhaps if SWMBO allows it! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
298 Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Not only that... Royal Mail used to charge £8.00 for the "privledge" of letting you know that HM Customs have hold of your parcel and are about to take their cut.... this "Notification Charge" is now up to £13.50 It's not just the charge that annoys me, it takes them a week to send it from London to my local sorting office, then another week for them to send a card out to tell you to come and collect it and pay them some money.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctor quinn Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I was gratified that when my PowerCab came back from repair the "Warranty repair" Customs dec worked and I wasn't charged duty on an item that had already had duty paid on first importation. Hope my Badger airbrush does the same! Nick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted January 24, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 24, 2012 Guys I wasn't planning to (or likely to be allowed to) bring a whole loco roster back with me........ an odd loco perhaps if SWMBO allows it! Now where do I remember hearing ' I am not planing to buy much'... you get into a really good hobby shop and find they have stuff you havent seen for a long time or those locos a once in a lifetime bargain!! Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Guys I wasn't planning to (or likely to be allowed to) bring a whole loco roster back with me..... You said it, matey... :D :D Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
squeaky Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 I didn't realise that this charge had gone up to £13.50, last time I bought from the US it was £8, well I'm in for a shock when my latest loco arrives Well my parcel arrived today and the charge was £8.93 VAT and the £8 charge from Royal Mail making a total of £16.93 In total including all the charges it cost me £79.31. Which is the same as this country but I couldn't find one here in this livery. So it wasn't too bad the loco I received was Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 In total including all the charges it cost me £79.31. Which is the same as this country ... In fairness it does show that the UK Suppliers aren't 'overcharging' when prices look higher than US prices.... it must also mean, though, that it's getting very hard to make any profit... As you infer, squeaky, it's getting to the point that the only reason to buy direct from the US is for choice & availability, rather than to save money. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 Jordan, It could give you an excuse to visit, take some photos and pick up some stock, though! Best, Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Re6/6 Posted January 28, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 28, 2012 And e-bay are trying to force you to include postage in the auction bids, so they can charge you a % on it as well! (and PayPal, they're doing it twice). JE Could you give some info on this possible change? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 Yeah, but the cost of airfare would pay for plenty of models too... even bought here..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.