international shipping • Collecting General • The Acaeum

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international shipping
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stylean
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Last Visit: Feb 28, 2026

Posted: Fri Jun 11, 2010 10:42 pm

So, this might be the wrong forum for this, if so I apologize.

I auction off stuff in spurts (usually what I've read, or have new copies of, or am tired of having something) but I usually stipulate no international shipping, which I know costs me bids. Ive looked into it and it all seems prohibitively expensive to deal with as a seller (as well as the headache of having to create multiple shipping rules in your ebay list). Is there something I'm missing? I generally send all my stuff via USPS with delivery confirmation and insurance for full purchase price.

A priority mail flat rate international box is updwards of $35. I'd like to get the broader audience but I cant get my head around how high those prices sound. If someone told me it would cost that much to ship a book, Id laugh and move on to the next auction.

Mars
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Location: Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

Posted: Fri Jun 11, 2010 11:00 pm

To Canada, the rates are a bit cheaper - Flat Rate Envelope is $11 and Medium box is $25. These are pretty much the best rates for shipping. First Class Mail quickly gets up to $10 too but can sometimes be a little cheaper. Most experienced foreign bidders are well aware of the cost of shipping.

beasterbrook
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Posted: Fri Jun 11, 2010 11:07 pm

Mars wrote: Most experienced foreign bidders are well aware of the cost of shipping.

All you have to get your head around is that your not paying for it the buyer is.. if you are from overseas then you don't have a lot of choice about what postage is going to cost.. you just have to suck it up and pay for it if you want somthing..

Brette:)

Being healthy is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.

gembala
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Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2010 1:05 am

I'm not sure that it is possible to get insurance on first class--otherwise for smaller books, that might be the best choice. I guess it depends on the price of the item you are offering. Postage is outrageous, but really, I think international buyers would like to make that decision for themselves.

Mars
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Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2010 1:13 am

I don't think the USPS flat rate envelopes are insurable either. Has anyone actually successfully navigated the USPS claim process anyway?

Doug Williams
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Location: Tennessee

Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2010 7:17 am

I'm in the same boat. I do far more buying than selling, and when I do sell I usually stipulate USA bidders only, just because I don't want the hassle of international shipping. For those of you who do ship internationally, how do you calculate the shipping charges for your auction? Lets say, assuming the seller is in the USA, you are going to charge $5 for media mail to anywhere in the USA. How do you calculate shipping to Ireland, Finland, South Korea?

SoulCatcher78
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Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2010 7:22 am

The flat rate boxes are probably the easiest to deal with but make sure you have some on hand so that you can figure out what to list (the small flat rate box is tiny, dont make that mistake). If someone wants what you're selling they will pay to have it shipped, it's just that simple. Make sure you read all the rules (and have a good understanding of them) for Buyer Protection (tracking is required, etc) and know how to protect yourself (insurance).

If you print your own shipping labels (through paypal) it's as easy as making sure you set the auction up correctly (type of shipping and weight) and the system does all the calculations for you.

SoulCatcher78
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Location: Indiana, USA

Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2010 7:23 am

Doug Williams wrote:I'm in the same boat. I do far more buying than selling, and when I do sell I usually stipulate USA bidders only, just because I don't want the hassle of international shipping. For those of you who do ship internationally, how do you calculate the shipping charges for your auction? Lets say, assuming the seller is in the USA, you are going to charge $5 for media mail to anywhere in the USA. How do you calculate shipping to Ireland, Finland, South Korea?

In the area below the domestic shipping you can pull up the international shipping calculator. See my post above for the other things you need to make sure of.

TheHistorian
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Posts: 2589
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Location: Seattle, WA

Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2010 8:56 am

Mars wrote:I don't think the USPS flat rate envelopes are insurable either. Has anyone actually successfully navigated the USPS claim process anyway?

The envelopes are not insurable, not are small flat rate boxes.

I have filed a successful claim for a domestic shipment and it was surprisingly easy. I haven't had to try it internationally yet.

Areas of interest/knowledge: Harn, WFRP, Ars Magica, anything BRP based such as CoC, Runequest, Pendragon and all their related games

JasonZavoda
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Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2010 10:56 am

gembala wrote:I'm not sure that it is possible to get insurance on first class--otherwise for smaller books, that might be the best choice. I guess it depends on the price of the item you are offering. Postage is outrageous, but really, I think international buyers would like to make that decision for themselves.

The main question is if a seller can get covered by paypal's seller protection, which normally means tracking. Damaged items are another concern though careful packing can usually keep most shipping damage from being a problem. What kinds of international packages can be tracked? How expensive is it? Can you get tracking to all countries or only certain ones? (And this would be tracking to satisfy paypal regardless of its effectiveness, because even domesticaly the postal carriers forget or don't bother to scan all their delivery confirmation tickets).

evanevanevans
Active Collector

Posts: 60
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Last Visit: Aug 04, 2018
Location: New Zealand

Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 6:18 am

stylean wrote:So, this might be the wrong forum for this, if so I apologize.

I auction off stuff in spurts (usually what I've read, or have new copies of, or am tired of having something) but I usually stipulate no international shipping, which I know costs me bids. Ive looked into it and it all seems prohibitively expensive to deal with as a seller (as well as the headache of having to create multiple shipping rules in your ebay list). Is there something I'm missing? I generally send all my stuff via USPS with delivery confirmation and insurance for full purchase price.

A priority mail flat rate international box is updwards of $35. I'd like to get the broader audience but I cant get my head around how high those prices sound. If someone told me it would cost that much to ship a book, Id laugh and move on to the next auction.

I've had a few things shipped by flate rate boxes and found them to be pretty reliable and work out fairly reasonable when you consider how many items you can fit in.

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