overcoming problem of international shipping costs

[realjazz-123]

Seems like I must face up to a real problem. I sell vinyl records . By experimenting  with  Worldwide shipping or only Canada/US, I have learned that buyers of these records are without doubt,  mainly International.   LEAST expensive UNTRACKED airmail small package for international buyers is $22 for 1  LP and $39 for 2 LPs. This means that only relatively expensive LPS ($50 and higher) might sell with the additional $22 for shipping. Lower priced Lps only slightly higher than shipping will interest buyers who then ask about high shipping and do not buy. Trying to sell a $10 lp and charge $22 for shipping does not work

Victoria, BC is not close enough to US border post offices to mail from US. Any suggestions as to how to overcome this shipping problem without throwing in the towel. Thanks

[recped]

I already gave you suggestions in some of your previous threads!

Victoria IS pretty close the US, how long a ferry ride is it?

If you have enough volume (and it doesn't have to be that much) you could ship your packages in bulk to either a mail drop in Port Washington or to Bookstotheborder in Vancouver and have them take the packages across the border.

USPS International rates are not as cheap as they once were, you would be better off using an alternate solution such as provided by ChitChat Express in Toronto which is VERY cheap.

If you put 15 lp's (prepackaged) in a box and send that box to ChitChat via UPS, CanPar  or similar they can send them on. You'll pay between $5 and $7 plus the cost of shipping to Toronto (maybe another $2 or so per package).

Bookstotheborder may have a similar arrangement for International and you could overnight your stuff to them in Vancouver.

I charge $15 for International shipping (single LP), that used to be near the high end relative to US Sellers but since USPS raised their International rates two years ago $15 is now near the bottom of the range. With the Dollar in the tank that US$15 I charge brings in almost $19. Under these circumstances on a $10 record I make about $8 on the item (presuming my cost is zero) and more than $10 on the shipping. Yup you read that right on a $10 item I make a profit of $18 AFTER eBay/paypal fees.

In the past month I've probably sold about 10  lp's that were under $10 with $15 shipping, no problems at all other than I get a few 4's and the odd 3 for Shipping Cost. Since this no longer has any effect of Seller performance ratings I really don't care.

If none of these systems work for you then raise your prices a bit and lower your shipping by the same amount. Doesn't actually change anything except the optics.

[realjazz-123]

I appreciate the details in your very helpful response. I hope to mix and match your suggestions and see how it goes. Thanks.

[west.coast.stamps]

The ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles costs $124 USD

https://www.cohoferry.com/reservations/ferry

And sailing time is 90 minutes each way.

So not really a possibility.

Much the same problem with bookstotheborder, ferry fares are over $60 return Victoria to Vancouver.

My suggestion,since the OP is willing to ship without tracking, is to use postage stamps, purchased from a stamp dealer like Weeda, or through eBay. (Sorry, I'm out for the moment.)

Search Canada postage lots. Don't accept ungummed stamps. You want mint never hinged and preferably counted packets of single values.

You can get discounts of 20% or more off PO counter prices, including tax and shipping.

[38e_avenue]

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@west.coast.stamps wrote:

The ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles costs $124 USD

https://www.cohoferry.com/reservations/ferry

And sailing time is 90 minutes each way.

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The fare is 35 dollars (return ticket). 124 is for a car.

Sailing - more than 2 hours each way.

[recped]

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@38e_avenue wrote:

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@west.coast.stamps wrote:

The ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles costs $124 USD

https://www.cohoferry.com/reservations/ferry

And sailing time is 90 minutes each way.

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The fare is 35 dollars (return ticket). 124 is for a car.

Sailing - more than 2 hours each way.

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From the ferry dock in Port Angeles it's about 1 km to the closest full service post office.

In my previous post I wasn't suggesting taking the ferry to Vancouver but rather shipping the packages in bulk via UPS to Vancouver (same could be done direct to a mail drop in Port Angeles).

[mr.elmwood]

I have a particular line of widgets, set of four dash vents for Pontiac Sunfire.

At price plus shipping, I sold one set in about five months. Rejig and do shipping included, at the same total price, I have sold five(5) sets in one month.

Which is cheaper? $21.99 + 8 = $29.99, or $29.99 "free" shipping. The latter has generated a lot more sales, so, it must be cheaper to the buyer.

What is my point? More and more, buyer's really do not care HOW the price is broken down, they just want to see the final price without any add-ons.

Another example of what I have done. Widget was priced at $16.99 + $8 = $24.99. Changed that to $27.99 "free" shipping. Guess what, the latter price sells more. Apparently, $27.99 is cheaper than $24.99.

Why are you line itemizing shipping? I do not. Do you itemize every one of the dozen or so costs that go into every parcel?

[recped]

Why are you line itemizing shipping? I do not. Do you itemize every one of the dozen or so costs that go into every parcel?

There are strong psychological price points in records such as the OP and I sell. Vintage vinyl is one part of eBay where "free shipping" never took much of a hold.

[mr.elmwood]

Rec, that is what I experienced. I tried free shipping before it was introduced and it failed, for me. Tried it a couple years later with poor results. Tried again two months ago and parts are flying off the shelf.

I am not even finding price pointing to be as important as it used to be. $24.99 is not as important as "in the twenties".

[recped]

Auto parts and 30 year old records, two entirely different markets.

Auto parts buyers buy mostly because they actually need the part in order to continue operating.

No record buyer "needs" more records other than in an emotional sense.

Bogus free shipping definitely works for some stuff just like bogus use of Markdown Manager works. I like to think my buyers are smart enough to see through those smoke and mirror promotions but I could be overestimating their abilities! I certainly know a few people who are easily swayed by all the standard retail tricks.

[mr.elmwood]

Thanks for the insults.

[treasure.hunter.d]

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@mr.elmwood wrote:
I have a particular line of widgets, set of four dash vents for Pontiac Sunfire.

At price plus shipping, I sold one set in about five months. Rejig and do shipping included, at the same total price, I have sold five(5) sets in one month.

Which is cheaper? $21.99 + 8 = $29.99, or $29.99 "free" shipping. The latter has generated a lot more sales, so, it must be cheaper to the buyer.

What is my point? More and more, buyer's really do not care HOW the price is broken down, they just want to see the final price without any add-ons.

Another example of what I have done. Widget was priced at $16.99 + $8 = $24.99. Changed that to $27.99 "free" shipping. Guess what, the latter price sells more. Apparently, $27.99 is cheaper than $24.99.

Why are you line itemizing shipping? I do not. Do you itemize every one of the dozen or so costs that go into every parcel?

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The more I have researched and experimented with this the more I am convinced that this is very "Category Specific"

I have experimented with rolling the shipping prices into items and I can say without a doubt, and again I am speaking about my items only, that in the categories of items that I primarily sell it does not benefit me to do so and in the case of low cost items it actually hinders sales.

I sell quite a few lower cost items that are easy sellers generally so the are good for small profits but quantities used to be good and they were good for keeping my stats up. But where once one of these $25 items cast me $11 to ship to California (as recently as 2 years ago) they now cost me $17. I have done a lot of experimenting with rolling the shipping into the item cost however trying to sell that $25 item for $39.95 shipping in has resulted in decreased sales. For whatever reason, people are seeing $40 for a $25 item and not biting on them but as soon as I revert back to $25 plus the shipping the frequency of sales goes back to what is now the normal albeit reduced volume.

The bottom line here is that with every increase Canada Post is taking a huge bite out of the things that "boutique" sellers, to borrow the phrase from rose, like myself can sell successfully. I am having to absorb more and more of the shipping costs until such time as I can figure out different items that for now are at the "sweet spot" of the low end and can still be sold with the same frequency of the previous items without the elevated shipping costs killing the sales.

I think part of the key here is that i sell items that are not things people "have to have" If you are driving around with your glove box compartment flapping open and closed you pretty much have to buy a latch and you are going to pay whatever it costs to get it whereas laying out $25 for that Pierrot coffee mug, no matter how cool it would look in your collection, is a hard purchase to make if the shipping is going to add such a significant chunk to the purchase price.

Now before anyone chimes in with the "There are things that perhaps shouldn't be sold on Ebay or Some people shouldn't sell on Ebay or whatever blah blah blah,"  there was no problem at all selling these items until Canada Post went nuts raising their rates well beyond what anyone could consider reasonable. Until Canada Post decided that they were going to try and dig themselves out of their pension fund deficit on the backs of the consumer instead of reducing the wages/pensions/benefits that are resonsible for that deficit or that they wanted to try and generate profits well beyond what an essential service funded entirely by the taxpayer should generate, we did not have these problems with sales.

Canada post has single handedly brought an entire sector of Canadian small business to its knees because they are allowed to run ramapnt with basically no one in governmemnt stepping in to stop them. Eventually it will no longer be complainst from small business they will all fall silent as they simply pack it in and give up.

[pjcdn2005]

I agree that it is probably category specific and I also think that it matters what the majority of other sellers in that category are doing. Some people may only look at the selling price and don't combine the selling and shipping price while comparing prices.  If the other sellers are charging $9 for shipping and you have an extra $9 included in your price, they may pass your listing by as they think that you are charging more.