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@shallow_karl wrote:I sent a tripod head to a customer in the U.S. There was some kind of issue so I agreed to take it back, but the $18 shipping (Can) I paid to send it was met by an $84 shipping charge to return it, in the same box. Nothing had changed. In-fact, the shipping TO the customer was 3 days Fedex while the shipping back to me was 5-10 day USPS. This shipping is reflected in other deals to. My solution was to look off Ebay at other sources that had DECENT shipping deals set-up so at least the shipping cost was "only" double the Can-U.S. cost.
Time for Ebay to play some negotiation HARD BALL with USPS. The irony of this? Fedex and Canada Post MAKE money while USPS LOSES money!!
eBay has played "hardball", the new eBay International Shipping program that replaces GSP and eBay's International Standard does not use USPS for International shipping, it is currently priced 5 - 10% below USPS rates.
You may not be aware but USPS International Rates are high and have been high for about 15 years, it's a profit centre for USPS and they can get approval for just about any amount they want on International unlike for Domestic.
From the early 1990's up until The Postal Accountablility Act was passed in 2006 USPS international rates were VERY cheap, after 2006 it's been nothing but up, up, up!
In the pre-2006 period it was cheaper for me in Toronto to send my packages destined for western Canada to Buffalo NY and mail from there via USPS First Class International than to send them direct via Canada Post. By about 2007/8 that method was no longer viable.
Forgot to add....
Where did the $84 cost come from? Did the buyer tell you that is what it would cost? Perhaps they were quoting the cost for Priority Express International which is the most expensive service USPS offers, Regular Priority or better yet First Class International Package (up to 4lbs) would be considerably less.
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