What's up England?

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by Francophile50, Jul 24, 2020.

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  1. Francophile50

    Francophile50 The man with the satisfied ear. Thread Starter

    Location:
    Concord,CA
    I'm just curious. No offense to my cousin's but you guys charge 2 pounds for a CD and 20 pounds to ship. I mean I could buy across the channel in France or Germany and have something shipped to me for 6 Euro. What the heck?
     
  2. followmehome

    followmehome Forum Resident

    Location:
    England
  3. andrewskyDE

    andrewskyDE Island Owner

    Location:
    Europe
    Don't know why that varies here and there either. I could order something from the US and shipping would also cost $20.
    Meanwhile from Japan sometimes I just need to pay $5 or less... or nothing at all for shipping.

    To the OP's example, I often think there's a trick in there. If a CD is 2 bucks while the shipping is 20 somethings, maybe it's actually the other way round.^^
    Or maybe the shipping costs aren't affected for the part of the cash the seller is getting (while Ebay and co. gets a don't-know-how-much-% cut on the item's cost).
     
  4. followmehome

    followmehome Forum Resident

    Location:
    England
    Sending a CD to the US would cost between £4-6, or £11/12 tracked/signed for.

    US retailers REALLY like to rip off international customers to the point it seems like they don't want to post outside of the US. And lots of private sellers will quote USPS prices, and then book through Pirate Ship or some other discount postage site.
     
  5. eddiel

    eddiel Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    Could be if the seller is listing on Discogs. Discogs don't take a % of shipping like eBay does when they take their commission.
     
    andrewskyDE likes this.
  6. Francophile50

    Francophile50 The man with the satisfied ear. Thread Starter

    Location:
    Concord,CA
    In response to those kind enough to respond. This is not a attack against my cousins. I have noticed this odd shipping disparity with England as opposed to the rest of Europe. If this is an eBay thing then I don't know if they get a cut of the shipping or what, but if they do why don't they just charge me more for the item and less for shipping?

    To me it seems silly to pay $2 for something and then pay $20 to get it. If the reverse is true we charge British people through the nose to get stuff from America then there's something wrong. I see people saying they won't ship to certain countries and I get that because of loss or theft.

    I'm just asking because I'm trying to gain an understanding why more than one person does this.
     
  7. Dave S

    Dave S Forum Resident

    Perhaps because they are lazy and just use the quickest solution available to them. It should cost between £5-6 standard and £10-11 tracked according to the Royal Mail. I find postage from France to the UK to be expensive. A single CD is €4.50. I can ship within the UK for under £1.50.
     
  8. followmehome

    followmehome Forum Resident

    Location:
    England
    I would guess that they are using the eBay "Global Shipping Programme", which quite a few US sellers use too. It is very slow and strangely expensive. Maybe they haven't pushed this service onto users in non-English speaking countries....?
     
  9. Chee

    Chee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver
    Nobody I know sells with GSP. They'd be out of business. $14 in wrapped cardboard to the U.K. from the U.S. for a CD shipped.
     
    JohnS likes this.
  10. eddiel

    eddiel Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    No offense but I wish you were friends with more eBay sellers. If I send you a list can you make friends with them? I'll give you a cut of my savings :)
     
  11. JohnS

    JohnS Senior Member

    Location:
    London, UK
    I can't work out who that GSP system is supposed to benefit other than eBay themselves, and sellers who for whatever reason can't bypass that middle-man layer.
    I bought a single sheet music item - 4 pages, folded paper - from a US seller who had it listed with delivery via GSP and postage to the UK was something like $24. He must have had to specify a weight or something when listing, but it was out of his hands and levied by eBay.
    I messaged the seller to see if this was a mistake and he couldn't believe the cost - he managed to bypass it and use the US mail directly I think, costing about half the original quote (still pricey, but it was acceptable to me) So he got a sale, and I made a purchase, which the GSP would have made sure never happened otherwise.
     
  12. Dave S

    Dave S Forum Resident

    Someone has to pay for those fancy new warehouses outside Lichfield.
     
    JohnS likes this.
  13. Chee

    Chee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver
    I just sent sheet music to the U.K., thick cardboard in a manila envelope: $14. Any single CD with case: $14. Wrapped with cardboard. Who are these people charging more? GSP is for high end stuff...volume I guess.
     
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