I didn't really want to start a topic just for this but I didn't want to hijack someone else's thread either.

I recently received some Battle Droids from a Bricklink seller in USA. The postal cast was a lot higher than expected but since I didn't ask for a quote, I honoured the purchase and paid. Before I contact the seller, I just wanted to check with someone who knows a bit more than I, if the cost was a little too high.

Breakdown from my invoice:

Order Total: $60.48

Shipping: $28.89

Insurance: $2.60

Additional Charges 1: $1.50

Additional Charges 2: $0.00

Credit: $0.00

Grand Total: $93.47

When I received the order, the postal price printed on the UPS label said $7.00

Edited November 14, 200816 yr by chris_austin

Personally I’ve never paid as much as that for shipping and if the letter says 7 bucks and you can’t seem to find 21 bucks worth of packaging I would query it, it seems a bit like the fee avoidance postage costs on ebay to me.

PS I thought you could get out of a bricklink order if postage costs were unreasonable?

That's not right. I don't believe packaging would cost $20, even $3 for packaging is expensive. I think the seller is just trying to rip you off.

How many battle droids were there? Did they come in a box or a large padded envelope?

$30 seems like an obvious ripoff from the seller in either case though. I can't imagine how a package of minifigs would be heavy enough to justify that. International shipping costs can be high but they're not that bad.

It definitely seems high! Was it shipped 1st class or Priority?

The only thing I don't like about Bricklink is the invoice and shipping times.

I don't use Bricklink anymore, been ripped off a couple of times by sellers who think because they're not ebay, can just charge you what they like for postage... And when their package doesn't arrive, say oh well, not covered by insurance so no money back. However, I got my money back both times as I went through paypal. Silly people.

M.

One of the departments I manage at work is Shipping & Receiving. If the postal label says $7.00 then it only cost $7.00 in postage. No more, no less. Even with extra charges for packing materials and say, handling fee, your order shouldn't cost more than $10.00 - If I were you, I'd contact the seller and try to inquire or negotiate the overcharge. For you to have a peace of mind, you may also want to ask the seller how he arrived to the $28.89 shipping cost you were charged.

One of the departments I manage at work is Shipping & Receiving. If the postal label says $7.00 then it only cost $7.00 in postage. No more, no less. Even with extra charges for packing materials and say, handling fee, your order shouldn't cost more than $10.00 - If I were you, I'd contact the seller and try to inquire or negotiate the overcharge. For you to have a peace of mind, you may also want to ask the seller how he arrived to the $28.89 shipping cost you were charged.

Thanks everyone for your replies.

Wow! Battle droids you say and $60 worth of them! Due to the bad times, the price of shipping should have dropped quite a lot and I really doubt that it will cost that much. I agree that you should ask about the shipping cost!

I emailed the seller about this and here is what she said:

Hello Chris, it could be if I paid the postage online, then I still have to pay for the Insurance and return reciept in person for international orders.

Does this sound right?!

I emailed the seller about this and here is what she said:

Does this sound right?!

Quite possibly, I am not sure how USPS charges their fees. But for Australia Post at least you can set up a postage account with the post office. This allows you to ship whatever you want with the postal service without paying until the end of the month. The most important difference is that THE POSTAGE RATES ARE CHEAPER than for those without an account. So I would question the amount that seller charged you. Anyway a battle droid weighs less than a gram. The amount that I would charge to ship 50 battle droids world-wide would have been 2 dollars.

Sometimes postage boxes can cost 6 dollars (I have paid this much for a box to ship 3 AT-TEs). But with that said, sellers sometimes charge higher than actual shipping fees to cover their overhead fees and sometimes cheaper LEGO prices. This is a common tactic on ebay, as shipping charges to not incur ebay nor bricklink fees.

Due to the bad times, the price of shipping should have dropped quite a lot and I really doubt that it will cost that much.

If anything, it should go up, not down. I know the price of gas is not too bad, but I really would think shipping would be more expensive. AS for your problem, something is definately fishy here. They are obviously trying to cheat you, and if I were you take a picture of the box, ans shipping sticker and send it to them and ask them to explain. Of course they undoubtedly come up with some BS excuse...

If anything, it should go up, not down. I know the price of gas is not too bad, but I really would think shipping would be more expensive. AS for your problem, something is definately fishy here. They are obviously trying to cheat you, and if I were you take a picture of the box, ans shipping sticker and send it to them and ask them to explain. Of course they undoubtedly come up with some BS excuse...

Shipping did go up due to the semi-recent stamp price hike. Still, if the shipping label states the cost then that is the cost, AFAIK.

Shipping did go up due to the semi-recent stamp price hike. Still, if the shipping label states the cost then that is the cost, AFAIK.

You can always use the USPS.COM shipping calculator too. This will give you a good idea of pricing even when you add insurance and delivery confirmation. You can ship a Priority Mail Flat Rate envelope from US to Israel for $15.00!

Badsneaker is right. Check USPS for estimates of what you might be charged.

I find this web page useful.

You can click on each country and it will give you all the shipping methods available via USPS and what each costs by weight. Most sellers use First Class or Priority mail unless you have selected something else.

It sounds like maybe the seller estimated it was going to be a parcel (which, for example, in Aus, the shipping rates start at $US22 for) but instead the size of the packed product ended up being small parcel or letter size, hence the much cheaper rate. Some sellers also add extra costs for packing or have a flat shipping fee of a few dollars.

If I were the seller, I wouldn't go Flat Rate as this shipment is obviosly not that heavy. One only uses Flat Rate if the package weighs more than 4 lbs but less than 20 lbs. As for insurance, you paid that separately, which is $2.60. Then there was the additional charge of $1.50 - is this for handling fee or something else? Giving the seller the benefit of a doubt and now knowing he made a mistake in his 'calculations' he/she should return the unused portion of the shipping cost you paid. There is no written law but still, it is not right to keep it. In the world we live in today, this is just another example of 'greed.'

Update:

Seller contacted, appropriate refund given