Trish Brown/ Aussies/ Shipping ?

On the off chance someone might know, since it will be a couple of
days before I can get to UPS, and their %^#$^^&!!! website won't take
the info:
HElp!! I need an educated guess on cost for shipping about 3 1/2 to 4
lbs sewing books to Canberra, Australia, from the USA. The box is
tiny--12"x10" x 2 &1/2", which their auto crap refuses to accept as a
real size. I've tried to input this in a dozen different ways.
D'ya think a big padded manila envelope would reduce the cost, yet
still arrive intact?
Best I can get UPS to cough up on anything is with a one-day delivery
rate, $85.84, which is just not gonna happen, as it is insane.
Pleezzze help a walking incompetent...
Cea

From:

..... I need an educated guess on cost for shipping about 3 1/2 to 4
lbs sewing books to Canberra, Australia, from the USA. .........

Can't really help you with the cost but thought I would remind you to ask if
they have a book rate for international mail. Here in the States, book rate is
loads cheaper but I just don't know if they have the same thing for
international stuff! Worth asking I would think!
A padded envelope is pretty much *always* cheaper than a box. If you do
decide to use one, just cover the whole blamed thing with package sealing tape!
NOTHING makes it through that stuff so the things inside should be OK.
CiaoMeow ^;;^
..


PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ Queen of Kitties
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their
WHISKERS!!
Nothing is complete without a few cat hairs!

wrote:

On the off chance someone might know, since it will be a couple of
days before I can get to UPS, and their %^#$^^&!!! website won't take
the info:
HElp!! I need an educated guess on cost for shipping about 3 1/2 to 4
lbs sewing books to Canberra, Australia, from the USA. The box is
tiny--12"x10" x 2 &1/2", which their auto crap refuses to accept as a
real size. I've tried to input this in a dozen different ways.
D'ya think a big padded manila envelope would reduce the cost, yet
still arrive intact?
Best I can get UPS to cough up on anything is with a one-day delivery
rate, $85.84, which is just not gonna happen, as it is insane.
Pleezzze help a walking incompetent...
Cea

Hey Cea!

Try converting the dimensions of your parcel into metric measurements (that's
what we use here in Oz).

Your parcel would weigh about 2kg (2000gms) and would measure about 30cm x 25cm
x 2cm (being generous). A padded manila envelope should work fine - just
remember to *tape* it shut as well as stapling it. The thing is, won't you be
paying the postage at your end? If it's any comfort, the cost of postage the
other way is roughly double (and that's without calculating the exchange rate
into the equation). Absolute madness, isn't it?

The first time I sent anything overseas, it cost me twice as much for the
postage as the parcel was worth (it was wool blanketing for wool embroidery
purposes - and *that's* not cheap!) Sending books and magazines isn't very
cost-effective either, since books are dense and weigh a lot. That makes it hard
to send patterns or instruction booklets. Let me know if I can help you further,
Cea. ;-D
--
Trish {|:-}
Newcastle, NSW, Australia

PS. To get the most out of your postal dollar, check the mailing costs. If the
weight and size of your parcel come into the 'up to 4lbs/2kg' category, it's
always worth adding a few more items to make up the entire weight limit. That
is, it's better to send 2kg for $10 than it is to send only 750gms. HTH...?

wrote:

On the off chance someone might know, since it will be a couple of
days before I can get to UPS, and their %^#$^^&!!! website won't take
the info:
HElp!! I need an educated guess on cost for shipping about 3 1/2 to 4
lbs sewing books to Canberra, Australia, from the USA. The box is
tiny--12"x10" x 2 &1/2", which their auto crap refuses to accept as a
real size. I've tried to input this in a dozen different ways.
D'ya think a big padded manila envelope would reduce the cost, yet
still arrive intact?
Best I can get UPS to cough up on anything is with a one-day delivery
rate, $85.84, which is just not gonna happen, as it is insane.
Pleezzze help a walking incompetent...
Cea


Do you mean USPS, or UPS? If you send it by post, you can
get the price at their website - http://ircalc.usps.gov/
I would recommend that. If you use UPS, they charge a
brokerage fee for getting it through customs. I think
it's around U$50.00 for that alone.
--

Joanne @ stitches @ singerlady.reno.nv.us
Life is about the journey, not about the destination.

Here is the US Posts International Calculator link, save it in your
Favourites for later use ...
Hope this helps, Skate Dad

http://ircalc.usps.gov/weight.asp?Contents=1






wrote in message
...

On the off chance someone might know, since it will be a couple of
days before I can get to UPS, and their %^#$^^&!!! website won't take
the info:
HElp!! I need an educated guess on cost for shipping about 3 1/2 to 4
lbs sewing books to Canberra, Australia, from the USA. The box is
tiny--12"x10" x 2 &1/2", which their auto crap refuses to accept as a
real size. I've tried to input this in a dozen different ways.
D'ya think a big padded manila envelope would reduce the cost, yet
still arrive intact?
Best I can get UPS to cough up on anything is with a one-day delivery
rate, $85.84, which is just not gonna happen, as it is insane.
Pleezzze help a walking incompetent...
Cea

Trish Brown/ Aussies/ Shipping ?

Here is the US Posts International Calculator link, save it in your
Favourites for later use ...
Hope this helps, Skate Dad
=A0=A0http://ircalc.usps.gov/weight.asp?Contents=3D1
---
Well, Duh! The mail-incompetent thank you for the link, Moe and
Joanne. I originally thought that UPS would be cheaper, as they are
competitive with US shipping costs.
Trish--UPS wanted measurements using inches. A most unfriendly site.
Hostile, to quote a recent post. Or maybe that was just my attitude. ; )
Tia Mary, thanks for the tip about mummy-wrapping the books, and I've
down-sized the package to a big manila envelope, so p'raps I'll save a
buck or two.
I'm trying to make an Australian quilter happy.
Cea
---
pleaded while down upon her knees:
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0HElp!! I need an educated guess on cost for shipping
about 3 1/2 to 4 lbs sewing books to Canberra, Australia, from the USA.
snippity-do-dah,
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A 0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=
Cea

Cea, the best price will probably be International Priority Mail with the USPS.
If you'll remember, I used to have a mail order business, and that's usually
what turned out to be the best bet.

By the way, my Post Office has a calculator that shows you how much every
possible way will cost, and all you have to do is close your eyes and pick,
right there at the service desk. They will affix the postage to it for you, and
even help figure out if you need to do any more packing to the container.

Hope this helps!
Karen Maslowski in Cincinnati

SewStorm wrote:

Cea, the best price will probably be International Priority Mail with the USPS.
If you'll remember, I used to have a mail order business, and that's usually
what turned out to be the best bet.

By the way, my Post Office has a calculator that shows you how much every
possible way will cost, and all you have to do is close your eyes and pick,
right there at the service desk. They will affix the postage to it for you, and
even help figure out if you need to do any more packing to the container.

Hope this helps!
Karen Maslowski in Cincinnati


The USPS has risen in my esteem since they have added
Priority Mail, for which they provide boxes and other
mailers, and the service I get at my closest post office
is quick, professional, and friendly. At the same time,
UPS sometimes seems to be trying to drive people away.
However, with international shipping, unless you are a big
business, sending large quantities at a time, their
customs brokerage makes shipping through them prohibitive
for me.
--

Joanne @ stitches @ singerlady.reno.nv.us
Life is about the journey, not about the destination.

From:

..... thanks for the tip about mummy-wrapping the books, and I've
down-sized the package to a big manila envelope, so p'raps I'll save a
buck or two. ..........

I am always sending stuff overseas. I have a quilting & needlework friend
in Germany that I send stuff to all the time. I have also sent a whole load of
quilting fabric to a very nice woman in Scotland. I send stuff to OZ and Japan
and SA and all aover Europe!
Anyway, I know from first hand experience that the padded manila envelopes
are cheaper to send. If they are under a certain weight, they go as a small
packet. If you send something in a box it will only go as a small packet if it
is a *really small* box. Bottom line -- using a BIG padded envelopoe is almost
always less expensive than using a box.
Also, when you send the stuff, you will have to fill out a customs form. Be
sure to list the stuff as a GIFT and dont put too high a price on it! If the
customs drones see a high $$$ amount, then the recipient will have to pay a
customs charge. CiaoMeow ^;;^
..


PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ Queen of Kitties
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their
WHISKERS!!
Nothing is complete without a few cat hairs!