Global shipping is done by ebay the seller has no control over it.

Combined shipping does work for some places, recently sent 2 cards via global shipping to germany combined.
Other people have contacted me to say the shipping couldnt be combined so I combined the cards they wanted into a single listing and therefore they paid only 1 shipping price.

Ok you have found a way to get around it but after a lot of to n fro between you and your customer the words on the information were it is not possible to combine shipping on Global Shipping Programme on international items i thought that it was only available to use for international shipping is it also used fir internal U S shipping also if so it is a bigger rip off than originally thought and anyone signing up to it is only loosing business as no combining is ridiculous on international items as it seems that once you sign up you are literally being held to ransom by E Bay

quote:

Originally posted by piko:

it seems that once you sign up you are literally being held to ransom by E Bay

Now your getting it. Any seller that chooses to use the Global shipping system does so ( as far as i can see ) because they do not want to sell things to people outside of the country they are in.

quote:

Originally posted by wolfie:

quote:

Originally posted by piko:

it seems that once you sign up you are literally being held to ransom by E Bay

Now your getting it. Any seller that chooses to use the Global shipping system does so ( as far as i can see ) because they do not want to sell things to people outside of the country they are in.

For me, I have used the global shipping system because it's safer for me - they provide tracking out of the US and it's a) cheaper for me and b) protects me from getting ripped off (which happens a lot more often now that you can't give buyers bad feedback).

I don't sell cards, though, just bigger items and that makes a difference for me.

I recently bought 2 cards, one from Germany and another from Japan -- both were shipped to the US registered for around $5. For me to ship anything registered domestically the prices start at $12.

Let that sink in -- 2 different countries are shipping registered mail internationally for less than half what it would cost to send registered domestically in the US.

I hate to keep repeating myself, but there isn't a big seller conspiracy to avoid ship outside of the US -- the costs really are that high and the risks really are there. . .

Believe me US sellers don't like it either.

quote:

Originally posted by webjon:
I recently bought 2 cards, one from Germany and another from Japan -- both were shipped to the US registered for around $5. For me to ship anything registered domestically the prices start at $12.

Let that sink in -- 2 different countries are shipping registered mail internationally for less than half what it would cost to send registered domestically in the US.

I hate to keep repeating myself, but there isn't a big seller conspiracy to avoid ship outside of the US -- the costs really are that high and the risks really are there. . .

Believe me US sellers don't like it either.

Registered shipping to the States from here in the UK is quite expensive too. Royal Mail International Tracked and Signed For costs £8.50p with insurance up to £50 for a large letter, rising to £11.85p for cover from £51 to £250. You don't want to know how much it would cost to increase the insurance value any higher

I'm gonna put a bit of a twist on this topic..

It's sad to see the causes for the price of international shipping for cards. I can see how it's 'justified' for an item of worth, I think in my case I may be willing to pay an extra $20 for something $50 or higher, certainly nothing less than that.

But that's very rare for me. I'm not so flush

So, here I was recently, looking at the lower priced items for sale, with money in hand. Problem was, there I was with nothing to spend my money on... unless I wanted to pay $17 shipping on a $1 card.

So, money in hand, no one to take it.

Wishing I could filter search results for my home country, Canada, as item location.

No such filter (that I'm aware of...) ( edit: just checked and I see there is that option, so gotta remember that!)

So in the end, if I have the time, I need a lot of it to find something I need, at a reasonable total cost. Over time, make a list of sellers with reasonable postage rates. It's a short list..

I've come to the conclusion that it's just more trouble than the gain.

So over the last couple of years, I've been trying my best to buy local. And it's been fruitful in a number of ways, however, I've noted a trend which ultimately results in my being shut out of new product.

I'm a low end (I prefer "traditional"..) collector which means I like the base sets, and lower cost insert sets if I can swing it. If I can find a dealer selling sets less than five years old, that's a special day. Because of international shipping rates, they're only making money because of the high end inserts.

I guess what I'm trying to say is after forty years of collecting, there was a brief time of easier to find items in my price range, but alas, my niche of the hobby has been largely shut out once again...

I can deal with that, I love it when I come across something I didn't expect to find, especially at a great price But, the irony of the situation is somewhat hard to swallow... In this time of easy and convenient online buying, I have to use old methods to obtain that which I seek.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Komodo,

Komodo -- take a look at Check Out My Cards, they ship internationally, and you can buy cards over a period of time, store them at COMC free then ship them to yourself in lots, I would bet it could save you a lot of money over shipping cards individually.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: webjon,

Hi Webjon
I have looked at Check out my Cards but there seems to be no links for Non sports Cards and it seems to be only on Twitter I am not a social media guy dont even have Facebook is there a link to Non Sports Cards
Piko

quote:

Originally posted by piko:
Hi Webjon
I have looked at Check out my Cards but there seems to be no links for Non sports Cards and it seems to be only on Twitter I am not a social media guy dont even have Facebook is there a link to Non Sports Cards
Piko

I am not sure what you were seeing on Twitter, but Check Out my Cards is an independent website where independent sellers sell their cards through a common platform -- something like eBay or Amazon.

There definitely is a non-sport section (as well as specific sections for Star Wars, Star Trek, etc.)

Go to COMC.com click the 'Browse' button and the non-sport and other sections are listed.

Ok thank you I will try COMC.com

Ohh... uh huh...!

I've seen reference to COMC on the 'bay, but their rates were worse than any. I've never read actual information about it the service and how it operates, so I always just passed it over. Thanks for the heads up Webjon and I'll take a look at the actual site & see what it's all about

COMC kind of has a lot of ins and outs. . . if you have any questions feel free to post.

I've never sent any cards in to sell, but I've transferred cards in from ePack and I've bought/shipped cards from COMC.

One thing to keep in mind -- if you have cards on the site that are not for sale it is free for them to basically store them for you. If you are selling the cards for more than a certain amount (I think $.25) they charge you one penny per card per month storage.

Shipping isn't cheap, but it is certainly less than shipping each card individually.

quote:

Originally posted by webjon:
I recently bought 2 cards, one from Germany and another from Japan -- both were shipped to the US registered for around $5. For me to ship anything registered domestically the prices start at $12.

Let that sink in -- 2 different countries are shipping registered mail internationally for less than half what it would cost to send registered domestically in the US.

I hate to keep repeating myself, but there isn't a big seller conspiracy to avoid ship outside of the US -- the costs really are that high and the risks really are there. . .

Believe me US sellers don't like it either.

Interestingly this topic is now back in the news. Apparently there is an Universal Postal union. If I understand the gist right, many countries are subsidized in regards to shipping costs. They pay less to ship internationally and that burden is shared by the bigger countries (say the US). This was to assist them in being competitive in a global environment. The current administration is considering pulling out of that union. It could be it's more expensive here because of that union. No clue how this will affect our hobby.

It's a UN based agreement and Trump thinks that China in particular benefits from it in lower cost trade. If the US pulls out, and I think we may already have, I don't know who will lose more or if it will even effect the kind of small international mail that card collectors get overcharged on.

What will definitely effect it is that the US Post Office wants to raise rates in the New Year. They claim they are losing money. Granted that letters and snail mail payments may have greatly reduced, package delivery has greatly increased. Big shopping places like Amazon and Target have cut deals and pay reduced rates. Again Trump claims the PO has given away the store and he may be right. Amazon is making a fortune. Target has been offering free shipping on everything for more than a year. The Post Office is always busy and the trucks are working all day long by me, yet they are not making a profit? Not even covering expenses? So the postage for first class mail and regular customers must go up according to them.

Something is being done wrong when business is booming and you're still losing money.

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:
It's a UN based agreement and Trump thinks that China in particular benefits from it in lower cost trade. If the US pulls out, and I think we may already have, I don't know who will lose more or if it will even effect the kind of small international mail that card collectors get overcharged on.

What will definitely effect it is that the US Post Office wants to raise rates in the New Year. They claim they are losing money. Granted that letters and snail mail payments may have greatly reduced, package delivery has greatly increased. Big shopping places like Amazon and Target have cut deals and pay reduced rates. Again Trump claims the PO has given away the store and he may be right. Amazon is making a fortune. Target has been offering free shipping on everything for more than a year. The Post Office is always busy and the trucks are working all day long by me, yet they are not making a profit? Not even covering expenses? So the postage for first class mail and regular customers must go up according to them.

Something is being done wrong when business is booming and you're still losing money.

I think the Post Office is in a tricky position. . . locally many companies are now delivering their own goods.

I can get Amazon delivered the same day (2 hour delivery is in my city as well).
Target delivers in an hour.
Grocery stores are doing delivery too.
Not to mention places that will do your shopping for you and allow you to pick up your items -- i.e. Walmart.

The Post Office has long been used for the last mile delivery for many of these businesses. . . But the businesses are changing. Amazon is building warehouses close to population centers so they can easily distribute. Target is using their stores as distribution centers for customers, etc.

We order stuff from other companies now and have to wait a week for delivery and it is almost agonizing. . .

The point being that while the post office is handling more and more packages right now many of these shippers who are moving large amounts of product are bringing last mile delivery in house.

Are fewer packages a good thing for the post office? I have no idea. . .

What I do know is that increasing postage costs has significantly impacted what I buy and what I am willing to sell.

I've just had a sketch card arrive from Becket in America. The sketch was in a soft sleeve and then a hard case holder, sent in a large bubble envelope.

Postage from the USA to the UK, $3.50 according to the stamp on the front.

quote:

Originally posted by wolfie:
I've just had a sketch card arrive from Becket in America. The sketch was in a soft sleeve and then a hard case holder, sent in a large bubble envelope.

Postage from the USA to the UK, $3.50 according to the stamp on the front.

Wolfie, I'll tell you from first hand experience, I can't get that. Maybe it's media mail or something. I traded a card with X maybe 2 years ago now, maybe a little more. I didn't send special, just in one of their padded mailers and I had to sign some Customs disclaimer. The cost of shipping that small mailer to the UK was I believe $13.75, with another $1.50 for the mailer itself. I was very surprised and who knows if it doesn't cost more now.

That shipping was probably half the worth of the cards traded. You just can't exchange a couple of cards internationally, it's not worth it, which is a shame. Maybe commercial businesses get a break if they are big enough or qualify for media mail, but individuals do not. And we are also getting hosed when buying stuff from certain businesses. Lenox used to ship for $5.95 on most figures and ornaments. It's now up to $9.95 unless you catch free shipping over a certain amount of sale. So who is going to buy a $15 Lenox snowman when shipping plus tax costs as much as the item?

This is the point where sales are lost and the reason why we are getting all these patchwork delivery systems. We now have companies like Amazon using outsourced Uber-like services where regular people in their own cars are picking up packages at a central location and delivering them in their neighborhoods. I order a package these days and I have no idea who is showing up with it. It's not just crazy, it's expensive crazy.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Raven,

quote:

Originally posted by wolfie:
Postage from the USA to the UK, $3.50 according to the stamp on the front.

I'm guessing that is a commercial rate available to people who are doing a significant amount of business with the post office. . .

If you go to usps.com you can calculate shipping prices.

The cheapest rate I can find for a 4 ounce rigid envelope with a declared value of $10 to the UK is $14.

If you declare the value as $0 I can get it as cheap as $5.10

Seems like you could send a card in a card saver in a PWE with a declared value of $0 and ship it for $1.36

It looks like as soon as you declare any value at all the price jumps to a minimum of $14.

Thanks for those answers, all information is useful.