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GeneralQuestion on Shipping Costs (South Africa to US)

9th Nov 2011 22:38 UTCScott Sadlocha

Hello All,

I have a question regarding shipping costs. I recently won some minerals in an auction and have received an invoice for the minerals. Some details would be helpful, I am sure. There are 7 mineral specimens in the shipment, totaling about 586g. The largest piece is about 9 x 5 cm and is 195g, and the smallest is a very small piece, about 9g. The shipment is coming from South Africa to my home in Michigan, by whatever the least expensive shipping method is.

Anyways, I received the invoice, and the shipping costs are about $34 USD. While not incredibly high, I thought it would be lower than this, being that I envisioned the parcel to be somewhat small. So, with that in mind, I thought I would ask the worldly colleagues of Mindat for an opinion on this. Does this shipping cost seem reasonable? I am, of course, going to pay as I made the bids and know the consequences of bidding. I just wanted to know for my own benefit. I have purchased minerals from quite a few sellers out of the US, but this is my first from South Africa. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Scott

10th Nov 2011 00:01 UTCReiner Mielke Expert

To ship something like that ( 586 gms) from Canada to S.Africa by airmail would cost around that, so it sounds right. You Americans are spoiled by a government subsidized postal system that cuts the cost of shipping in half. However even your rates are high when you consider what it would cost (at that rate) to send a 150 pound person through the mail ( $2200 in the US, and $4400 here), someone is making a lot of money on air freight!

10th Nov 2011 00:01 UTCMaggie Wilson Expert

Hi Scott

Page 17 of this brochure from the South African post office lists the rates http://www.sapo.co.za/Documents/B04262%20SAPO.PDF

It looks like your destination is zone E which means that a base rate of 107 R plus 18.50 x 6 (for each 100 grams of weight) = 218 R which converts to $27 US. This is for air mail. I wonder if he is charging $1US per piece for handling?

I'm not at all familiar with issues that a dealer might face while using the South African Post Office. Your seller may have a policy of insisting on using air mail and tracking to mitigate common problems with the system. Perhaps there has been a premium added for insurance and/or tracking?

If not, then you might request a revised invoice based on shipping the parcel by surface mail, which should be about $16.00 US.

Either way, I encourage you to inquire as to how the shipping charges are applied.

good luck

Maggie

10th Nov 2011 00:28 UTCStephanie Martin

A tracking number may be useful but just recently it didn't help when a parcel was stolen, or so that is was is believed, from South Africa to Canada. It never arrived here. This is the first stolen parcel I have encountered in 10 years of international shipping. Disappeared without a trace.

I hope you have better luck.

stephanie :(

10th Nov 2011 00:44 UTCScott Sadlocha

Thanks for the info everyone. From the way it sounds, it is not too out of line. I was just curious for my own sake. Reiner, I think you are right about being spoiled. :) It really is fairly easy and inexpensive to ship here and I think I have grown accustomed to that.

I found out that the region where the minerals are being shipped from is somewhat remote, so that may factor into it as well. The place looks very beautiful and I wouldn't mind visiting it someday. So, I learned something new about shipping with this one.

Thanks again!

10th Nov 2011 00:52 UTCDana Slaughter 🌟 Expert

Reiner,

As a US Postal Service employee of 26 years, I can say with authority that the US Postal Service is NOT government subsidized! This seems to be the prevailing opinion even among Americans. The USPS relies solely upon the sale of its products and services and receives not a single penny from the government and hasn't in many, many years (perhaps since the early 70s).

10th Nov 2011 00:59 UTCStephanie Martin

Scott, I didn't mean it to sound risky, I have had many parcels delivered this year from SA no problem. It can really happen anywhere. My brother had one stolen from England to Canada just this year as well.

I always look at shipping this way... it's cheaper than a tank of gas, and that's one less pizza or such that I can live without. It sounds expensive at first, but I can't fly to SA or India, Australia, Europe or anywhere else for that amount, and likely would not come with much more in my suitcase.

I'm sure the specimens won't disappoint.

cheers,

stephanie:)

11th Nov 2011 16:01 UTCDuncan Miller

Scott - US$34 is perfectly reasonable. Maggie's calculation is correct, but you have to add the packaging and probably also postal insurance, at 2% of declared value up to R5000 (US$625).

Duncan

Cape Town

14th Nov 2011 17:35 UTCAnonymous User

Looks like they may need some help from the govt.

What were the losses this third quarter..3.1 billion on top of the 8.5 billion last year.

I sure do love my USPS and it's employees but the management needs to do some serious restructuring or what have you.....

As far as international shipping goes..I love DHL. I swear..it was like clock-work..3 days from Peshawar to my doorstep...hundreds of times with nary an issue or late delivery. mmmm... DHL...mmmmm

Dana Slaughter Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Reiner,

>

> As a US Postal Service employee of 26 years, I

> can say with authority that the US Postal Service

> is NOT government subsidized! This seems to be the

> prevailing opinion even among Americans. The USPS

> relies solely upon the sale of its products and

> services and receives not a single penny from the

> government and hasn't in many, many years (perhaps

> since the early 70s).

14th Nov 2011 19:46 UTCReiner Mielke Expert

So who is covering these losses?

15th Nov 2011 00:05 UTCDouglas Merson 🌟 Expert

Nobody is covering them and the USPS needs permission from our disfunctional Congress to do anything about it. The USPS would like to drop at least one delivery day. They are also required to make a huge annual payment into some federal fund, not sure what it is for.

Doug

15th Nov 2011 01:18 UTCDana Slaughter 🌟 Expert

Hi Jason, Reiner, Douglas, etc.

This has gotten a bit off topic...for which I accept all blame! The USPS was ordered (since 2006 under the Postal Reform Act) to pay future retiree benefits for the next 75 years in only a 10 year window. Hard to believe, but no other governmental agency had to comply by this ridiculous measure. Further, the USPS has overpaid over $50 billion into their retirement fund and Congress has agreed to pay at least some of this back.

Without these payments and despite a lagging economy and rampant use of faxes, e-mails, etc., the USPS would have been on the positive side of the ledger. There are fewer USPS employees now than when I was hired over 25 years ago despite there being millions of new addresses that need to be serviced.

The USPS gets NO government funding and actually has been hampered by Congress over the past few decades in its attempts to behave more like a real, for-profit business. The USPS formerly had to request rate increases through an independent Postal Commission and historically has been chided by the more conservative members of Congress over its competition with private sector companies like UPS and FedEx. They reason that the USPS should not be in the business of competing with private enterprise---so much for free markets! The USPS has been discouraged against advertising their rates versus their competitors---the USPS is nearly always cheaper and oftentimes very much cheaper.

The USPS is top heavy and is laden with far too many levels of management but this is changing. The USPS is being streamlined and service, despite fewer employees and more deliveries, has never been better as a whole. Independent tracking confirms this fact. The USPS has its warts to be sure--any company of such size and mandates is not without problems. It is easy to pick on the proverbial lazy carrier or disengaged window clerk but the majority of USPS employees, in my opinion, do an excellent job despite the many hurdles encountered on a daily basis.

As a USPS employee I am no doubt biased but I have always been one of our fiercest critics. If the USPS can be unburdened of the many shackles imposed upon it by Congress, it is my honest opinion that it would benefit everyone.

15th Nov 2011 03:00 UTCScott Sadlocha

Dana,

You don't have to tell me. I am a fan of the USPS, and use it whenever I can, especially when selling on eBay. I have had nothing but good experiences with the postal service in recent years, and my packages have all arrived without issue, and it is very easy to go get something shipped, especially with the wonderful Flat Rate boxes (especially useful for heavy rocks).

I definitely have not had as good experiences with other carriers. Some have gotten close, but some have been absolutely dreadful, at least in my experience.

15th Nov 2011 03:53 UTCDana Slaughter 🌟 Expert

Hi Scott,

I'm happy to hear about your experiences with the USPS. We ALL have stories about things arriving later than anticipated or about lost and/or presumably stolen items. The USPS is not immune to these problems and, frankly, we also have our share of disinterested workers. Just like Sears, GM, Burger King, and on and on.....

As a letter carrier for over 25 years you can imagine that I've heard every gripe and personal horror story out there about the USPS. For each one of these I can recount a dozen incidents where mail was delivered to a house despite the lack of a last name, a good street address, the wrong zip code, red ink on a red envelope, etc. I once delivered a card addressed to "The New Mom on Plas Street" that had no last name or street number on the envelope! Good thing I know my customers! It is oftentimes amazing that stuff makes it to its intended target.

Just this past Saturday we were all amazed at the person who sent 10 bottles of beer through the mail in a box with only one sheet of puny bubble wrap! Of course, the package burst and we were all tormented with the wonderful aroma of beer throughout our office! Still, the sender will no likely blame the USPS for the problem. We deliver live baby chicks, live lizards and fish, tires, coconuts with inscribed messages, single boots with a letter carved into the sole and, my personal favorite---a lacquered piece of French Toast with a note attached to one side! I loved that one so much that I sent the same to my kids one time! We get letters addressed to Grandma with the wrong street number and try to match the last name on the return address to a customer on the route and countless other similar examples where a letter had no business being actually delivered.

We even deliver a fair percentage of those parcels that UPS and FedEX don't want to deliver. They lose money on parcels to Cutbank, Montana or Why, Arizona so they slap US postage on it and send it our way. We are mandated by law to offer universal service to anywhere in the US at the same price. That letter going across the street costs 44 cents just like the one going to Platinum, Alaska. We will deliver your mail to your door 6 days a week for free---you don't ever have to use the USPS and we'll still provide service, despite your Pit Bull, thorny rose bushes hiding the mailbox, ice-covered front porch, and black widows that call your mailbox a temporary home. I've opened boxes to find a cornsnake, many with black widows here in AZ and know of carriers that have been stung by scorpions. We deliver at no charge...and forward most of your mail at no additional charge. We rely solely upon the sale of our products and services.

There are many great things about working for the Postal Service. Heck, I met my wife on my route! I've come to know many fabulous people within the USPS and in the neighborhoods that I've served. I've been invited into homes, have been asked to speak at wakes, have gone off my planned route to drop off a much-needed check to a struggling couple anxious to get to the bank, have delivered parcels on Christmas Day, and so on. Yet, I've also called 911 to report burglaries (caught them in the act) and called 911 to have police check on an elderly woman I suspected of having been trapped somehow in her home (she was...and had been stuck between her bed and the wall for 2 days).

I've rambled more than a bit off topic but people should know that the USPS is more than just a quasi-government agency charged with delivering the Nation's mail. We are an easy target for the privatization crowd and some of this scorn is deserved. We were slow to change and adapt and to downsize. Mechanization has made us more productive than ever but we still have growing pains after all this time. People need to understand that we take not a dime from the public coffers and that the USPS is still the cheapest and most proficient postal service in existence.

15th Nov 2011 06:32 UTCAnonymous User

Just my 2 cents worth

I send goods from S A to Australia and found E M S to be cheaper than D H L (no direspect to them )

also about 3 to 4 days

reasently sent 8 kg for R1900 Divde by 7.9 for cnversion

Schalk

15th Nov 2011 15:38 UTCAnonymous User

Great post Dana!

I shipped over 3000+ packages(minerals/rough) using USPS and not one ever arrived broken or was lost in transit.

The employee's as well as our delivery person are as friendly as can be.

We are greatful to have such an entity here in the U.S.

Lacquered toast..LOL..

Thanks for sharing those stories. Was a good thread to read this morning!!!

15th Nov 2011 21:35 UTCReiner Mielke Expert

Hello Dana,

Being free to compete as a private for profit company is no guarantee of cheaper postal rates. Our rates are twice yours and Canada Post is free to compete and advertise. It is so bad here that I prefer to buy from the US because of the cheaper postal rates. As for shipping to the US from Canada it is almost half as much to ship to Niagara Falls, N.Y as it is to ship to Niagara Falls, Ontario a stone throw away!

21st Nov 2011 21:52 UTCJohn R. Montgomery 🌟 Expert

This thread has been quite an education! thanks.

John

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