posted on February 11, 2005 12:35:41 PM
Based on info read here, I've never sent international packages via surface mail. But I have a person who wants to know the ship price via surface mail - says she doesn't care about slow delivery - just the cheapest shipping cost.
Has anyone here ever sent a package to Australia via surface mail? If yes how did it turn out?
posted on February 11, 2005 12:44:32 PM
Took well over a month to get to customer. Meanwhile, he emailed me once a week asking where his item was. It was my first experience with overseas surface mail, and I was nervous too.
posted on February 11, 2005 12:55:21 PM
I really prefer not to ship surface internationally - I don't think most customers really understand how slow service is. If I sell a larger item, I will just make it US and Canada shipping only. For most of my items though, the difference in price isn't that great.
"It is better to have none than to have some, but if you must have some, it is better to have few than to have many" - Ronald Reagan
posted on February 11, 2005 01:36:30 PM
I sent a Royal Derby tea set by surface mail, it took over a monthe, but went through in fine shape. I had double boxed it & really took pains in packong it.
Life Is Too Short To Drink Bad Wine
posted on February 11, 2005 02:27:32 PM
I sent a Sound Of Music Tile that way once ...but the buyer knew it would take a long time and didn't care. Turns out it only took about a week and half . We both had a good laugh over how quick it was .So no problems here
posted on February 11, 2005 02:33:03 PM
I maked it clear in description--airmail only and I hold to this. No problems wit Australia or any other country.
posted on February 11, 2005 02:35:42 PM
I sent to packages from Canada to Australia on Dec. 20th, and they have still not arrived. I am getting concerned, I know the holidays really affect the mail, but they don't usually take that long.
posted on February 11, 2005 03:43:30 PM
The LAST time I shipped SURFACE was to DownUnder, da "Land of Roo-Sacs" and it took 3 MONTHS!
I warned him that 12 weeks was NOT unusual, and he said "fine" that he UNDERSTOOD, etc, etc, blah-blaf, Fosters sucks, etc, etc...
NOT ONE WEEK after shipping I start getting frantic "G'day, Mate" emails from this wallabbee WANTING TO KNOW WHERE HIS ITEM IS, YA CROOK!
NEVER AGAIN will me-&-Ralphie ship SURFACE (except to Elbonia)
"Who could have possibly envisioned an erection an election in Iraq at this point in history?" Prez.Jim Beam, at the White House, Washington, D.C., Jan. 10, 2005
posted on February 11, 2005 04:19:52 PM
Have shipped many parcels to "down under" via surface mail. if that is how the buyer wants it...no problem.
It can take from a month or more but most of them know it. If they get cranky after one week and whine where is my stuff I just tell them to just wait awhile. They did pick the el cheapo shipping not me.
Very few problems with them. Did have a few shipments to South Africa via surface mail that took three months to get there.
Love that bidpay!!!
posted on February 11, 2005 09:46:59 PM
I have only sent 2 packages to Australia via surface mail, and each arrived in less than a week. I jokingly asked my postal clerk where I could buy one of those boats they use for Aussie shipments. He said that if Qantas airlines has extra capacity, they will fill out a flight of airmail with surface mail. My customers and I just happened to get lucky on both occasions.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on February 13, 2005 05:19:47 PM
I sold a large carnival glass compote recently--to Australia--surface mail at buyer's request after my repeated warnings of slow mail. It did arrive after about 3-4 weeks in fine shape but double-boxing it, etc., was nerve-wracking.
___________________________________
Is it true that the only difference between a yard sale and a trash pickup is how close to the road the stuff is placed?
posted on February 13, 2005 06:44:19 PM
Well, there ya go...SEE?
Now, please tie me kangeroos, down, Sport...
"Who could have possibly envisioned an erection an election in Iraq at this point in history?" Prez.Jim Beam, at the White House, Washington, D.C., Jan. 10, 2005
posted on February 13, 2005 08:02:34 PM
My sister had several items mailed from England on December 2 by surface mail. The package arrived on February 11! We were sure it would never come.
-----o----o----o----o----o----o----o----o
The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
posted on February 13, 2005 09:03:09 PM
About a year ago I shipped about 80 wrestling figures plus the wrestling ring and other accessories to Australia. There were two major problems. One, the boxes they went in had to be a little less than 16 x 16 x 15 inches to be big enough for the items and to be small enough to be accepted by USPS and the second was I had to build the boxes out of doublethick cardboard, the kind they ship large TV's in. It is tough stuff to bend but that is another story.
My bidder was unfamiliar with Bidpay so I googled Bidpay Australia and came up with the web site of Ikobo which I figured was the Australian Western Union site. Turned out Ikobo is in Atlanta, Georgia and not connected to Bidpay at all. After we straightened that out everything went OK. The items got there in about 6 weeks if I remember correctly. He paid something like $165 for the figures so it was worth the trouble and it was a great learning experience.
posted on February 14, 2005 08:46:07 AM
When I first started out, I would ship anyway the bidder asked. Soon I discovered that Surface mail was total nightmare. It couldn't be tracked, arrived broken .... If the item is breakable, I wouldn't do it. I only use Express Mail, Fed Ex, UPS and BAX Global for overseas shipping.
