In no way would I seek to justify high shipping charges out of the UK on
anything - and yes, sending
heavy items by mail is asking for a price like a defence budget. In my
experience, asking an ebay
seller to obtain a quote from someone like www.parcels2go.co.uk would be
sensible. Over the last
year, I shipped lots of stuff from the UK to Chicago for the Triumph
Trans-America Stag and those
rates have been surprisingly low. As an example, we've just shipped a complete
exhaust system direct
from the supplier for about $75 US. Stag exhausts are not noted for their
compactness or light
weight or small cube - all of which go into the cost equation.
As for rates via the mail (the route many ebay sellers use) European postage
rates are fixed
collectively by the National Mail Organisations of member states of the EU -
and not by the British
post office for parcels leaving the UK, so the inefficiencies of ourselves and
others all get costed
in. One last thing to consider is the British pound has until recently been
worth around US$1.95
though the rate is now around US$1.45.
It all adds up to what looks like a bad deal for the buyer and it usually is.
Moral? As far as
Europe is concerned, never think that prices *ought* to be in the same ballpark
as Canada or the US.
Sadly, they rarely are. Get your seller to shop around on your behalf - if
they're prepared to.
Jonmac
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