Shipping from US to AU- what is up?

[Evans Ward]

I have a customer in NSW Australia who was interested in purchasing one of my rebuilt Kaw EX calipers with the correct adapter to mount on an H1. I packaged the items and while at the Post Office got him the quote. Ready for this….. $92 shipping and Australia will only receive Express mail shipment from the US. No other options… I just had to stop at another USPS Office on my way back and same message and shipping rate was given. Third option was Fed Ex with their shipping rate at $191!

Australian members- what is up with your mail system?? Are they concerned about potential contaminated articles incoming?

I contacted the interested party and mentioned he may be able to do a “work around” with a friend in a neighboring country acting as a go between to receive the package and mail it on to him. This has worked for me with 2-3 members here helping me out when a shipping impasse was present.

[tacky1]

Its not just Australia, I shipped parts to Europe and it was bloody nuts, Even to ship from here to Canada is all screwed up with the costs.....

[pdxjim]

I tried to ship a 1.5lb jar of honey to the UK and it was almost $80.

[waltmil]

I shipped some items to a guy in New Zealand earlier in the year. He has set up an arrangement with a container shipper in Oregon and the cost was quite reasonable. I don't have the details but I could find out

[Evans Ward]

^ that may be very helpful Walt if it isn’t too much digging/ work on your end.

[waltmil]

I knew I should have looked up the details before I posted. I just assumed it was a container shipper when it was a mail forwarding service. He still had to pay extra import tax so it may not have been the bargain I remembered.

[JonW]

The problem is Covid.

No seriously, and its not just another 'blame it on covid' thing that we hear from all over these days. Jeez youd think after almost 2 years we'd know its just 'normal' now... Anyway... this really is a covid knock on issue.

The issue is lack of tourism due to lock downs an lock outs (did you know that youve all only recently been allowed to travel here and for us to be allowed to travel out of Aus without a government signed document?), this means less planes in the sky coming here. This means less post can fly. This means the first thing they removed was the cheaper postal services (early 2020) as why send stuff cheaply when its limited by space? Supply and demand.

So, post is slow. very slow. It waits a long time for a plane.

Its more expensive as there is no cheap service. The USPS assertion that Australia will only accept Express post is hilarious, the system denies it as USPS doesnt want you to have it. Its the same all round the world, not just USPS, but for them to say the other country denies it is just rude and untrue really. The service was removed by agreement of those who cost postage, not by some arbitrary end user or recipient. If you ever worked in a postal organisation and saw how post was handled and costed you really would find that employee's comment that the receiving country was 'to blame' quite naive and its total misinformation.

Its not 'our mail system' its the world as a whole as Tacky says. We wont see cheap post for a long time I suspect, if ever. Why would they bring it back unless they are trying to undercut someone else and I cant see it. Travel will be disrupted for years to come, this means less planes than 2019 and hence more expensive post abroad.

[L.B]

I know its prolly no real help Evan,but might be worth a try. I fear it will still be same outcome as Jon has noted above......scary future for selling,buying,trading items o/s.

https://www.ustooz.com/