On shipping costs

[Dave1442397]

Antmusic, are you sure ? I've got knowing darkness traycase in june 2011 from Jared and he shipped using surface mail... Thing could have changed though

They definitely don't offer it as an option at the Post Office. Maybe it's still available if you ask for it, but the USPS is trying to maximize its income at the moment, and all the counter staff in my area seem to be trained to upsell you to the most expensive service available.

[th3l0rd]

Antmusic, are you sure ? I've got knowing darkness traycase in june 2011 from Jared and he shipped using surface mail... Thing could have changed though

[Antmusic]

th3lord, "surface" (what I've called "slow boat") and the m-bag/mailbag options aren't available to US senders sending overseas anymore. They took those away from us.

[th3l0rd]

I'm in Italy and any USPS priority shipment takes at least 3 weeks (often 4 or 5), not because of shipping times but because customs checks everything and there are huge delays . Surface mail however is cheaper and takes the same time (4-5 weeks) and the chances to get into customs are far smaller ...
Also there should be something called m-bag that can be used for printed things only and is comparable to surface mail but with extra discount

[peteOcha]

Let me talk to Richard about doing another Free Worldwide Shipping promotion and we'll see what's possible. I'd rather you be able to spend your money on BOOKS and not POSTAGE, but the USPS seems to think differently!

Brian

Did he say yes? Tell him that if he says yes, he doesn't have to sign the sheets Brad is always nagging about!

[srboone]

..........

[JDar.]

No shipping costs from CD for Bone Marrow Stew. honestly, I didn't check to see what they would have been from Tasmaniac, I just figured they'd be pretty high and ordered from CD.

Although Tasmaniac is located Down Under, the books are printed and distributed in the USA. I always joke with Steve that we get to fondle his books before he does.

[srboone]

No shipping costs from CD for Bone Marrow Stew. honestly, I didn't check to see what they would have been from Tasmaniac, I just figured they'd be pretty high and ordered from CD.

[JDar.]

Yep, we've done it a couple of times now for certain books where the publisher worked with us to improve the discount we were getting.

Brian

Cool - I'll keep my eye out for that in the future . . . me likes free S/H.

[Brian James Freeman]

Never saw CD provide "free shipping" for another publisher's book.

Yep, we've done it a couple of times now for certain books where the publisher worked with us to improve the discount we were getting.

Brian

[JDar.]

I did find a book I wanted from Tasmaniac Publications down under, but I ordered it through CD in order to avoid shipping costs. It took a lot longer that I had anticipated, but it did eventually arrive.

Are you sure you don't have that turned around? I just checked CDs site for a simple chapbook - although the book was the same price as the publisher, CD charged $7.25 S/H - $4.30 more than the publisher. Never saw CD provide "free shipping" for another publisher's book.

Tasmanic sends me books with "free S/H" to Michigan. You may want to send Steve an email next time.

Jan

[srboone]

I did find a book I wanted from Tasmaniac Publications down under, but I ordered it through CD in order to avoid shipping costs. It took a lot longer that I had anticipated, but it did eventually arrive.

[Dave1442397]

UPS charges the recipient extra fees for "handling" the custom fees or VAT type charges, too. Not sure if that was accurate or still true, though.
Brian

That's definitely true for Canada. I see people complaining about it all the time on timezone.com when shipping watches.

You used to be able to send things from the US in a "media mail" sort of way, but the USPS got rid of that (5 - 10 years ago). Now, it costs me over $20 to send one hardcover to Australia! It really sucks! Shipping costs suck as a whole. Even when you order a used book for 1 penny on Amazon, it really costs $4 because of shipping (making your local used book shop look like a much better place to shop).

Yeah, shipping costs suck (or boink you, depending on ones point of view ) however, for us 3rd world Aussies, we have to factor in the shipping charges when making the decision to purchase a book. Unfortunately, down here we don't have ready access to quality books from quality publishers, so, time to factor in the "bend over" factor re shipping and just grin and bear it

[Antmusic]

You used to be able to send things from the US in a "media mail" sort of way, but the USPS got rid of that (5 - 10 years ago). Now, it costs me over $20 to send one hardcover to Australia! It really sucks! Shipping costs suck as a whole. Even when you order a used book for 1 penny on Amazon, it really costs $4 because of shipping (making your local used book shop look like a much better place to shop).