Buying From Ebay USA Shipment Help Needed

Dear Sir/Madam,

I'm buying from one of the seller on ebay.com about 100 Pounds of WW Stamps. Just for my collection and reselling purpose.
What it would be shipment charges from USA to INDIA.?
Ballpark figures. All are mostly stamps and covers.
or Which is the best way to receive?

Thanks in advance.

P.S: Hope I didn't violated any rules here.

Hello, welcome to Stamp Community!

Depends on the method of shipment or packaging.

Four or three boxes or multiple envelopes or bags or ?

I do not know myself exactly but can make a guess estimate of air mail boxes $300 +, and ground or sea mail maybe $150 to $200 perhaps, total.

Prices have gone up and up lately.

Oh, and also remember your own Indian incoming customs (perhaps?) fees or taxes due, etc. This would also delay your shipment in USA customs clearance and India customs clearance. Just part of the postal system unfortuneately.

Always fun to get shipments from abroad I think, small or large. Ask for stamps!

FYI - there is no ground or sea mail from the U.S. - it's all air mail these days. The seller will probably will require registered mail so expect a cost of $13.65 for that service.

The USPS also has a 70lb weight limit per shipment thus it will probably be best to be shipped in multiple parts as Puzzler suggested.

ebay seller could have used ebay Global shipping program, to throw more factors in international shipping out there...

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/shi...lobally.html

LarryBruce: This is true. GSP is a possibility. The buyer should know that upfront I would hope as it could add additional processing and customs costs.

Yes they know up front on ebay if the global shipping program is offered in the sale and checked off to use for what countries. Says so on each auction when it is in effect.

I just put as shipping charges what it cost me to ship from me to the GSC. That is what I charge the buyer and is stated in the auction.

The GSC charges the buyer shipping and customs on their end, from GSC to the buyer. This cost I as seller have nothing to do with and is between GSC and buyer, got no idea what the cost is but includes all customs paperwork and is collected by GSC before I send anything out on my end.

Don't quote me, off the top of my head, last I shipped was this summer to Denmark two 25-30 lb. packages from Washington State, USA.

If its 100 Pounds of WW Stamps I recommend you make sure its registered signed for, for safety, tell seller to put printed matter zero value on parcel when sending to avoid any incoming taxes or charges

@Puzzler : Thanks. I'm aware of customs charges. It might not be that much. But as @duncanvr Suggest quoting low value might be a good idea to avoid custom charges.

@BattleStamps: Yes, It's true sea shipment is really pain. It take ages to receive. Air shipment might be little expensive. But it's worth spending money.

How registered mail help and does it covers any insurance?

Thank you for you kind reply.

I checked USPS Global Priority...

This much material is going to have to be split
between 2 boxes if it goes by USPS... about $180 each...

philnumis2010: Registered mail provides a way to track the parcel internationally. It provides an additional level of security for shipment, but not foolproof. Registered mail still can be lost. Registered mail comes with some insurance, but additional insurance may be purchased by the sender at the USPS.

I remember when surface (or sea mail) when it existed in the U.S. and it was slow as can be for international shipments. It really wasn't worth it, but I believe in 2007, the USPS eliminated that option.

@BattleStamps: Thanks again for the input.

@Disi123: Thank you for taking your valuable time to reply.

As a seller, if someone wanted me to LIE on a customs form, to help the buyer evade custom duties, I would not do it (of course). Most of the sellers I know would not even consider it - it is wrong to do so. Besides the obvious ethical issues, it is a sure way to draw attention to an item at customs, IMHO. John

John I agree with you, all my ebay auctions have the following




Plus you cannot insure an item for more than the declared value

Sometimes in our eagerness to buy a large lot for less, we can end up paying a lot more for shipping than we bargained for especially if we live far away from the seller. As a philatelist, I have sometimes been blind sided by overlooking shipping costs and only noticing them after buying an item.

@jogil: You are right. Lots cost me around $50 and for shipping it's $180. So I retracted from bidding.