Freight for overseas small orders.

[X-Ray]

Hello Randy and RPM Team, 

I'm sure you have answered this before Randy, but could you let me know how the freight is calculated on small, lightweight orders? I'm currently ordering 2 carb o-ring and screw kits from you, $22.75 postage which is fine. I added 4 carb needle valves and the freight went to $33.75, and when I added 4 carb gaskets, it jumped to $50.75 postage. The last 2 items are small, ultralightweight items, but they add nearly $30.00 to the postage cost.

Previously I have ordered larger dollar bulkier items from you, and haven't worried about the freight cost, but I'm not sure how the postage works for smaller items.

Thanks for your help with this,

[wainot-Phil]

Hi Ray ,,,Yes the same thing happened to me 3 weeks ago ,I went to the RPM web site ,,looked around and made up an order,,, for a few Carby Parts ,
I ordered
3 X  Carby  O-Ring kits  ,
4 X Main Jets
The total cost of the parts was about $20 US  BUT   the Cheapest Postage option cost was over $50.00 US  to Aussie !!!
All the parts I ordered would have fitted into a ""Match Box"" and weighted about the same as a Box of Matches.
I emailed RPM asking if the  $50 plus USA for postage to Aussie was the best they could do .
They emailed me back and told me that the $50 plus USD Postage charge sounded about right to them .
So that was the end of that order ..I ended up getting the parts from another  seller ,,,The total was just under $50 (Including Parts and Shipping).
I have bought many much bigger parts from the US and the UK  and have never payed over $50 US for shipping and that was  for Starter Motor and Generator ,Speedo Cluster. Blue Spots Brakes  etc
Its a shame  that I can not buy any FJ  parts from RPM due to their  high postage chargers to Aussie  ,,
Because RPM has a great FJ part web site and the parts they sell are fairly priced and great quality ,,
"BUGGER"
But that's the way it goes ,,

[balky1]

Hi Ray ,,,Yes the same thing happened to me 3 weeks ago ,I went to the RPM web site ,,looked around and made up an order,,, for a few Carby Parts ,
I ordered
3 X  Carby  O-Ring kits  ,
4 X Main Jets
The total cost of the parts was about $20 US  BUT   the Cheapest Postage option cost was over $50.00 US  to Aussie !!!
All the parts I ordered would have fitted into a ""Match Box"" and weighted about the same as a Box of Matches.
I emailed RPM asking if the  $50 plus USA for postage to Aussie was the best they could do .
They emailed me back and told me that the $50 plus USD Postage charge sounded about right to them .
So that was the end of that order ..I ended up getting the parts from another  seller ,,,The total was just under $50 (Including Parts and Shipping).
I have bought many much bigger parts from the US and the UK  and have never payed over $50 US for shipping and that was  for Starter Motor and Generator ,Speedo Cluster. Blue Spots Brakes  etc
Its a shame  that I can not buy any FJ  parts from RPM due to their  high postage chargers to Aussie  ,,
Because RPM has a great FJ part web site and the parts they sell are fairly priced and great quality ,,
"BUGGER"
But that's the way it goes ,,

Same here. I always browse their store, but postage to Croatia is ridiculous. If my memory serves me, postage fees weren't that high before. I ordered some jets and one grommet.
I also noticed the high jump of the shipping price when you add one more small bit to the order. In 90% of the cases, shipping from USA to Croatia for eBay bought items is much lower for much bigger and heavier items. I wander which courier they use...
Bottom line is - postage fee is the only reason I don't buy from RPM. They are regularly higher than the worth of the items.

[ribbert]

This is also a topic of interest to me. I like to buy all my FJ stuff from Randy and usually just suck up the freight, but I have noticed similar anomalies a number of times. On my last order of things I did need, I added a $20 item I didn't need just to round out the order. The freight jumped by nearly $50!!!  I deleted it from the order.

The basic cost aside, there seems to be no sense in the hike when adding say a small item to an order, something that would fit in the box already and weigh nothing.

I assume RPM sub contract out their mailing (would make sense) or use a freight calculator, either way, it doesn't seem right.

I import saddles from Canada (known for their extortionate mail costs) to Australia. A single unfolded saddle, heavily padded in a box the size of a dishwasher costs $350 through Canada Post, 2 saddles cost $400!!

I have made this enquiry of Randy before and don't recall the answer being satisfactory.

I have at times even added things like oils and other things that I can buy at my local shop for the same or less because I like to support RPM.

Randy, this is not a complaint, but if no one tells you, you won't know and it appears to be costing you sales. As has already been said, your prices are good, the service second to none, but the freight costs seem out of kilter.

IMO

Noel

[racerrad8]

Ray, Thank you for asking the question. It has come up several times and I wish there was a better answer, but here it is.

All international shipping is linked to the USPS shipping calculator, package rates. It uses a variety of parameters for calculating the shipping; weight (down to the ounce), size and destination.

The price for First-Class Mail International® varies based on weight and destination. If a mail piece exceeds the maximum length, height, or thickness of one rate, it will be charged at the next higher rate.

I monitor the international shipping costs compared to the shipping collected. At the end of the week is it a wash. I make a dollar or two one on package, but loose the same on another. Some weeks a loose a little some weeks I make a little.

I have zero control of the cost of international shipping other than to have the weights properly listed for each item. The reason there is discrepancy on the cost of making or loosing a little on some packages is weight based. I have to make sure each item is weighted to include the "total" weight of the shipped item.

For example, if something weighs 8oz by itself, the box and packing weigh another 8oz then the "total" weight is 1 lb. So, if I make for instance the part weigh 1 lb to cover the single order, then it weighs 2 lb for two. But in actuality it probably weighs closer to 1.6 lbs. So, I have to enter the website information "under weight" to make sure this dose not spiral out of control on the weights.

So, there are some packages that leave the shop that weigh 1 lb but I only collected .8 and visa-versa; that is why there is the wash at the end of the week.

Now, again, I do not have any control over what the USPS charges, their shipping calculator is what is required. Keep in mind, I am not Amazon or a large volume company that is going to get significant discounts for any shipping.

Ray, I see your order pending on my website and I looked into it. I did not see the needle seats, but I did see the fuel filter & bracket. I checked the weights of the items on your order to verify nothing was askew and completed the order on my end. It also comes to the same shipping cost.

wainot-Phil, lets be fair in the response to your inquiry. Robert said that sounds right for priority mail and then asked if you selected 1st class; Here is the response to you with the question:

Phil,

   Yes, that sounds about right for priority mail. Did you change the shipping to first class? Shipping should be around half the cost of priority but it can only be selected up to a certain weight limit. So the more parts or the heavier the part may only allow it to be sent priority mail.

Robert

Was that for priority or 1st class? We never heard back from you.

Noel, again, since USPS keep the three things in play; size, weight & destination that is probably why it jumped the price so significantly. Once the package exceeds four (4) pounds then the only shipping option is priority mail. That shipping service cost goes way up over 1st class. So, that $20 item you added to your cart probably had the above affect.

I understand shipping is a topic of frustration. That is frustration on both sides, me the sender and you the receiver. A couple of years ago the major shipping carriers her in the US began using "dimensional weight" for all packages. in the prior, they had "oversize packages" which were all above a specific dimensional size.

Now, for example, I ship a Renntec carrier. The box weighs 10 lbs, but the large size of the box has a dimensional weight of 32 lbs. UPS charges me the 32 lbs, not the actual weight of the box. UPS incorporated this into their international shipment last year as well. I have been paying an average of $200-300 shipping for the RPM exhaust systems from Canada to California. I got the last order a couple of months ago. They charged me dimensional weight in the amount of $785.00. My cost of incoming shipping for each system was 20-30 for each unit prior, now has $78.50 associated.

Just wait until USPS implements this, then the cost of shipping will skyrocket.

Randy, this is not a complaint, but if no one tells you, you won't know and it appears to be costing you sales. As has already been said, your prices are good, the service second to none, but the freight costs seem out of kilter.

Noel

I wish there was a way for me to have a better handle on the shipping, but it is the one thing that is out of my control. I have the handle on the best products & prices, we will continue to strive to bring only the best service possible. But shipping, especially internationally, screws me more than I can know.

Thank you for everyone's input and I wish I had a better answer. but short of me buying a plane and shipping things myself, I'm stuck with USPS. If someone has a better option, I would gladly check into it.

Randy - RPM

[great white]

I've actually found the shipping costs on the few RPM items I've ordered from US to Canada fairly reasonable. I just wish I had ordered all my items at once rather than changing my mind later on and ordering a second batch.

But then again, I'm used to Canada post rates, which are....well, I'll just leave it at they cost more.....

[X-Ray]

A big thanks to you Randy for your detailed explanation, and I know it can be frustrating as you rightly said for both RPM and us with weird postage calculations. As Noel said we try to support you as much as we can, might have to see if there's anything else I may need to throw into the box as well. (just to make the postage hit more bearable  )

[wainot-Phil]

wainot-Phil, lets be fair in the response to your inquiry. Robert said that sounds right for priority mail and then asked if you selected 1st class; Here is the response to you with the question:

Phil,

   Yes, that sounds about right for priority mail. Did you change the shipping to first class? Shipping should be around half the cost of priority but it can only be selected up to a certain weight limit. So the more parts or the heavier the part may only allow it to be sent priority mail.

Robert

Was that for priority or 1st class? We never heard back from you.

Randy - RPM

Hi  Randy ,, thanks for your reply..
The $50 plus US dollar's shipping charge was in your check out area ,,That  was the cheapest shipping option  that you had listed on your web site to Aussie on the check out page,,
I clicked on the cheapest option ,, which was $50 plus USD to Aussie,
I did not change any of the shipping options. Your site just listed all the shipping options and costs at check out and the cheapest was $50 plus US dollars to Aussie .
So once I got a reply from RPM  saying that the $50 plus US shipping cost  "quote" (that sounds about right) , I new I was wasting my time ,because I had already selected the cheapest shipping option that you had listed at check out.
Its a shame that the high shipping costs  are stopping some/lots  of us Aussie buyers .
Maybe you might be able to combine all the little Aussie orders into "ONE PACKAGE" only .Which could be shipped to Aussie at the end of each month , It would be shipped to one  FJOwners  address only .
Then the selected FJOwner could re-post out all the small orders which would cost about  $10 postage for these small items we are talking about.
The ONE USPS  shipping cost from you to the selected Aussie FJOwner , would then be divided up buy the  number of orders and payed by the people that placed the orders here in Aussie  
just a thought ,,cheers Phil

[Alf]

I have zero control of the cost of international shipping other than to have the weights properly listed for each item.

Randy

When I order from the website, ALWAYS the shipping charge figure is much more expensive that when you send the parcel at the end, paying you directly, not throught the website, and ordering the items by mail

I think this observation could help. I order from Canary Islands, Spain (Europe) (For the other guys info)

Regards

[red]

Randy,

Amazon (and others) are lately using plastic air bags (linked pillows) as packing filler in their boxes.  I'd guess that such pillows are lighter and cheaper than any possible packaging option.

For overseas shipping I got nothing, but for overland deliveries, truck shipping (not UPS, FedEx, USPS, et c.) can be a cheaper option.  These guys may have minimum size/weight limits, but they seldom have a maximum.  Some may even pick up and deliver at the door address, and most offer terminal-to-terminal service that will cost far less than door deliveries.  Prices vary amazingly between carriers, so believe me, it can be very worthwhile to shop around on rates.  I have lately shipped a 20' (6m) hang glider in an HDPE irrigation pipe (shipping tube) halfway across the USA for US$100.  I'd guess that package weighed about 120# (~55kg) but they never even asked.  Often these guys will be a day or a week slower than the box carriers, because a truck leaves on a weekly, not daily, schedule.  The savings on shipping may be well worth the wait, unless the customer wants to pay extra for faster service.  For things like headers, as one example, I can't imagine paying the shipping rates that you now pay. 

Best wishes.