Does this Import cost from US look a bit excessive ? Any better way ?

sparxz

Hi

Does buying an item in USA quoted from supplier at
$75 and the shipping(& insurance) is $100, so the total is $175, sound a bit excessive to you ?

$175 USD = €139.276 EUR

The revenue/customs I think then also slap 23% vat on top of the €139.

See eg and calc attached.

Any ideas.
Thanks

CoachTO

sparxz wrote: »

Hi

Does buying an item in USA quoted from supplier at
$75 and the shipping(& insurance) is $100, so the total is $175, sound a bit excessive to you ?

Depends on what they are sending and what method they are sending by. Often bought items from the US where shipping was more expensive than the item. Mainly down to the supplier using a main Courier service like DHL, UPS etc etc and those couriers using weight and size to work out the cost.

sparxz

CoachTO wrote: »

Depends on what they are sending and what method they are sending by. Often bought items from the US where shipping was more expensive than the item. Mainly down to the supplier using a main Courier service like DHL, UPS etc etc and those couriers using weight and size to work out the cost.

Hi
Thanks.
It's a small handheld document scanner for A4 pages.
Not too heavy or bulky.
Maybe I am just being ripped off, by a greedy supplier. I cannot source this item in Europe,
or Asia for that matter.

allthedoyles

Try this USPS postage calculator :

http://postcalc.usps.com/

Celeron Media

What shipping service is being used and what is the weight of the item?

sparxz

allthedoyles wrote: »

Try this USPS postage calculator :

http://postcalc.usps.com/

Thanks. It came up with $58 USD

So where is the seller comming up with $100 USD !!!! :pac:

sparxz

Celeron Media wrote: »

What shipping service is being used and what is the weight of the item?

The item is about 9inches long, and weighs a little more than
TV remote control, without the two AA batteries.

CoachTO

allthedoyles wrote: »

Try this USPS postage calculator :

http://postcalc.usps.com/

sparxz wrote: »

Thanks. It came up with $58 USD

So where is the seller comming up with $100 USD !!!!

USPS charge 20-40% less than couriers like UPS or DHL or Fedex depending on method and speed of delivery and also the weight and size of the package. Who is to say the supplier isnt sending it with an actual courier company rather than USPS.

OP get on to the supplier and ask them who they are sending the item with and by which method. Bearing in mind USPS and the courier services like UPS and FEDEX and DHL always have a couple of methods for sending internationally from the states.

Once the supplier confirms the method then you can go to said courier or postal service website and compare the cost for yourself.

I order a ton of things from the US trust me when I say it can cost more than the item in some cases with the likes of DHL UPS Fedex etc etc. Depending on how the supplier shipped it with them and packaged it.

Added an example of UPS:

seanmacc

sparxz wrote: »

Thanks. It came up with $58 USD

So where is the seller comming up with $100 USD !!!! :pac:

I used to work for a construction parts company in the US a few years ago and the company made as much off the shipping as they did selling the product.
They used a well known shipping company in the US who had a calculator on their website to calculate the shipping. It calculated the shipping by the weight of the product and how far it had to go which is what this particular shipping company would charge the average punter who'd call for a one off quote. Where as the company I worked for had a rate set up with the shipping company due to business volume, charged per pallet and the distance it had to travel which in most cases was half of what average joe punter would be charged. The shipping company didn't care about the mark up as they probably feared losing the business.
Any international shipments that were made were charged a ridiculous price, the reason being that there was a number of scam artists in Europe who would order product online and then do a charge back on the credit cardas soon as they saw the shipment was dispatched out of America.

allthedoyles

sparxz wrote: »

The item is about 9inches long, and weighs a little more than
TV remote control, without the two AA batteries.

I saw similar items to the one you are buying on eBay for less money and free shipping.

sparxz

CoachTO wrote: »

USPS charge 20-40% less than couriers like UPS or DHL or Fedex depending on method and speed of delivery and also the weight and size of the package. Who is to say the supplier isnt sending it with an actual courier company rather than USPS.

OP get on to the supplier and ask them who they are sending the item with and by which method. Bearing in mind USPS and the courier services like UPS and FEDEX and DHL always have a couple of methods for sending internationally from the states.

Once the supplier confirms the method then you can go to said courier or postal service website and compare the cost for yourself.

I order a ton of things from the US trust me when I say it can cost more than the item in some cases with the likes of DHL UPS Fedex etc etc. Depending on how the supplier shipped it with them and packaged it.

Added an example of UPS:

Thanks for the screenshot. It gives something more to go on.
I don't import from USA very often.

sparxz

allthedoyles wrote: »

I saw similar items to the one you are buying on eBay for less money and free shipping.

I did allot of research, and read a heck of allot of reviews. And the scoured the internet, 'after' going though eBay & Amazon.

Theres only two suppliers in the world who will supply the item.
I have been communicating with both, and they are in the states.

What ever you saw on eBay it is the most basic model of 9 model version.

For some mysterious reason the Manufacturer(likely far east), has not been
great on getting such a good product beyond US market.

I told a friend of mine about this matter, and he wants to become a reseller
in Ireland

CoachTO

sparxz wrote: »

Thanks for the screenshot. It gives something more to go on.
I don't import from USA very often.

I would hazard a guess and say they are using a courier rather than a postal service ie USPS. I checked DHL, Fedex and UPS when I posted the picture and used half a pound as the weight and 9 inches long and 2 high and 2 wide for the parcel and all of them gave similar prices to the pic I put in.

Best thing to do OP as I said is find out of them the exact dimensions and weight of the box they are sending you and find out what service they are using. If they are using a courier service $100 is about right, if they are using USPS I would be concerned about the cost of the shipping as it could be over the odds.