Prism99

There is no limit on weight if the box is being shipped within the U.S. When used internationally, the small box has a limit of 4 lbs ($12.95 postage) and the bigger box has a limit of 20 lbs ($41.95 postage).

If you scroll back a little in this thread, you will find a link to the post office website with information about international mailings.

BlueChicken

Another question that's kind of linked, do you guys use paypal?

Is it the easiest way to send and collect money around the world?

butterflywing

another, other question: how do you guys deal with international monetary rates? if you send a check (cheque :lol: ) and deposit it, does the bank automatically make the rate change or what?

i know you need to have a seller's acc't with ebay for any one to deposit money into it for you. and then they take a cut. :hunf: :hunf:

Prism99

I have used PayPal for smaller amounts. I don't know about the eBay seller account. When I bought some CDs from Australia through eBay, I just sent the money in $ through PayPal to the seller's PayPal account. I'm not sure how many Australian $s the seller got; PayPal would have done the currency conversion.

It does seem as if PayPal would be the easiest way to transfer money internationally. Here is their page with currency conversion information:
https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/we...c_send-outside . (If this isn't clickable, just go to http://www.paypal.com and search for currency conversion.)

For large amounts of money, I have always used a bank wire transfer for safety. There are also services online you can use, which are supposed to give you better currency exchange rates, but the one time I tried I found it much more complicated than just taking all the information down to my bank.

If you deposit a check in foreign currency, I think the bank will convert it into dollars for you. However, bank currency exchange rates are usually less favorable than others, I think. (Although I found them okay for the last wire transfer I made.)

butterflywing

i have a paypal account that i use to purchase stuff (my last purchase was also australia). if you notice the small print in there, neither ebay nor paypal wants it's sellers to sell directly or for it's buyers to buy directly because - guess why - they are inter-related. that is, ebay OWNS paypal, and when a customer pays into a seller's account, ebay takes a bite as it's.....let's call it a commission. or a fee. which means that the seller has to raise his prices enough to cover that bit of overhead. which mens that even though it's cheap for you, the buyer, it could be cheaper still if ebay wasn't grabbing some of it. don't get me wrong ---i love ebay and i love paypal. but i don't think that's the best way for individuals to work with each other. i don't think there has to be a middle man who charges for services.

butterflywing

i called the post off office and they said

8 x 5 x 1.........12.95

11.5 x 8 x 4 ....41.94

14 x 12 x 3 .....41.95 (different shape, duh)

12 x 12 x 5 .....53.95

20 pound max on all sizes that you can stuff things in. 6 - 10 days.
flat rate priority box. no charge on the box. international.

did they change their rates or did i speak to a dodo?

which is the best shape do you think?

sharonb43

If you know the weight of your package, you can go to USPS.com and calculate postage. The same is true of UPS.com and FedEx.com

butterflywing

sharon, i called fedex and ups and they wanted over $100 for the same thing that our post office wanted $41.95 for. the difference is unbelievable. ups wanted three dollars less.


on that issue, i went back to the post office, and the girl i first spoke to was, indeed, a dodo! the real price was this: $12.95 for under 4 lbs, which someone here said. $41.95 for up to 20 lbs, which is so much yardage that you can't possibly reach that poundage. the box is about 12 x 8 x 4. you can't believe how much that holds! and it still didn't reach **10 lbs**. NOTHING IN BETWEEN. if you want something in between,you make your own package and you lose the flat rate. i filled the 20 lb box as a test and now i will measure out the yards.

my arms will fall off before i finish. i will let you all know how much.

butterflywing

i'm ba-a-ack!

okay....one box 12 x 8 x 4 (approximate) from the post office, is allowed to take 20 pounds. if you stuff, stuff, stuff as much fabric as you can, you can get 33 yards and 21 inches. that's with a LOT of stuffing. does anyone know what that amount looks like? to me it looks like mt. mckinley.

flat rate overseas priority 6 - 10 delivery days, $41.95.

you're allowed 20 pounds. this much weighs less than half that. oh, plus the weight of the box.

that makes this $1.23 per pound to ship overseas. more or less. my math has never been that great.

if you're being paid in other than usd, wire transfers as well as bank checks cost $10 +/- conversion fees. those connivers.

for the price that fedex wanted, i could have flown, standby, to europe myself and delivered. of course, i couldn't get home. anyway, i am thinking australia or thereabouts.

eb in calif

go to the www.usps.com web site and enter the country, weight, etc to get a shipping quote by each shipping service. you can also fill out the duty forms for customs. Be sure to designate the item as a gift or the recipient will be hit for customs duty.

you could also try fedex.com but for international I've found the USPS to be the cheapest. They have a flat rate international box you can pickup at the post office, but check you own packaging and choose the cheapest. The first $100 insurance is included in some shipping options, so before buying additional insurance be sure to read the details