buying records thru' discogs

[KrisM]

International shipping always costs more. US to Canada, Canada to US, you pay for crossing border services. Often you could get by with paying duty, but as soon as you do, you get hit with service charges. Those are normally more than the duty on the item. That's why it's cheaper to buy more than one at a time. The fee is per sansaction.

They seem to be nabbing me lately. Just too expensive to do cross border shopping now.

That stinks.
I've actually been doing well with those charges the last few years. Knock on wood.

Cross border shipping with UPS has always been the one that screws me. Their 'brokerage' fees are ridiculous.

 

[welcomdmat]

True that, but shipping from Europe or Britain is way less, and often quicker.

British shipping to the US is subsidized (by the government). This causes an issue for many groups because the US has laws about wholesalers and retailers. Britain (England, Scotland, N. Ireland) do not have the same laws. A wholesaler can sell directly to the public (including the US public). The wholesalers get wholesale and pass that along. Wonderful. Unless you are a US retailer trying to compete.

 

[KrisM]

British shipping to the US is subsidized (by the government). This causes an issue for many groups because the US has laws about wholesalers and retailers. Britain (England, Scotland, N. Ireland) do not have the same laws. A wholesaler can sell directly to the public (including the US public). The wholesalers get wholesale and pass that along. Wonderful. Unless you are a US retailer trying to compete.

And what does that have to do with a record coming from the UK to Canada?
We all get hit with different duties when it comes to this stuff. ripblade was just giving an example of what works for him, in his location.

 

[welcomdmat]

To Canada is different. Canada is part of the Commonwealth. Canada has no comparison to UK shipping to the US.

 

[KrisM]

To Canada is different. Canada is part of the Commonwealth. Canada has no comparison to UK shipping to the US.

I get that. That's why I commented on your comment towards riplade. He's in Canada, but your comment related his quote to the UK to US thing.
Honestly, I think all of this stuff is a comparison. Wherever you are, you need to sort out the good the bad and the ugly when it comes to cross border shopping.
Taxes, tariffs, duty fees, etc are what they are. The consumer needs to be on top of it. Lord knows as a Canuck I've dealt with this crap enough over the years to know that's it's true, lol.

 

[DustyOldPile]

Shipping charges aside, I would just like to comment that I have had very good success with Discogs purchases. As my collection nears the critical mass stage where I find less and less locally, AND as prices have been trending towards the ridiculous in retail outlets, I've found things that I've been looking for at reasonable prices courtesy of Discogs sellers.

 

[boreas]

Just pick a copy from the location that is cheaper. Funny how that is the rest of the world pays a lot more for used Vinyl that we do here in the States. You would think with all those EU countries who claim to be all art and culture hounds sure make their people pay a lot.

Jingo Unchained?

John

 

[kermit z]

All my purchases on Discogs has been from the US, with a few from Japan. Very few issues, other than the ones from Japan take longer which I would expect. Cost is something I inquire about if its not listed. I did have 1 from Japan, that was listed at one price for shipping, I bought it, then get hit for triple the price for shipping. Vender stated it was due to whatever. I paid and did not go with that vender again.

 

[ripblade]

To Canada is different. Canada is part of the Commonwealth. Canada has no comparison to UK shipping to the US.

I believe the issue is with USPS. Recall that it was on the verge of bankruptcy several years ago. It seems to be now that international commerce is paying the freight to avoid insolvency. Canada and Britain have nothing to do with the high rates in the US, and they certainly aren't subsidizing international shipping, unless you consider single-pay healthcare for the employees of a state owned entity a form of subsidy.

British shipping to the US is subsidized (by the government)

 

[E.Man]

I don't know if you already paid, but if you didn't, and you really don't want to go ahead with the deal, just try sending him a message and tell him the truth. This happened to me once on a purchase I made on a record over in Europe. The seller was completely cool and said no problem. Yeah, beware on shipping costs from Canada!

I believe the issue is with USPS. Recall that it was on the verge of bankruptcy several years ago. It seems to be now that international commerce is paying the freight to avoid insolvency. Canada and Britain have nothing to do with the high rates in the US, and they certainly aren't subsidizing international shipping, unless you consider single-pay healthcare for the employees of a state owned entity a form of subsidy.

Yep. Usps rates to Oz now stupid, so I buy very little from the USA now.
Discogs lists the country the seller is in so I can sort through and estimate the postage without having to look at each one.

 

[ripblade]

Yep. Usps rates to Oz now stupid, so I buy very little from the USA now.

Same here, but some vendors might have a presence on the local eBay or Amazon sites. Shipping from the States through these outlets seems to be much more reasonable.

 

[satkinsn]

Most Discogs sellers list their terms with every item they have for sale. This would include accepted methods of payment and shipping costs. Look for a "View Payment and Shipping Information" link on the right side of the page between the links for "Add to Cart" and "More Copies For Sale". If the seller's listed terms don't answer your questions, there's a "Contact Seller" link directly below the shipping and payment link.

John

Yep. Reading is not over-rated. I should try it sometime.

s.

 

[KrisM]

I believe the issue is with USPS. Recall that it was on the verge of bankruptcy several years ago. It seems to be now that international commerce is paying the freight to avoid insolvency. Canada and Britain have nothing to do with the high rates in the US, and they certainly aren't subsidizing international shipping, unless you consider single-pay healthcare for the employees of a state owned entity a form of subsidy.

I've found that most stuff shipped via USPS(and then Canada Post) fairly reasonable for the most part. Shipping within Canada ain't no free lunch, that's for sure
And I haven't dealt with those extra charges for years.
UPS can pound it as far as I'm concerned. I got to really want something to deal with a cross border purchase that insists on them.

Off topic, but have you heard about that flat rate pilot project Canada Post has going on?
A 12" x 16" x 7.5" box up to 11lbs is $20 anywhere in the country. I picked up a few holiday shipping.

 

[welcomdmat]

The US has tried hard to cut down on the companies that ship to cities like Detroit and then cross into Windsor -- or Buffalo and then across. That has met with modest success.

I worked for a retailer where 18% of our business was into Canada. When we followed the rules, it went to less than 5%.

 

[WntrMute2]

Ah, thanks. See it now.

BTW - WntrMute? As in, from Neuromancer?

s.

Yup. Probably my favorite book of all time. Good pick-up!

 

[ripblade]

The US has tried hard to cut down on the companies that ship to cities like Detroit and then cross into Windsor -- or Buffalo and then across. That has met with modest success.

I worked for a retailer where 18% of our business was into Canada. When we followed the rules, it went to less than 5%.

What are the rules? There're businesses along the US side of the border that will hold a parcel for a nominal fee. The parcel recipient picks it up and declares it at the border. Wouldn't these businesses be shut down if they were doing something illegal?