I need some serious opinion/feedback on shipping for the new SFE site.
UPS is trying hard for our business and I think we are going to switch over in a few months. I am worried that international customers will be scared away by the higher prices compare to USPS.
Currently, the USPS website is not working for international packages and it’s killing us. UPS is fast, trackable, insured, but more expensive.
USPS Global Prio : $10-15
USPS Global Express: $20-35
UPS Global Prio : $40-60
I would love to hear from people who’ve used the USPS services and how they’ve liked them. I’ve always cherished the low-end student (read poor) customers. They are the fun ones. But the shipping delays and poor tracking are causing us stress that I believe UPS would get rid of.
If we did switch over, it would be UPS for everything (domestic, international, ground, etc).
I’ll be ordering some stuff in the next little while, but a shipping charge of $20 is a little high for me, let alone $40 (thats $47 canadian), that would easily double the end cost of my order unless I decide to get the olimex ICD2… But we’ll see as I don’t know how much I’m going to spend at this point.
I live in the US and love USPS because it is so cheap ~$3-4 (execpt this moment because I live in Louisiana and the mail is slow)
I would love to hear from people who’ve used the USPS services and how they’ve liked them. I’ve always cherished the low-end student (read poor) customers. They are the fun ones. But the shipping delays and poor tracking are causing us stress that I believe UPS would get rid of.
I don’t care to much how long it takes to get here because me being a student, short on cash …
Currently I have to use USPS Global Express (I live in Malta and Global Prio is not available). The Global Express cost is already killing me and makes you very expensive compared to European suppliers.
UPS cost would probably prohibit further hobbyist use for me
Why don’t you keep the option of USPS and leave it explicitly to the customer to track the shipment? Until now nothing got lost, although it took always at least 2 weeks.
I seem to remember that UPS kills with its border charges to Canada also, on top of that huge shipping cost (and on top of the normal tax/duty from CDN Customs). It’s been quite a long time since I used them though (for this reason), so may be mistaken.
If UPS want your business so bad, use it to force them to meet the USPS prices. “You want our business? It’ll cost you 60%.”
While UPS has a great tracking system and is very good at getting stuff to me way out here in the boonies, USPS’s lower cost is a better deal. Also, their delivery times are as good as UPS in most cases. I can’t speak for the international deliveries, but perhaps keep USPS as an option for domestic deliveries…??..of course the higher cost of UPS may drive away international customers. I don’t run a business, so I don’t know how much of a pain in the *ss it is, but would it be possible to offer both services for international customers? What about DHL or FedEx too?
Well, my packages got here (just across the big pond) in very good time, with USPS Global Express Mail. The first one came in an envelope, and the deal was very good. The cost was thirty American, and (I think because it was in an envelope,) I didn’t get tagged for duty. The second was cheaper to ship, but came in a box, thus got tagged, and not only was there twenty percent to pay, it took a few extra days, and had to be picked up at the post office. I guess, what it boils down to, is that things don’t seem bad the way they are, and, if I had to pay more, …
Some of what I’ve ordered at sparkfun was because the price was good, but most of it was just because I liked the spirit of the spark site. For example, I can easily get a char LCD, and have it the same day, but the going rate here is more than spark’s. If I wanted the best price, I’d go to another web site, but because I’ve learned a fair bit by visiting sparkfun, I’d be inclined to check out the products of the site I liked the best. Make sense? But what, when I have the whole ‘sparkfun collection?’ :?
I don’t think there is FedEx here, but there is DHL. I think that would be more expensive, no? If the UPS charge was $40, then that isn’t a lot more, but $60 sux. Too, I consider the comments of Tomasu, and yes, almost fifty Can.$ would really bite. (Right next door, too!)
As a U.S. customer living near Chicago, USPS priority packages almost ALWAYS arrive before UPS ground and the cost is cheaper. Another advantage is that I can get my package on Saturday.
Other’s mileage may vary, but I definately would want a USPS option for my orders.
Nutter:
I seem to remember that UPS kills with its border charges to Canada also, on top of that huge shipping cost (and on top of the normal tax/duty from CDN Customs).
Nutter is right, on top of the tax I have to give to CDN customs, UPS charges an exorbitant fee. Not only that, but if it is UPS, I ALWAYS have to pay duty, tax, and the exorbitant fee; BUT with USPS, or anything in an an envelope (such as the small PCBs), it often arrives tax free. I think there is a threshold of about $50; below that amount the CDN Customs don’t bother charging duty.
So, I hope you can keep a low cost shipping option for at least the PCBs.
For all the other stuff (ICs, tools, LCDs, etc.) you will definitely loose the business to DigiKey; they ship Canadian orders from their Canadian warehouse, and charge a flat rate of C$8, and ship via Purolator. That will be hard for you to match.
Currently, the USPS website is not working for international packages and it’s killing us. UPS is fast, trackable, insured, but more expensive.
USPS Global Prio : $10-15
USPS Global Express: $20-35
UPS Global Prio : $40-60
If we did switch over, it would be UPS for everything (domestic, international, ground, etc).
UPS has insane customs handling fees, at least in the European Union. It ranges somewhere from 11.60 Euros in Germany to 16.33 Euros in Belgium (those two I know) as minimum processing fee, or 2.5% of the declared value, whichever is higher. Alternatively, they further charge 19.72 Euros (in Germany) if one wants to do the handling without their help. This is even if the shipment falls below the minimum amount that requires duities to be paid. This is collected from the receiver, that is, the shipper in the USA never sees these charges. Yet, if you read the fine print, UPS can actually charge the shipper if the receiver refuses to pay those UPS fees. At least in Germany customs handling by the postal service costs between nothing to a nominal fixed collection fee (one or two Euros).
All this in addition to the duties due, of course.
As you can see, this easily doubles the shipping cost when using UPS compared to regular USPS. Even two lb sent via Airmail Letter Post as Registered Mail with Return Receipt go for “just” US$22.55 via the USPS regular rate.
For US customers, it’s nice to have a USPS option: the USPS can deliver to my mailbox while I am not home. UPS always shows up when I’m not here and leaves a note each time and eventually I have to drive to their office to pick it up. So, personally, I prefer USPS to UPS and FedEx.
I run my own business as well and have packages delivered to me by UPS all of the time. I send ONLY using USPS and have only had one problem with an order to France getting lost in the system for some time but was delivered on the 32nd day. A little extreme, but I have never lost any packages using USPS Priority Mail or Air Parcel Post. The customs paperwork is far less time consuming with USPS, although tracking leaves something to be desired. UPS to me is the one of the WORST carriers out there. I have received more damaged boxes, boxes that had been run over by forklifts (or something else), lost packages, and packages with the entire contents missing from a hole in the end of the box. I would not use UPS as a primary carrier, and neither would most of my business associates. They are cheaper, but I do’t think that makes up for the service problems I have had with them.
You can always have an option for domestic shipping for USPS…personally I like USPS over UPS and I also experienced that they are quite fast and reliable - always leave a note if I’m not home…
Is there a reason that digikey and newark can do $8 CDN flat fee shipping to all of Canada, from their US warehouse, with a max of 2 days delivery time, and you guys can’t? Is it because of their large amount of shipments?
Grecko: Digikey ships from in Canada - that’s why checking their stocks and prices will vary depending on how you have your cart set up. The first time that I ordered from Digikey, I mistakingly had it set up using the US pricing and availability - a few mins after placing the order I got a call from a sales person at Digikey to see if I really meant to not use the Canadian service since the shipping would be much more expensive and I’d have to pay duties separately.
unless I decide to get the olimex ICD2… But we’ll see as I don’t know how much I’m going to spend at this point.
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