Hammy Offline Upload & Sell: Off
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Is There a Cost Effective Way to Ship to Canada? | |
Unfortunately, I've run into the same issues when trying to ship things internationally.
I've had to get gear and preprinted discs (3000 DVDs) to New Zealand for the past three years. Shipping one box of DVDs (600 of them @24lbs) costs $200-$300 via FedEx/UPS/DHL - about the same cost of the discs!
And I have looked into having them printed in country, but that cost for small runs cost nearly 3 times what I can have them done locally for (and much better 5-color offset than screen printing)
This year, I've taken advantage of Delta's Media Bag policy: where bags 3-25, up to 100lbs each - if classified as media - only cost $50 per bag!
Not that this helps your issue anyway, but I think the main dilemma is dealing with international tariffs, customs, etc... Even with my transportation costs diminished, once I collect my bags at the airport, they get flagged by customs of having commercial value and therefore subject to 15% GST. Luckily, I don't sell the discs, but then they go off my costs of the discs, which still comes out to another few hundred dollars!
However, this year, I took that issue through a customs broker in country. They were able to arrange customs clearance at a fraction of the expense, and even after their charges, I paid less overall than I would have expected to pay directly.
I don't know if this would be worth while in your case, as their fees were more than the $50 you're looking at, but those are the things to consider - as soon as you add value to your shipment, then the border agents are going to want a piece of that action.
I'd say bite it, split the shipping costs, finalize the sale, make some money on the lens and make the receiving party happy about his new lens.
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