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Because the USPS wanted to set US retail postal rates without negotiating with China Post and 150 others. Other countries' postal systems wanted the same autono
by Arnt 9y ago
Because the USPS wanted to set US retail postal rates without negotiating with China Post and 150 others. Other countries' postal systems wanted the same autonomy.
So the postal union made a deal: The USPS decides how much to charge for postage to China, carries the mail to the Chinese border, China Post carries it from there, and the two split the USPS' retail price according to a set formula. Ditto for every other country combination. Simple. Saves a lot of negotiating.
But it means that if, say, the German postal system is able to send mail to the American border much more cheaply than the USPS to the German border, then the USPS will subsidise the Germans. Which is the case: I sent a heavy book from Munich to Seattle this summer for €17. Then the recipient sent it back, which cost a little over $50.
The difference is starker when you compare China and the US, but comparing Germany and the US is fair. Both are high-cost countries. I think the Americans should stop complaining until they have the prices down to German levels (or to an average of rich countries if you will).
- sverhagen 9y ago> Both are high-cost countries. This may still be true, if you're talking about some kind of broad categories of countries. But from your example, the US is then clearly a much-higher-cost country than Germany. There's a lot of crazy expensive stuff in the US, that wouldn't fly like that in Northwest Europe. Go grocery shopping. Get a cellular plan. Conversely, get a job. You'll see the differences. Everything is so freakin' inflated in the US, it's not even funny anymore (as if it'd ever be). (I grew up close to the German border.)
- buserror 9y agoHere in the uk the mailers have a fancy method for making up the difference in pricing, they call it 'handling fee'. So you pay postage from your parcel in country X, and on arrival in the UK, it's held, sometime for customs and/or VAT -- and then the carrier tries to charge you up to £20 for 'handling fee' to deliver it to you. Basically what they do is try to hold you hostage to pay for the delivery, even tho you have paid postage already AND they are supposed to have an agreement with the oversea mailers about it. It's really daylight robbery. And they all do it. Royal Mail, DHL, Fedex etc.
- tombrossman 9y agoCan you contact the sender and tell them to sort it out? They are the courier's customer so really it's their problem to resolve. Just say "I never received my parcel" and let them figure it out.
- Arnt 9y agoI get those messages too. There are three options: 1. Pay the courier company to take care of customs. 2. Go to the customs office and do it yourself. I remember discussing with a customs officer what category a Soekris net4501 really was. ;) 3. Return the parcel. The good news is that Amazon, Ebay, Aliexpress and some others deal with it now. Anyone who sells via Ebay can have the customs stuff processed by Ebay for a much more reasonable fee.
- tombrossman 9y agoOK, so the issue is unpaid customs fees, which you can pay the courier to sort out for you. I thought they were demanding extra postage or something like that.
- Arnt 9y agoSay you order an USB-to-centronics adapter from China. Then the DHL/whatever courier brings it to you and says "you have to pay €1.07 VAT on that, and also a €25 handling charge to DHL for acting as a middleman between you and the customs office". That €25 stings.
- creep 9y agoThis is done in Canada as well. It's frustrating when I've already paid $80 for shipping. What the hell is a handling fee, you crooks.
- eveningcoffee 9y agoThe problem here is that the countries doing this actually love it because it creates another unofficial barrier of entry.