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international shipping question...

Started by Fred Chamberlain,

16 posts in this topic

Fred Chamberlain

Fred Chamberlain

Posted
Posted

I have begun selling artwork for Eddy Barrows and initially established my international shipping rates, based on a prominent art dealer's policy, and using Fed Ex. I just had someone from Germany inquire about a piece of artwork and when I went to check out shipping calculations on the FEDEX site, it came back with a $114 quote for economy shipping. This is nearly twice what I had initially set as a base.

 

Any thoughts, is this way off or spot on?

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Carlo M

Carlo M

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I have received dozens of pieces of OA from the US to Italy, using FedEx and other shippers. The rate for FedEx sounds about right. They are a bit more expensive than say USPS but I find their services superior, especially through customs. But, in fairness, I have never got any art stolen or lost through any shippers (touch wood....).. it is just a bit less hassle to deal with FedEx.

 

Catrlo

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BCarter27

BCarter27

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$100 to London has been the case for me in the past. So that quote sounds about right. FedEx is more expensive, but less hassle.

 

Give FedEx a call and see if you can setup an account with a discount through them. They will ask you what kind of volume you expect. They might be able to knock a little off.

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jaybuck43

jaybuck43

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I have begun selling artwork for Eddy Barrows and initially established my international shipping rates, based on a prominent art dealer's policy, and using Fed Ex. I just had someone from Germany inquire about a piece of artwork and when I went to check out shipping calculations on the FEDEX site, it came back with a $114 quote for economy shipping. This is nearly twice what I had initially set as a base.

 

Any thoughts, is this way off or spot on?

 

That sounds high to me if you are using a corporate/business account. I just did a test on my corporate account. I did from NYC to Munich, Germany. 5 pound package, 22x15x2" dimensions, customs and insured value of $1000. Both the duty and shipping billed to me. Here are my costs:

 

FedEx International First®

10:00 am Mon Apr 04, 2016

209.03

 

FedEx International Priority®

12:00 pm Mon Apr 04, 2016

51.77

 

FedEx International Economy®

06:00 pm Wed Apr 06, 2016

48.02

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GMRS

GMRS

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I am a full time board lurker, sometime poster and attendee at all comic art shows and I am in the middle of a situation that I could use some guidance from my fellow boardees.. I bought a piece of art (non comic) ($150,00) from a seller in Ireland and received the package in my office earlier this week. The problem is that my secretary signed for the package and it was empty. The international seller sent it in a flimsy yellow envelope with no tape sealing the package and it opened or was opened during its travels from Ireland. I contacted the eBay seller and got a rude comment that I must be lying as nobody would sign for an empty package, Has anyone dealt with this before and do I have any recourse or am I out of luck because my secretary signed for the package?? I get a lot of mail and we sign for several packages/return receipts etc. at the same time.Are we really expected to have the mailman wait and open each package to make sure the contents are inside? I welcome anyones thoughts through a post or PM. Thank you, Mike

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vodou

vodou

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The seller angle is done. You need to immediately go through eBay, then PayPal, then your credit card company direct (in that order) to seek resolution. As each one fails to deliver satisfaction, move to the next level of escalation. Eventually you will prevail, as this is "he said/she said", but you'll have your reputation (of not doing this before) on your side - and this system already leans at least 51% in favor of the buyer.

 

As far as signing for an empty package - that's bs. Lots of people get things delivered to offices with mailrooms, where the signer does not differentiate on package/contents, they just sign. Likewise...most deliverers will not give you the time of day to closely examine something BEFORE signing, you either sign or they toss (yup!) it back in the truck and move to the next delivery. Depending on the delivery company, many of those guys are getting straight commission compensation on the number of attempted and/or completed deliveries...the more they do in a day...the bigger than commission comp is! So every second counts. No time for pussyfooting around on "well is it open on one end or not, could I check first before signing", this is not paying the rent ;)

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JadeGiant

JadeGiant

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I had a similar experience once in that I received a package with nothing in it. The package had been sliced open on one end along the edge and it was not immediately noticeable as the cut was right along the edge of the package. Once I looked at it closely I could tell and sure enough, no art inside. This had obviously happened in transit and fellow collectors offered differing theories (stolen, inspected and the art fell out, etc.). Fortunately for me, I bought it from an art rep and he took over very aggressively and handled it for me and even gave me replacement art that was higher in value. My advice, move quickly and aggressively to explore all options (ebay, shipping company, credit card, etc) as it seem obvious that the seller is a dead end.

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