FYI: I bought a hardback recently from ABE, shipped to UK. They charged me
$10 for "International Priority Air". Maybe they have a trade rate with
USPS?
10.49 Asimov, Isaac. The Tyrannosaurus Prescription and 100 Other
Essays. (Science, Essays) Prometheus Books, #0-87975-540-7, 1989, [1st]
edition. (Hardcover) Near fine in dust jacket.
_______
10.49 Sub-total
10.00 Shipping and handling (International Priority Air)
All prices are in U.S. funds
On 20 September 2013 23:26, Chris Trask <christrask@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Every so often, I sell used electronics technical and books on
> suitable email lists. The cost for shipping a single book in the US by way
> of Media Mail is usually less than $4. But, to mail one to Europe costs
> about $32, even if the book is tightly wrapped, about 2" by 8" by 15" at
> most, and it can take more than two weeks to arrive.
>
> Today I received in the mail a used bicycle handlebar and stem from
> an eBay seller in France. According to the postage meter on the package,
> it cost 11.50 Euros to mail it, and it got here in just under ten days.
> The package is roughly 8" square and 18" long. Compare this to mailing a
> book having far less volume and similar weight from the US to Europe.
>
> I can't help but wonder why there is such a gargantuan difference in
> the cost of shipping merchandise from one direction to the other. I'm
> aware that the Irish government subsidises mail to the US by tossing
> everything on an air freighter in Dublin, delivering it to an air terminal
> in New Jersey, and then distributing it from there to the US destinations.
> Australia and New Zealand have something similar.
>
> Two thoughts come to mind: First, the European governments subsidise
> overseas mail in support of the citizens and commerce, which benefits
> society as a whole. Secondly, and maybe more important, their postal
> services are far more efficient, whereas ours is continually threatening to
> go under at any moment. I can think of a number of other issues where
> Europeans outsrtip their US counterparts.
>
> I blame society.
>
>
>
>
> Chris
> --
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