Quote:
Originally Posted by boatman37210
Wanted to ship an item "first class international" by USPS. This option was not allowed because supposedly the value limit is $150. I checked the USPS web site and it said the limit was $400 which would have allowed me to ship. Sent an email to ShitIto asking about the difference. Response was if the shipping option is not listed, then you cannot use that option. Basically did not answer the question.
That left Priority Mail and Express Mail which are much more expensive. Again checked the shipping costs for both options quoted by ShipIto against the USPS web site and ShipIto rates were roughly $10 higher for each of the two shipping options. I did not send an email asking about the difference. By this time I just wanted to get my package. I was concerned that since they had my package they could cause problems for me if I complained too much.
The biggest problem I have is that they claim to be charging the same rates as the USPS under the same guidelines and I find that not to be true in my case. I was hoping I was mistaken in some way about the value guide lines, but they refused to answer. If they are quoting USPS rates that are in error, you have to wonder about the rest of their business. Next time you ship check their rates against the USPS web site. I did and was surprised.
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I worked at Shipito (before starting my own company) so hopefully my experience on the other side can help explain some things.
First, when I worked at Shipito, USPS First Class was not an option for packages as it is now. I would put money on it that the reason for the lower limit ($150) is likely due an API (application program interface) issue. Which would also be why the employees would have no idea how to answer your question. There is a wide range of allowable values that can be shipped by USPS First Class to different countries, $150 is probably the lowest allowable value. The APIs they use to calculate rates and generate postage likely do not take into account these value limits and would have generated postage regardless of the value. So, to prevent packages with too much value to be shipped, they set an internal threshold level at the lowest maximum value instead of setting separate thresholds for each country.
Second, the difference in price form Shipito to USPS for the exact same postage is likely due to them adding in their bank fees. If you look at their shipping calculator now, you will see a little note at the bottom that indicates that the price is increased by 4.3% (the bank fee - covers the credit card/paypal processing fee). This will explain why Shipito costs more than the USPS.
You will find (although you may never know it) that just about every single international package forwarder will increase the postage slightly (or a lot) over their discounts to cover processing fees or to increase their profits. At VykingShip our USPS rates are a little over what that USPS costs and right around Shipito's rates - often times cheaper than Shipito's rates if you factor in insurance. Forwarding companies don't wan to lose money, so you are going to end up paying for the processing fees with every package forwarder one way or another and lumped into the postage is the most likely place.
Where you find the largest postage hikes is with the "everything free" forwarders; those who do not charge you for any service (repackaging, consolidating, customs declaration completion, etc). With many of them you may find a 50-150% increase in postage over what they purchase it for from the carrier. Make sure to check rates before you use any package forwarder to avoid any companies that hike the postage by ridiculous amounts.