just got a nice yet shocking reply from a US seller with a nice frame I was after, dont think I'm gonna bother
what the seller told you is not true. there is still the Priority Mail® International option for international shipments which replaced the Air parcel. the maximum length is 60" (was more previously) and maximum length plus girth is still 108". a 26 pound parcel costs $106 plus insurance.
i've shipped such a parcel after 5/14/07 and my buddy in Switzerland received it after 1.5 weeks. usually the parcels are in the destination country after 2 days and then they get stuck in customs clearance.
all the recent information and rate calculator are here but some are really hidden
http://ircalc.usps.gov
there generally are smaller size limits but most of Europe is excempt from those.
usually the people at the USPS office are not aware of those exceptions and the shipper needs to explain them. i.e. the lady behind the counter told me that she cannot ship the parcel because it is too large. i insisted on that it is allowed and looked into the book with her. she had looked up Swaziland and not Switzerland and was surprised that it is not the same anyways...
235.23 Exceptional Size Limits
The maximum size limit for rectangular-shaped parcels of 42 inches in maximum length and 79 inches in maximum length and girth combined applies to all countries except as follows:
Maximum length and girth combined: 108 inches. Canada Hong Kong
Maximum length: 60 inches Maximum length and girth combined: 108 inches.
Andorra Macao
Austria
Malta
Azerbaijan
Marshall Islands, Republic of the
Belgium
Micronesia, Federated States of
Denmark
Netherlands
Finland
New Zealand
France
Norway
Germany
Poland
Gibraltar
Portugal
Great Britain and Northern Ireland
San Marino
Greece
Slovak Republic (Slovakia)
Ireland
Spain
Italy
Sweden
Japan
Switzerland
Liechtenstein
Vatican City
Luxembourg
retrobikeguy":39y8zn79 said:
just got a nice yet shocking reply from a US seller with a nice frame I was after, dont think I'm gonna bother
Hello, I hope all is well with you way over there. As for your shipping question... if this question was asked a month ago I would've had a much more gratifying answer for it. Unfortunately on 5/14/07 the United States Postal Service made some very mean, horrible changes to International shipping. For one... they no longer offer Economy Surface rate as an international option, and for two... the boxes required for these bike frames are much too big to qualify for the new (lower) maximum measurement regulation for Priority Air-mail. This leaves USPS Global Express Guaranteed as the lowest International shipping option available. Unfortunately, the cost of this International rate is much, much higher than I care to even say out loud... So thankfully I don't have to say it... brace yourself for the sentence you're about to read... are you ready... the exact shipping rate for the UK is $265.00, I know that's insane so I don't expect you will be bidding... don't get me wrong, it's a great bike frame but, come on... that price is pure crazy... I hated even writing it! If I knew about the new International Postage rates before I listed these last 5 bike frames, I wouldn't have offered them worldwide, but I found out too late (once a bid is placed the seller cannot make changes to the auction page.) So, I feel I must apologize for the harsh changes of the United States Postal Service rates... I'm sure it's going to hurt ebay international sales (for large items, anyway.) I can't tell you how many of these bike frames we've had go happily overseas in the past... it's just so sad now. And you know, the funny (not really all that funny) thing is... as astronomical as the price of the USPS Global Express shipping is, FedEx and UPS (other shipping services) are even higher. Such a shame. At any rate I appreciate that you asked about the shipping, and I hope you find the bike frame you wish for, hopefully from some place much closer. Take care...
