Since March 2012, I have bought a total of 182 items from HA, ranging in price from $16 to $621. They have obviously posted many packages to me in that time, and mostly without any complaint on my part about shipping costs. Recently, however, I have had cause to question the cost. The last shipment I received was initially invoiced to me at $147.06, which I queried. I was informed that HA had charged me at Fedex retail rate and not their discounted rate, so the invoice was reduced to $103.25. Even so, that was expensive for a small box of folded posters, especially considering that the previous charge from HA was for 3 packages sent together containing a mixture of rolled and folded (approx. 11 folded, 3 rolled including 1 linenbacked, 3 lobby cards) for which I was charged the not entirely unreasonable amount of $122.75. I asked that they quote me for shipping before sending any future packages, and I received a quote (comparing like for like) of $221.97. That was for 13 folded and 1 rolled (linenbacked) poster, similar to that previous shipment in size but almost $100 more. I asked for a breakdown of the cost on 20th June but received no reply until yesterday, when I was sent exactly the same quote with no reference to my query. (As a matter of interest, the value of the posters in question is just over $1,000 so not, as Simon deemed to suggest, cheap purchases.) I buy from several other U.S. dealers and have found their postage costs to be reasonable, and certainly never as expensive as Heritage. I have been willing to pay their shipping charges, however, as obviously they have an attractive offer, in the same way most people are prepared to pay their buyers’ premium even though other online poster auctions don’t have one. In this instance, though, I find it totally unacceptable, which is why I have asked other MOPO members if they have had similar experiences. Why some have a problem with that I fail to understand. If MOPO exists to allow collectors to discuss matters of importance to members (and they don't all live in USA) and not simply for advertising sales, then surely the business practices of one of the hobby’s biggest players is a matter for discussion?
Tommy On Thu, Jul 9, 2015 at 3:36 PM, Helmut Hamm <texasmu...@web.de> wrote: > > Am 09.07.2015 um 13:28 schrieb Simon Oram <fab5fre...@btinternet.com>: > > Look Heritage's shipping charges for the weekly slots are expensive for > overseas buyers on cheap items or items that you thought you got for a > bargain price , so move on and don't buy from them anymore or better still > set up an address in the US to get all your stuff sent there, if you can. > > What more do want? > > > Simon, > > with all due respect, but I also had my grievances with Heritage's > shipping department in the past… Several years ago, they had GREAT rates > with Fedex, two-day international delivery, for less money than USPS > Priority Mail. > > Unfortunately, the Heritage shipping department was repeatedly unable to > give me ANY estimate upfront. Nobody over there was able or willing to tell > me, what the best option for my deliveries would've been. In consequence, I > had to make a blind choice, and pay whatever they charged me. > > I mean, we're not talking about a couple of bucks here: Take a $10 poster > purchase, with buyer's premium you're at roughly $25, add $40 for shipping > and 19% import tax, you end up paying $77 for what started out as a $10 > poster. > > In consequence, I complete gave up bidding on low-key items with Heritage, > since they usually ended up costing me WAY too much money. > > On a related topic: I guess I am somewhat sensitive about shipping costs, > but I still have to see the reason why so many ebay sellers feel they are > untitled to grant themselves a substantial premium for shipping outside the > US. None of those guys would dare to charge $25 for a domestic package, > that costs them $5 to ship, yet they have no hesitation to charge $40 for > an international package, that costs less than $20 to ship. > > Also, the common shipping option I see listed is Priority Mail > International. For most of my incoming packages, that's a waste of money. > It DOES take an extra click on the USPS website to find the cost for First > Class Mail International, and one more click to choose the free 'delivery > confirmation' option, which will provide full tracking all the way to > Germany. Then again, why go the extra mile and ship for $20, when you can > make your buyer pay $40 and ship Priority? > > Helmut > > ------------------------------ > > To unsubscribe from the MoPo-L list, click the following link: > https://listserv.american.edu/scripts/wa-american.exe?SUBED1=MoPo-L&A=1 > Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: lists...@listserv.american.edu In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
