To be fair, and correct me if I am wrong, but no other movie poster
auction house (except one) can tell you what the item will cost before
sending should you win the auction.
But I agree in an ideal world it would be nice to know beforehand.
David
JOHN REID Vintage Movie Memorabilia wrote on 10/07/2015 2:03 PM:
The uncertainty about international postage costs at Heritage has put
me off bidding from time to time. You have to factor in the cost of
postage to determine whether it is worth bidding, particularly on
lower value items. If you don’t know how much postage will be prior to
bidding it makes it very difficult. On higher value items it is not so
important. My last two purchases have been for very large posters and
postage charges for those were reasonable.
I sell a heck of a lot of posters on ebay and they do things very
differently there. Buyers on ebay expect full tracking and insurance
plus gorilla proof packaging but they also expect very low postage
charges. If you charge what is perceived as being too much for postage
you get trashed in the ratings. I often lose money on postage and I’m
sure other sellers are in the same position.
Postage costs will continue to rise and I certainly understand that
Heritage cannot be expected to lose money on postage and packaging but
I would like to know how much postage will be before I bid.
John Reid
PO Box 92,
Elanora,
Qld 4221,
Australia
www.moviemem.com <http://www.moviemem.com/>
www.OzeFilm.com <http://www.ozefilm.com/>
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www.OzeAuction.com <http://www.ozeauction.com/>
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<http://stores.ebay.com.au/Daybill-Movie-Posters?_trksid=p2047675.l2563>
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*From:*MoPo List [mailto:mopo-l@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU] *On Behalf Of
*David Kusumoto
*Sent:* Friday, 10 July 2015 1:00 PM
*To:* MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU
*Subject:* Re: [MOPO] HA shipping costs
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?
Your question, in my view, was reasonable, Tommy. At MoPo - like
elsewhere - there are fiefdoms of fans for this or that dealer - or
for this or that auction house. Unfortunately, any question that
sounds legitimate to "consumers" - which also sounds like an attack on
these disparate fiefdoms - causes some to reflexively rise to their
defense, dishing out metaphors and analogies, mixed with the
occasional fact or direct/indirect quote designed to challenge YOUR
sanity, e.g., to make you appear dim-witted, dodgy or worse for even
querying the group.
Everyone, MYSELF INCLUDED, is guilty of this from time to time, as we
have our faves and biases about who's great, who's good and who we
should avoid because of documented or confessed spotty service or bad
behavior. Even known scammers who have been dragged into courts or in
the news media - have allies on these boards. Just keep in mind that
the lion's share of contributors are merchants peddling their goods -
and to be fair, most have a lot of expertise, e.g., the recent
discussion of "The Third Man" was especially enlightening.
But the downside of merchant dominance on public forums like MoPo is I
can only count on one hand the number of pure consumers and
non-full-time sellers who choose to contribute to MoPo REGULARLY.
It's too brutal for them because they fear being attacked by paper
cuts of sarcasm. The vast majority of MoPo's small membership are
customer lurkers who are being offended every week - whose identities
I learn about via private messaging as a consumer advocate. Even the
marketing of goods, which is a primary service provided on these
boards - is fraught with controversy. If some forum members believe
it's done too frequently - or - in the eyes of some, too flamboyantly
- (as some felt Bruce H. did before he left MoPo) - this is frowned
upon, esp. benchmark-based advertising which compares merchants with
other merchants. What's common everywhere in advertising is taboo
here - yet the disapproval, in my view, is expressed most loudly - and
almost entirely by competing merchants, not consumers. -d.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2015 15:54:01 +0100
From: tommymb...@gmail.com <mailto:tommymb...@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: HA shipping costs
To: MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU <mailto:MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU>
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
<mailto:texasmu...@web.de>> wrote:
Am 09.07.2015 um 13:28 schrieb Simon Oram <fab5fre...@btinternet.com
<mailto: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
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