Shipping Costs

[Mike Griffin]

I belong to several facebook groups that people use to sell and trade kits, mostly RC and free flight and it is becoming more and more common to see "WILL NOT SHIP, LOCAL PICKUP ONLY".   

Back a few years ago when I was producing and shipping kits, I could send a standard 5 fold kit box across the country priority mail for about $18.00 at most.  Not anymore.

Shipping costs are becoming a real issue for people who are buying on line.  I shudder to think what international shipping is now.

I have tried to order small items online, such as a servo, and the shipping cost was more than the cost of the servo. 

This is becoming a real deterrent for online buying, at least for me.

Mike

[Tony Drago]

I hear you. It's getting real crazy.

[Dan McEntee]

I belong to several facebook groups that people use to sell and trade kits, mostly RC and free flight and it is becoming more and more common to see "WILL NOT SHIP, LOCAL PICKUP ONLY".   

Back a few years ago when I was producing and shipping kits, I could send a standard 5 fold kit box across the country priority mail for about $18.00 at most.  Not anymore.

Shipping costs are becoming a real issue for people who are buying on line.  I shudder to think what international shipping is now.

I have tried to order small items online, such as a servo, and the shipping cost was more than the cost of the servo. 

This is becoming a real deterrent for online buying, at least for me.

Mike

    May we be witnessing the return of the brock and mortar store?  The rise from the ashes of the local Hobby Shop? Malls making a comeback? The cost is rising and most certainly the convenience has sipping as more and more packages seem to get "lost" on their way to the customer?  Stranger things are happening in the world!!
  Type at you later,
   Dan McEntee

[Gerald Arana]

Thank you Biden..

GA

[Steve Dwyer]

Our Hobby Town Hobby Shop nearby will order anything you need with no shipping charges. Aside from glues, minimal hardware and several electric ARFs they stock nothing for model planes. The place is wall to wall RC cars and trucks.

When ordering on line from a favorite source I keep a running list to accumulate for one shipment.

[Rusty]

They use dimensional weight now, which is a fancy term for size of the box.  Last year I sold a kit to a guy that weighed 5 pounds.  It was a 40 size ARF RC plane.  The shipping was 85.00.  The guys wife pitched a fit, so I refunded.   

Personally, I think America is going down the toilet.   Everything is screwed up.   It cost me 240.00 for a used main circuit breaker in my panel because there are no new ones in America.  Square D, QO, 150 amp.  China is not making them right now.  New it is 68.00. 

Yea, free cell phones for illegal immigrants, but not for homeless VETS.   

Sad really.

 

[BYU]

Thank you Biden..

GA

Nope this one is on the last guy. He put that muppet Louis DeJoy in charge of the USPS.

[GERALD WIMMER]

Hello I use shipping forwarding companies to send to me in New Zealand. Build up a number of items and consolidate into one parcel and they sort out all the paper work including the NZ good and services tax (GST) and insurance and it arrives at my door a month latter . For this service it generally costs $100 a small parcel up to $300 for a couple of kits but when you have little choice locally you pay if you want to fly. Brodaks and  SIG seem to offer good international shipping rates , so I ship their orders direct. Cost out of Europe tends to be much higher then the USA to NZ but again if you really need something...

Regards Gerald

[Steve Dwyer]

Inflation is world wide, what you are saying is similar to standing on the shore and yelling America is causing the tide to come in. Actually some countries are much worse off than us. It'd be nice to blame Joe but he's not responsible.

[Steve Dwyer]

Many local hobby dealers are still enjoying free shipping because the large wholesalers buying bulk from the Orient use the enticement to maintain volume locally.

[Craig Beswick]

Hello I use shipping forwarding companies to send to me in New Zealand. Build up a number of items and consolidate into one parcel and they sort out all the paper work including the NZ good and services tax (GST) and insurance and it arrives at my door a month latter . For this service it generally costs $100 a small parcel up to $300 for a couple of kits but when you have little choice locally you pay if you want to fly. Brodaks and  SIG seem to offer good international shipping rates , so I ship their orders direct. Cost out of Europe tends to be much higher then the USA to NZ but again if you really need something...

Regards Gerald

It would be interesting to know which company Gerald.

The 2 I researched were basically scams so decided I would just wait for USPS priority International to become available.

Craig

[GERALD WIMMER]

It would be interesting to know which company Gerald.

The 2 I researched were basically scams so decided I would just wait for USPS priority International to become available.

Craig

Hello Craig Not sure what Australian forwarding agents exist but I have used Kiwi Shipping and NZ posts 'You Shop' but had better service out of US based 'Stackry' and the UK based 'Forward To Me' is another with a good reputation.
Regards Gerald

[David Ebers]

I wanted to upgrade a worn out fuel soaked hand me down swap meet reject mud dobber infested Club 40 pylon racer.
Flying buddy sends a messages saying the factory, in Hong Kong, made a small run of airframes. Went to their website and found the ARF listed for $125. Very good price for an ARF. Used the shipping cost estimator. $290 to my door.

The mud dobbers will be racing a few times again this year.