Before the internet and online purchasing, if I wanted a specialty item I had to wait until the next time I was in a major center and then drive across town to the store to pick it up. And in reality we went to town more often because we "liked to go shopping." I can't imagine the hundreds of dollars I have saved in 'shopping rates' versus shipping rates. And how would I have gotten to the Eastern States just to get a pair of Tarp Flyz?

Quote Originally Posted by Balkan boy View Post
Regarding international shipping,

Once I added how much money I spent on shipping over two years and I nearly cried.
On the other hand, I learned to live with it. Nearly all of the things I buy from abroad I can not find locally and if I can it's much more expensive.

As mentioned, USPS is the best solution. Envelopes and small packages can cost from 5$ to 15$ but, for example, a hammock and tarp would be around 30$.
http://postcalc.usps.gov/
If I order from UK I use Royal mail.
All these 'national' services work well, albeit a little slower.
In my country UPS and FedEX are a bunch of bandits.

As Te-Wa said, labeling the package for lesser amount smooths out many things. Some vendors do it but some are stubborn and insist it's a fraud. (It isn't)


Cheers.