Shipping Options? Problem?

[aquilarosso]

Hi, I was looking at splashing out on the $22 USD Marshall board component kit when I noticed the only shipping option was priority mail costing $32 USD to New Zealand. The cost of sending 3 of these kits is also $32 USD ($37 for 5 kits), with no option for choosing cheaper standard post.
Does that mean there is a minimum shipping charge and things are supposed to be like this, so that they are not not overwhelmed with small orders, or is it a bug in the shopping cart system?

[admin]

Hi, I was looking at splashing out on the $22 USD Marshall board component kit when I noticed the only shipping option was priority mail costing $32 USD to New Zealand. The cost of sending 3 of these kits is also $32 USD ($37 for 5 kits), with no option for choosing cheaper standard post.
Does that mean there is a minimum shipping charge and things are supposed to be like this, so that they are not not overwhelmed with small orders, or is it a bug in the shopping cart system?

None of those things.

It's because you live in New Zealand. There aren't any economical shipping options from the US.

[aquilarosso]

I just had a pair a Sylvania 6CA7s sent here to NZ by Tubetramp and he used a US Postal Service priority mail small flat rate box, which cost only USD $6.18. That's a fair bit cheaper than 32 bucks I just had to pay to get a few components sent from Metro.
It just means that I'd have to wait until I need several parts from the shop and order them all at once, so the shipping does not hurt so much. If you could find out how Terry is able to send Tubes so much cheaper, it would make smaller orders much more economical and tempting.
Thanks.

[demonufo]

Think yourself lucky. It's $40 US to post here to the UK.
So I save up my orders, or make sure I have good stocks.

[admin]

I just had a pair a Sylvania 6CA7s sent here to NZ by Tubetramp and he used a US Postal Service priority mail small flat rate box, which cost only USD $6.18. That's a fair bit cheaper than 32 bucks I just had to pay to get a few components sent from Metro.
It just means that I'd have to wait until I need several parts from the shop and order them all at once, so the shipping does not hurt so much. If you could find out how Terry is able to send Tubes so much cheaper, it would make smaller orders much more economical and tempting.
Thanks.

The store uses the USPS own rate quote generator to come up with the shipping options and costs, which pop up automatically in the estimate window and at checkout. Basically, we send the USPS server a total package weight and a shipping destination, and they send us back an auto-generated shipping quote.

Based on the size and typical orders for our products, it would be a pretty rare situation where a flat rate box would be appropriate to contain everything and we typically use our own packaging. What are you trying to order? Can it fit in that box?

[aquilarosso]

I ordered the AB resistor set and 2 sozo caps, which was all I needed, so I ordered 3 F&T cans and the component kit for a total of $76USD to make the 32 bucks shipping cost more worthwhile. I since found out a friend here carries alot of Mojo stock and I didn't need to order from abroad, doh
I am a uni student who doesn't have alot of spare cash, so 32 dollars hurt when TK can send 2 big bottles to me for only 6 bucks.
It's not a big gripe for me, because overall you guys run an excellent operation and forum, but shipping costs do make ordering and building in stages uneconomical. I'll have to save up for a whole kit. Just as well I'm loving my 1987 atm.

[admin]

The key question is "do your parts fit in that tiny flat rate box?"