A lot of people comment on my international shipping rates and how economical they are, it took me some years to convince Australia Post to give me a discounted rates account however, not being a business, I don't have an ABN # and without that, they don't open accounts to anyone.
They saw how much money I was putting in their pockets and after lots of discussions, they accepted to give me a cash account, which means that, you pay on the spot for everytime you post something however, I was offered discount rates for international, only and I have to send a minimum of $5,000 of postage value each year, whatever falls short, I have to pay the difference.
The discounts work on about 50% of the regular prices, for all the posting options, this is what I was looking for for years, as I didn't agree with the ridiculous prices I had to charge so then anything overseas. Some people didn't seem to mind as they were getting good value for the money still but others did find hard to pay such shipping costs for only a few blanks so, I arrisk to have to pay whatever is missing from the minimum set amount of expenditure with Australia post for International parcels but, I took that risk knowing that ship that discounted amount, would represent twice as much as I ever posted, and I never got near that amount, the $5,000 international shipping expenditure what what some of my best years were so, a big risk for me indeed.
So, I did what I had to do to offers the lower shipping amounts possible, I started charging, the exact amount I had to pay at the Post Office counter, even though I have to fill this large form, exactly the same as any account with Australia Post, that was the only reference the have of the correct amounts paid each day, and this form is a nightmare and time consuming to but still, I accept to do it, for the benefit of anyone that ordered blanks from me, from overseas.
Like anyone else that has to pack things to send away, packaging costs aren't cheap, I buy the boxes, bags (various sizes), tape bubblewrap and all the other stuff necessary in bulk, trying to save some money but when I do, the bills run in the many hundred of dollars however, a small parcel can possibly cost about $2 in packaging but, multiplied by lots of them, it make up for a considerable constant expense, and most people won't even think of that but, you got to do what you got to do, and I'm not complaining, just stating the obvious!
But, what I am trying to say in relation to the shipping charges that some people charge when orders are made, even though, they have huge discounts, some as high as 80% as was mentioned here and still charge the full amount to their customers, and call it just normal business profit, that I do not agree with, and discusses me considerably, I see it as a rip-off in disguise. How about passing some of the offered savings to their customers...???? How much more greed can some people/business think they can get away with...??? is that called "business"...??? not in my books, I have a word for that, and that is "theft", pure and simple.
Anyone that I find trying to do business with me, with those principles, ain't have a chance in hell to get a cent from me, period...!
Up here, in the land of OZ, we have a saying that goes well with the sentiment and principals I believe relevant, we call it "fair deal...!"
How can some people be so ruthless...???
Cheers
George