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EvilBay and Shipping Rates
AFVFan
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North Carolina, United States
Member Since: May 17, 2012
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Posted: Friday, September 05, 2014 - 09:11 PM UTC

Quoted Text

With Dragon I don't get why the MSRP for their kits are higher in North America than in Japan?


I would think transportation costs and import fees play a role in the higher NA price. Not only that, but you have to figure in the wages paid out to the people working the NA system.

Think of it this way. If you sell an item locally for $20, would you still ask that if you had to add shipping and pay a middle man to resell it?
CMOT
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ARMORAMA
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England - South West, United Kingdom
Member Since: May 14, 2006
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Posted: Saturday, September 06, 2014 - 03:00 AM UTC
I believe you will find that Dragon products are cheaper in the USA than they are in Europe.
AFVFan
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Posted: Saturday, September 06, 2014 - 04:32 AM UTC

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I believe you will find that Dragon products are cheaper in the USA than they are in Europe.


I can believe that, Darren. The UK (and France) have some of the worst import tax rates in the world from what I've seen.
sherman-vc
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Alberta, Canada
Member Since: September 13, 2005
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Posted: Monday, September 08, 2014 - 05:07 AM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

With Dragon I don't get why the MSRP for their kits are higher in North America than in Japan?


I would think transportation costs and import fees play a role in the higher NA price. Not only that, but you have to figure in the wages paid out to the people working the NA system.

Think of it this way. If you sell an item locally for $20, would you still ask that if you had to add shipping and pay a middle man to resell it?


I understand that, but again it was cheaper to order the kit from Japan with postage, than just the retail at Dragon USA before postage.

Doesn’t make sense, when Dragon is their own distributor in North America. I don't mind ordering the kit from Japan, I get it cheaper and quicker. Dragon USA takes forever to ship to Canada and they don't offer the same shipping discounts to Canadians as they do for US customers.

I don't know how much business Dragon USA gets from Canadian customers defiantly nowhere near what they get from the US or Europe. They may just don't care (which is what the pricing seems to indicate).

Sorry this has gone way off topic and I didn't really didn’t want to turn it into another Dragon bashing thread, I like their products.

Regards,
Rod
sherman-vc
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Alberta, Canada
Member Since: September 13, 2005
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Posted: Monday, September 08, 2014 - 05:16 AM UTC

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Does it really cost 40 bucks to ship that kind of small product?
Or are shipping prices like this are just another way of saying "no international shipping"?


To answer your question, postage from the US to Finland on priority mail packages weighing from 1 to 16 ounces is $39.50 according to the USPS rate calculator (slightly cheaper if postage is bought online).

The problem is with the Ebay/Paypal policy. In order for a seller to have any hope of being covered by their so-called "seller protection program" all packages must have a tracking number. This means that only priority or express mail can be used, as there is no tracking on normal 1st class mail. Believe me when I say sellers hate this as much as you do, but their hands are tied.


I have not had any issues receiving stuff I had purchased on ebay for over ten year until this year. I for one am glad about the buyer protection program. I had to get PayPal involved with two vendors from mainland China in order to get my money back for items that never arrived.

Regards,
Rod
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