Your problems are the result of your seller not directly shipping the package through the USPS but using an alternate shipper.
In the US a letter is defined by it's size & weight & records will always require sufficient size & weight to require USPS International Priority Mail. Digital Customs forms are required for all shipments & if desired, can be also be attached externally by the shipper if desired.
USPS has undergone extensive upgrading over the past several years & recently further improvement have made international shipping much more affordable.
Parcels with physical/dimensional weight 11lbs & up are best sent by a business with access to the FedEx Grate Rate Service.
Regards,
Duane Goldman
On Oct 24, 2013, at 4:25 AM, Dr Rainer E. Lotz <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Sending USPS International Priority to overseas customers is an enormous nuisance:
>
> While letter post will be delivered straight away, traceable packets must go through customs, where both import duties and value added tax will be charged.
>
> One would have to pick up the packet at the customs house, which in my case means travelling up to an hour by car during a working day, then join a long queue.
>
> The alternative is to email customs the invoice, and ebay numbers (since for some inexplicable reason American sellers tend to never attach the invoice on the OUTSIDE of the packet, as required).
>
> My local customs office (in western Germany) then sends everything by mail to a central customs office some 600 km away (at the far end of eastern Germany), where it will be processed further. This normally requires another fortnight (!) until the goods finally arrive at my home -- with a customs invoice which has to be paid cash to the mailman...
>
> On top of that, USPS Priority Mail charges are about double the charges for regular uninsured letter airmail. And the advantage of airmail is brought ad absurdum by this bureaucratic delay.
>
> I therefore always URGE American sellers to send items as letters, not packets, and adjust the invoices accordingly. I am prepared to bear the risk of not being able to track the item (an alternative would be to send by registered mail).
>
> I just won two items from the same seller. I received what might be an automatically generated invoice, charging the postage twice, and stipulating USPS international priority mail.
>
> I then contacted the seller:
>
> "Could you please check the charges for combined shipping?
>
> I prefer regular airmail, NOT USPS Priority Mail, because a packet will always have to pass customs while letter post is unproblematic, and cheaper."
>
> The seller answered:
>
> "Here is the message I receive from eBay when I try to invoice your transactions -
> "you can't send invoice for this order .
>
> The item(s) will ship using the Global Shipping Program. As part of the program, buyer directly pays international shipping and import charges to the third-party shipping provider. The buyer will still be able to complete checkout even if you don't send an invoice."
>
> It sounds like you will be hearing from the Third Party Shipper employed by eBay as to the shipping charges owed. Hopefully you will be able to work it out with them. Sorry I can't be of any additional help. Thank you for bidding."
>
> This sounds rather strange to me, actually, this never happened to me before. Does any one have an explanation? What can I do?
>
> Dr. Rainer E. Lotz
> Rotdornweg 81
> 53177 Bonn (Germany)
>
> Tel: 0049-228-352808
> Fax: 0049-228-365142
> Web: www.lotz-verlag.de
>
H D Goldman Lagniappe Chemicals Ltd.
PO Box 37066 St. Louis, MO 63141 USA
v/f 314 205 1388 [log in to unmask]
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