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USPS loses millions each year on local delivery of mail from abroad (2014)

washingtonpost.com

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Re: USPS loses millions each year on local delivery of mail from abroad (2014)

#51

Post by kuschku »

distances wrote: post #26
prawn wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And shipments from Asia. I recently found something for sale in Australia: $15 plus $10 shipping within Australia. I bought the exact same product direct from China/HK and it was under $4 including international shipping . I imagine the labour cost is one contributor within Australia. Without volume, no one wants to be doing runs to the post office for a dollar. With products from the US, I've routinely bought things…

It's the same in Europe. Local online merchants have no way to compete since just the national delivery costs multiple times the net price of a foreign import product. It's good for consumers, but also means the domestic e-commerce is severely underdeveloped.

Actually, delivery costs in Europe are basically nil.

You can ship a package in 3 days all across the EU for under 4€ with DHL. I know, because I’ve done so several times.

Stuff that’s small enough to fit in a letter even for 80ct across the entire EU in 2 days.

In fact, the domestic shipping market in the EU is actually cheaper than getting international parcels.

Re: USPS loses millions each year on local delivery of mail from abroad (2014)

#52

Post by 77pt77 »

chrinic726 wrote: post #43
dis-sys wrote: post #33

Now this is boring. People keep complaining about the fact that China's cheap stuff is flooding the US market. How about exporting some expensive US made stuff to China to close the gap of trading? Oh, you can't. Chinese living in China are not even allowed to buy Intel Xeon Phi cards, export license is required to safeguard your nation. Maybe make the US short term visa more accessible to Chinese tourists so they ca…

The job of the US government is to vehemently scrutinize and analyze Chinese (and non US) nationals when they enter the country. The job of the US government is to protect US citizens. If a Chinese citizen is inconvenienced by these policies, well, too bad. They can visit a different country. But in the end, they will still visit New York.

> But in the end, they will still visit New York.

Guess you haven't travelled much.

Re: USPS loses millions each year on local delivery of mail from abroad (2014)

#53

Post by hueving »

hkmurakami wrote: post #13
csydas wrote: post #5

> All of this is little comfort to McGrath, who chafes at the thought of the Postal Service helping Chinese merchants poach his customers. “All of us sellers are selling a lot of Chinese goods in America but at least we’re creating jobs, making money, and adding to the economy,” he said. “But when people buy direct from China that’s adding nothing to the American economy.” I understand the seller's frustration - thei…

Also the seller's claim that direct doesn't add anything to the economy is false. That surplus will be directed elsewhere, hopefully to something more productive than what has become an unnecessary intermediary.

The global economy sure, but not the US economy.

Re: USPS loses millions each year on local delivery of mail from abroad (2014)

#54

Post by hueving »

kbutler wrote: post #29
devoply wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All middle men are destined to be automated out by the system, if they add no value then sooner rather than later. However, people selling stuff online in niche markets are still somehow surviving, but sooner or later someone will figure out where they are hiding and get them too. It's all a matter of time.

Middlemen provide a service, adding value. That service is generally helping buyers connect with sellers. The internet has allowed a new generation of middlemen to rise, providing the service at a lower cost. eBay and Amazon are middlemen.

Uber is also a middleman.

Re: USPS loses millions each year on local delivery of mail from abroad (2014)

#55

Post by TeMPOraL »

pulse7 wrote: post #38
new299 wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd agree intermediaries aren't really adding anything of value. The problem is however, even in cases when you can produce something as cheaply in the US as in China, a Chinese seller can still beat you on price because they pay less for shipping. And that seems dumb.

Many small shipments across the ocean are costlier than one large shipment which is then distributed locally. USPS (and other national postal services across the world) will need to increase the prices for those small shipments and make profit out of it. I can only guess that in addition to this huge quantity discounts the shipments are subsidized by the Chinese government to accelerate export. US and other countries…

Given that in my experience, Chinese shipping times are utterly random (as little as one week to as much as 2 months), I'd expect them to actually batch all those small shipments and send them regularly in bulk on ships (with the Chinese post, not sellers, doing the batching).

Re: USPS loses millions each year on local delivery of mail from abroad (2014)

#56

Post by scribu »

hueving wrote: post #53
hkmurakami wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also the seller's claim that direct doesn't add anything to the economy is false. That surplus will be directed elsewhere, hopefully to something more productive than what has become an unnecessary intermediary.

The global economy sure, but not the US economy.

How do you figure?

The surplus comes from the fact that US buyers don't have to pay a percentage to the intermediary, so they can spend it on other things, like going out to a local restaurant more often.

Re: USPS loses millions each year on local delivery of mail from abroad (2014)

#57

Post by Markoff »

csydas wrote: post #5

> All of this is little comfort to McGrath, who chafes at the thought of the Postal Service helping Chinese merchants poach his customers. “All of us sellers are selling a lot of Chinese goods in America but at least we’re creating jobs, making money, and adding to the economy,” he said. “But when people buy direct from China that’s adding nothing to the American economy.” I understand the seller's frustration - thei…

good luck with warranty on stuff bought directly from China, their warranty period is also only one year instead of two in EU

Re: USPS loses millions each year on local delivery of mail from abroad (2014)

#58

Post by new299 »

pulse7 wrote: post #38
new299 wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd agree intermediaries aren't really adding anything of value. The problem is however, even in cases when you can produce something as cheaply in the US as in China, a Chinese seller can still beat you on price because they pay less for shipping. And that seems dumb.

Many small shipments across the ocean are costlier than one large shipment which is then distributed locally. USPS (and other national postal services across the world) will need to increase the prices for those small shipments and make profit out of it. I can only guess that in addition to this huge quantity discounts the shipments are subsidized by the Chinese government to accelerate export. US and other countries…

I'd need to see a citation of that really, or some ballpark estimates, to give it any credence.

I wouldn't necessarily expect local-to-local shipping always to be cheaper. But I'd expect there to be at least one option where you can bring a pre-labelled package to a shipping hub and get it sent at the same or lower cost.

Re: USPS loses millions each year on local delivery of mail from abroad (2014)

#59

Post by sokoloff »

Markoff wrote: post #57
csydas wrote: post #5

> All of this is little comfort to McGrath, who chafes at the thought of the Postal Service helping Chinese merchants poach his customers. “All of us sellers are selling a lot of Chinese goods in America but at least we’re creating jobs, making money, and adding to the economy,” he said. “But when people buy direct from China that’s adding nothing to the American economy.” I understand the seller's frustration - thei…

good luck with warranty on stuff bought directly from China, their warranty period is also only one year instead of two in EU

The way I look at it is that I self-insure. Much of what I buy direct from China (small electronics modules, connectors, electronics supplies, PCBs, etc) is less than half the price of what local sellers are charging, often way less.

My experience is that way over 95% of items are as described, arrive safely, and perfectly functional. The odd item that is broken in transit (or never arrives) I simply choose not to care about.

I don't need a warranty on a connector, an Arduino clone, or a tube of solder...

Re: USPS loses millions each year on local delivery of mail from abroad (2014)

#60

Post by croon »

csydas wrote: post #40
new299 wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd agree intermediaries aren't really adding anything of value. The problem is however, even in cases when you can produce something as cheaply in the US as in China, a Chinese seller can still beat you on price because they pay less for shipping. And that seems dumb.

Well, wouldn't the tradeoff there be time? In the past when I've ordered products from China or Korea, the tradeoff for free or $.99 shipping was that I had to wait two weeks. I do remember some shops had started keeping local warehouses for faster shipping times, so it seems like the foreign sellers are coming at it from both ways; they will ship small parcels that take awhile to arrive, or they'll send locally and…

For your consumer value, sure, but it's still a quirk that you can ship something across the glove cheaper than across states. It's because you only pay China for shipping, not the US that has to deliver it inside the border.
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