Author Topic: What's your experience with USPS international first class mail? (Read 14719 times)

Nikelu · « **on:** Tue, 10 February 2015, 10:07:42 »

It is the cheapest way to buy internationally and i would like to know if they are consistent .Don't want to find my 200$ kb in pieces and also don't want to igve +30$ for other ship method

Mandolin · « **Reply #1 on:** Tue, 10 February 2015, 10:10:12 »

1-2 month of delivery from US -> Chile.
(10-15 days from Chile to the US)

Packages have arrived with dents, and scratches, as if someone peeked into a tiny hole to see it's contents.

jdcarpe · « **Reply #2 on:** Tue, 10 February 2015, 10:11:03 »

Personally, I won't ship international First Class, except for very small bubble mailers. For a keyboard, it's Priority or EMS only. First Class is too unreliable and prone to breakage.

fohat.digs · « **Reply #3 on:** Tue, 10 February 2015, 10:12:23 »

Unpredictable.

For shorter, more direct routes (eg Eastern US to Europe) it goes pretty well and is probably worth doing.

If you are going a long way, or to a more remote destination, it is probably worth paying the difference for Priority Mail.

Sygaldry · « **Reply #4 on:** Tue, 10 February 2015, 10:14:15 »

First Class stinks.

The first time I received a package shipped via First Class this year, USPS lost/misdelivered my package and I had to get a replacement shipped to me.

Priority is a million times better and more reliable.

For international you might also consider another carrier.

fohat.digs · « **Reply #5 on:** Tue, 10 February 2015, 10:18:35 »

Quote from: Sygaldry on Tue, 10 February 2015, 10:14:15

For international you might also consider another carrier.

What other carrier?

Whenever I have asked UPS or FedEx about a keyboard-size package, it has been $200+

PunksDead · « **Reply #6 on:** Tue, 10 February 2015, 10:23:50 »

Quote from: jdcarpe on Tue, 10 February 2015, 10:11:03

Personally, I won't ship international First Class, except for very small bubble mailers. For a keyboard, it's Priority or EMS only. First Class is too unreliable and prone to breakage.

^this

clickNship w/tracking in a bubble mailer US is $6ish dollars to almost anywhere intl, amazing price. However i expect these things to take a beating so if you are shipping a few keycaps i dont see an issue.

but yeah I wouldnt ship anything huge/easily breakable by first class even with insurance (which is a joke, good luck with that going smoothly)

Nikelu · « **Reply #7 on:** Tue, 10 February 2015, 10:57:42 »

Quote from: jdcarpe on Tue, 10 February 2015, 10:11:03

Personally, I won't ship international First Class, except for very small bubble mailers. For a keyboard, it's Priority or EMS only. First Class is too unreliable and prone to breakage.

How about a key sampler? I guess it will be ok?

jdcarpe · « **Reply #8 on:** Tue, 10 February 2015, 11:21:36 »

Quote from: Nikelu on Tue, 10 February 2015, 10:57:42

Quote from: jdcarpe on Tue, 10 February 2015, 10:11:03
Personally, I won't ship international First Class, except for very small bubble mailers. For a keyboard, it's Priority or EMS only. First Class is too unreliable and prone to breakage.
How about a key sampler? I guess it will be ok?

Anything you don't mind getting lost or damaged. If you lose the money you paid for a key sampler, it's probably okay. Versus paying more for shipping than the item is worth, is what I mean.

But for a $200 keyboard, as you gave as example, no. Can you afford to take a $200 hit if it never shows up?

Findecanor · « **Reply #9 on:** Tue, 10 February 2015, 11:55:06 »

For a $200 keyboard, I would choose insurance and tracking.

I have got several dozen packages from the US to Sweden. First Class International has always worked for smaller or larger boxes but about a third of the padded envelopes have been lost on the way.

Delivery time has almost always been precisely one week from the US, regardless of priority/EMS or not, but then I live in the capitol with the country's largest air port nearby. The only exceptions have occurred over Christmas.

Quote from: Sygaldry on Tue, 10 February 2015, 10:14:15

For international you might also consider another carrier.

UPS, DHL etc are super-expensive from US to Europe, while in my experience USPS to Europe has sometimes been cheaper and faster than from one European country to another.

intelli78 · « **Reply #10 on:** Tue, 10 February 2015, 12:40:16 »

I agree with the majority, first-class int'l is slow, prone to loss, and harsh on packages.

eth0s · « **Reply #11 on:** Tue, 10 February 2015, 14:54:06 »

USPS First Class International is quite good actually. I have shipped over 60 keyboard-related things (mostly Clacks) from New York City around the globe without a problem. You can get insurance AFAIK, but I've never done it since I've always been asked by the recipient to declare the value <$10 on the customs forms in order to avoid duties. To name a few of the countries I've shipped to: Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Viet Nam, and just about every country in Western Europe, except Spain, Portugal, and Belgium. The country with the most variability seems to be the UK. Sometimes my packages got there in a week, other times it took a month. Shipping to Asia typically takes 2-3 weeks. All-in-all, I would say USPS First Class Int'l is excellent given the price. Nothing I shipped was ever lost or damaged. Tracking only works until the package leaves the USA, once it's abroad, it's untrackable. And the UK postal service seems to like to hold onto packages for an inordinate amount of time. The one package that I sent to Australia was opened, searched, and ransacked by the Australian Govt./ Postal Inspectors, but it was put back together taped up rather sloppily and sent to the recipient, with a notice that it had been searched, even though it was obvious. Why that happened I have no idea. As for "other carriers", the private companies are way too expensive. They exist to rip-off multinational corporations who feel the need to ship a single original document from NYC to Berlin overnight for $250.

Heliosphere · « **Reply #12 on:** Tue, 10 February 2015, 18:27:42 »

Like others have said, shipping small bubble mailers by First Class Intl is a pretty good deal, although destination could matter. I've done a couple keycap shipments from USA to Australia and they've always arrived in a fair amount of time in satisfactory condition (according to the buyers). Anything very valuable or large should be shipped by priority or another carrier.

fohat.digs · « **Reply #13 on:** Tue, 10 February 2015, 18:37:56 »

Quote from: Heliosphere on Tue, 10 February 2015, 18:27:42

or another carrier.

Please, I have asked a dozen times, over the years, in a dozen threads, whether anybody knows of any shipper in the US who will ship a "large" package internationally, with tracking, for a reasonable rate, in a reasonable time frame.

Many people here have acted like they pretended that they knew that such a thing exists, but

NOBODY HAS EVER TOLD ME WHAT IT IS !

Please, name names or shut the f*ck up!

jdcarpe · « **Reply #14 on:** Tue, 10 February 2015, 19:20:38 »

Other places seem to use DHL to ship things here, but I don't have a DHL location near me. Anyone ever used DHL from US to int'l?

UPS and FedEx have always quoted me $200+ for shipping keyboard sized objects to int'l destinations.

Heliosphere · « **Reply #15 on:** Tue, 10 February 2015, 20:25:10 »

Quote from: fohat.digs on Tue, 10 February 2015, 18:37:56

Quote from: Heliosphere on Tue, 10 February 2015, 18:27:42
or another carrier.

Please, I have asked a dozen times, over the years, in a dozen threads, whether anybody knows of any shipper in the US who will ship a "large" package internationally, with tracking, for a reasonable rate, in a reasonable time frame.

Many people here have acted like they pretended that they knew that such a thing exists, but

NOBODY HAS EVER TOLD ME WHAT IT IS !

Please, name names or shut the f*ck up!

I've used usps priority for keyboards shipped internationally. Shipped an hhkb to Sweden, and it arrived in about a week. I think it cost about $30, but I'll check when I get home. I haven't used any other shipping service internationally so I can't recommend anything else, however I do recall FedEx tends to be more expensive than UPS, which is more than USPS. I only suggested "other carrier" in case USPS is somehow unavailable in one's specific situation.

Edit: Actually the shipment was to Norway, and it cost $30.06. Unfortunately the tracking data is no longer available so I can't confirm how long it took to deliver.

AlphaOne · « **Reply #16 on:** Tue, 10 February 2015, 20:28:17 »

NEVER use USPS when shipping to Australia... they dont always obtain a signature even when you specifically request signature on delivery, though that may be Australia post's fault.. just terrible handover... and my package has previously been lost on 2 separate occasions!!

FedEx/DHL all the way

tbc · « **Reply #17 on:** Tue, 10 February 2015, 20:29:57 »

as a canadian receiving a single novelty keycap, i prefer 2 layers bubbled wrap inside a bubble mailer shipped as first class. a box is BETTER, but i have no problem with the former.

why? prioirity seems to take another 2 days for some reason.

IvanIvanovich · « **Reply #18 on:** Wed, 11 February 2015, 07:27:18 »

USPS sends all first class, priority, express, parcel post... it all gets mixed together. It's the destination post that ****s things up most of the time, not USPS. Since all packages are sorted and processed together, mostly in an automated system the chances of damage or having a package misrouted are the exact same regardless of mail class. I used to work in USPS so I know what I am talking about.

Jokrik · « **Reply #19 on:** Wed, 11 February 2015, 07:36:07 »

^ +1

Well personally first class isn't bad
what's bad is how the country related postage once it gets to the destination

for example, Indonesia where I live
the custom is slow, and the delivery is even slower

I would always prefer EMS or priority mail

0100010 · « **Reply #20 on:** Wed, 11 February 2015, 22:01:32 »

Quote from: eth0s on Tue, 10 February 2015, 14:54:06

USPS First Class International is quite good actually. I have shipped over 60 keyboard-related things (mostly Clacks) from New York City around the globe without a problem. You can get insurance AFAIK, but I've never done it since I've always been asked by the recipient to declare the value <$10 on the customs forms in order to avoid duties. To name a few of the countries I've shipped to: Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Viet Nam, and just about every country in Western Europe, except Spain, Portugal, and Belgium. The country with the most variability seems to be the UK. Sometimes my packages got there in a week, other times it took a month. Shipping to Asia typically takes 2-3 weeks. All-in-all, I would say USPS First Class Int'l is excellent given the price. Nothing I shipped was ever lost or damaged. Tracking only works until the package leaves the USA, once it's abroad, it's untrackable. And the UK postal service seems to like to hold onto packages for an inordinate amount of time. The one package that I sent to Australia was opened, searched, and ransacked by the Australian Govt./ Postal Inspectors, but it was put back together taped up rather sloppily and sent to the recipient, with a notice that it had been searched, even though it was obvious. Why that happened I have no idea. As for "other carriers", the private companies are way too expensive. They exist to rip-off multinational corporations who feel the need to ship a single original document from NYC to Berlin overnight for $250.

Pretty much this. I use a small bubble mailer, with the item wrapped in a protective shell inside, and list the declared value below $10 for customs.

Ouro · « **Reply #21 on:** Wed, 11 February 2015, 22:18:42 »

Depending on the country, USPS is now offering free tracking to some international destinations. However, you don't have the option of requesting a signature or insurance.

In most cases, it is restricted to 42" in length, width, and height combined, and always restricted to less than 4 pounds.

If you're gonna use USPS for the intl shipping of a keyboard, you'll probably want to go Priority Mail in which case you can purchase some insurance.

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Author Topic: What's your experience with USPS international first class mail? (Read 14719 times)