Did Amazon recently change the Marketplace shipping rates?

[Tim McG]

My advice?

Avoid the shipping costs altogether and buy into the Amazon Prime program.

Free shipping for all items plus the occasional two-day shipping option, free. Saved us a bundle.

That doesn't work with Marketplace sellers and I'm not sure it's open to non-U.S. residents.

Gotcha.

I had forgotten that doesn't apply to sellers who are not going through Amazon.

[JohnS]

There was a massive hike in UK overseas postage rates last year. A thin magazine to Europe now costs £3. To send a reasonably well packed lp to the US costs around £10,even more to Japan, Australia etc.

[king ubu]

Well Chuck, I hope you weren't too serious!

Jazz Messengers is a fine outfit, btw - they carry lots of small labels, but they weirdly only have about half or a third of the Nessa catalogue on offer!

[erwbol]

Well Chuck, I hope you weren't too serious!

Jazz Messengers is a fine outfit, btw - they carry lots of small labels, but they weirdly only have about half or a third of the Nessa catalogue on offer!

Can they be relied upon to use quality packaging materials for the Mosaic sets?

[king ubu]

Yes, in my experience (one order, Threadgill box) and that of a friend (several orders, I think), they can!

They packed my Threadgill in a perfeclty fitting cardboard box, and that one was again put into a larger box similar to the boxes Mosaic uses.

EDIT: but the boxes look like they have some shelf wear - nothing bad, but obviously they made their way from the US to Europe already, and spent time in shelves in the US and then again at Jazz Messengers - no issue for me, as they are in shelves again here and the shelf wear just adds up as time goes by ...

Edited March 21, 2013 by king ubu

[J.A.W.]

Well Chuck, I hope you weren't too serious!

Jazz Messengers is a fine outfit, btw - they carry lots of small labels, but they weirdly only have about half or a third of the Nessa catalogue on offer!

Can they be relied upon to use quality packaging materials for the Mosaic sets?I also got the Threadgill Mosaic from them, and the packaging was fine.

[JohnS]

I've had a few thing from Messengers,nothing recently though. One item went astray but it was replaced immediately without question. If in Barcelona the shop is well worth a visit.

[Jim Alfredson]

Are there any European distributors who deal with small labels such as my own? I feel like we're losing international sales now that the postage rates are so high. It makes selling direct not very cost effective for our European fans.

[mjazzg]

Are there any European distributors who deal with small labels such as my own? I feel like we're losing international sales now that the postage rates are so high. It makes selling direct not very cost effective for our European fans.

Others will probably know more about the distribution business than me but from a consumer's perspective Discovery Records seem to do a good job with some smaller, albeit mostly Euopean, labels. They have been the most cost effective source of Delmark releases since the price hike. I know nothing else about them other than being a satisfied customer

http://www.discovery-records.com/

Edited March 21, 2013 by mjazzg

[david weiss]

Just shipped two CDs to Europe.....$12.75

That is more then double what is was....

[Daniel A]

I have the impression that international shipping rates from Sweden have gone up considerably too. I've been buying through Tradera here and there since about 2005/2006 and have noticed in the past year or so that rates for sending parcels or larger letters have increased quite steeply.

Or am I wrong and have only been lucky in the past in that I might have stayed below certain weight thresholds by coincidence?

At any rate, close to 7 euros for sending one (thin) mag within seems to be pretty hefty to me and I cannot recall it has always been that way.

The rates have always been steep over here, but they havent changed in a couple of years. On the other hand the Swedish krona has gotten at least 35 percent stronger against the euro since 2009 so it would perhaps appear so from the eurozone.

[Jim Alfredson]

Are there any European distributors who deal with small labels such as my own? I feel like we're losing international sales now that the postage rates are so high. It makes selling direct not very cost effective for our European fans.

Others will probably know more about the distribution business than me but from a consumer's perspective Discovery Records seem to do a good job with some smaller, albeit mostly Euopean, labels. They have been the most cost effective source of Delmark releases since the price hike. I know nothing else about them other than being a satisfied customer

http://www.discovery-records.com/

I sent them an email. Thank you!

[Ted O'Reilly]

I received in Toronto today 2 copies of 3-CD sets from Amazon UK, shipping and handling costing 4.07 pounds, or 6.47 C$. I also received a notice that a 3-DVD set was on the way from the Amazon US, at 14.29 C$, shipping and handling. Somehow doesn't seem right.

Some of the Amazon dealers charge a "pre-collection of Canadian duties", but there are no Canadian duties. All these charges turn up after you've done all the work of ordering, adding to the pissed-off levels.

[ejp626]

I received in Toronto today 2 copies of 3-CD sets from Amazon UK, shipping and handling costing 4.07 pounds, or 6.47 C$. I also received a notice that a 3-DVD set was on the way from the Amazon US, at 14.29 C$, shipping and handling. Somehow doesn't seem right.

Some of the Amazon dealers charge a "pre-collection of Canadian duties", but there are no Canadian duties. All these charges turn up after you've done all the work of ordering, adding to the pissed-off levels.

I think under certain circumstances there are duties (really the collection of PST or HST) but certainly FedEx and esp. UPS are ripping Canadians off by charging the pre-collection fee and then a "convenience" fee on top of that. Seems to be no way to get the "duty" back from them. Basically if a store forces me to use FedEx or UPS I won't order from them. I haven't faced this (yet) with Mosaic, but I suspect in the end I will ship to a friend or family member in the US for my next order.

Yeah, I do some arbitrage with Amazon.co.uk shipping. I don't think the relatively low shipping will last, however.

We really did have it good, and now we can watch the simultaneous decline in CD manufacturing and super steep increases in shipping basically put an end to the fetish for physical delivery of music. I pretty much only buy CDs as a last resort now, and if Amazon.ca would get off its ass and figure out how to licence and sell mp3s, I would be a happy camper.

Edited March 22, 2013 by ejp626

[J.A.W.]

Just checked and noticed that Mosaic and ImportCDs haven't raised their overseas shipping rates yet - Mosaic's overseas rates have always been pretty high, anyway.

I don't think I'll be ordering much from the United States from now on. I always thought Dutch int'l rates were insanely high, but they suddenly seem almost moderate now...

Edited March 22, 2013 by J.A.W.

[erwbol]

So the new policy of Amazon.com of pre-collecting import duties on orders with Expedited shipping (or higher) to the E.U. is a consequence of the changes U.S. Postal Service implemented?

[Tim McG]

Are there any European distributors who deal with small labels such as my own? I feel like we're losing international sales now that the postage rates are so high. It makes selling direct not very cost effective for our European fans.

Jim,

Have you considered just going digital for overseas sales?

I'm certainly no expert on this, but I know of at least two musicians who sell their music directly from a digital source which the customer can download to his/her computer. This, I would think, might eliminate the postage issue altogether.

Just my two cents...

Edited March 22, 2013 by GoodSpeak

[J.A.W.]

Are there any European distributors who deal with small labels such as my own? I feel like we're losing international sales now that the postage rates are so high. It makes selling direct not very cost effective for our European fans.

Jim,

Have you considered just going digital for overseas sales?

I'm certainly no expert on this, but I know of at least two musicians who sell their music directly from a digital source which the customer can download to his/her computer. This, I would think, might eliminate the postage issue altogether.

Just my two cents...And what about those who live overseas and might be interested in the music but don't do downloads?

Edited March 22, 2013 by J.A.W.

[king ubu]

They are dinosaurs ... such as you an' me

[Tim McG]

Are there any European distributors who deal with small labels such as my own? I feel like we're losing international sales now that the postage rates are so high. It makes selling direct not very cost effective for our European fans.

Jim,

Have you considered just going digital for overseas sales?

I'm certainly no expert on this, but I know of at least two musicians who sell their music directly from a digital source which the customer can download to his/her computer. This, I would think, might eliminate the postage issue altogether.

Just my two cents... And what about those who live overseas and might be interested in the music but don't do downloads?

Well, TBH, that seems to be the wave of the future, I'm afraid.

Based upon my experience, you can also download cover art [if there is any] and then burn the mp3 to CDR. I know of one gal who does this because for her band, it is just too costly to order the CDs in the first place. So she and her band [square Fish] went digital almost exclusively.

They are dinosaurs ... such as you an' me

And me, too.

Edited March 22, 2013 by GoodSpeak

[erwbol]

The wave of the future is that people outside the U.S. can't legally purchase the HD Tracks Blue Note remasters and will have to make do with some nice MP3s.

[Tim McG]

Try getting quality imports here in the States.

Big bucks if you can afford them.

Here's a thought: Do you know somebody who could purchase those CDs for you here then ship them to you?

Edited March 22, 2013 by GoodSpeak

[J.A.W.]

Here's a thought: Do you know somebody who could purchase those CDs for you here then ship them to you?

He would still have to pay those high USPS overseas rates. Edited March 22, 2013 by J.A.W.

[Tim McG]

Here's a thought: Do you know somebody who could purchase those CDs for you here then ship them to you?

He would still have to pay those high USPS overseas rates.

True.

But the good news is the re-issues would come to him in the CD format. He said he wasn't legally allowed to buy them where he is.

[erwbol]

Here's a thought: Do you know somebody who could purchase those CDs for you here then ship them to you?

He would still have to pay those high USPS overseas rates.

True.

But the good news is the re-issues would come to him in the CD format. He said he wasn't legally allowed to buy them where he is.

Oh sorry, you were responding to my post about HD Tracks? Those are 192khz 24 bit FLAC files, remastered by Alan Yoshida who also did the Audio Wave xrcd24 series. This kind of situation involving downloads is my nightmare for the future.

There are some interesting titles like Out To Lunch, Speak No Evil, and Unity.