Ughhh...US post rates to Aus.

I know just what you mean Bronnie.

I bought some books in an AQS sale a while ago thinking they were a good price and the postage was more than double the cost of the books. Then they took ages to reach me. Never again!!

I try to restrict my shopping to GP packs. I know what they cost and how much they hold.

Unfortunately the cost of shipping the other way (Oz to US) can be even worse!! The PO got rid of the Economy Air rate a while ago (I suspect as an alternative to applying for a rate increase!)

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Rasputin

You're right. They are promising 4-8 days so we shall see if the parcel arrives in that time......Bron

Not only that, but they've ceased offering surface rates! I frequently sent things to my DT, and if she wasn't in a rush they went via surface at a very reasonable rate. However, now that's no longer an option. The cheapest rate I can get to send her anything (she lives in France) is over $13! It's outrageous. :(

We still have a surface mail rate, but I took a large parcel to the PO a few weeks ago and the surface rate was MORE than the air rate!

Now tell me how that works?!

It boggles the mind, Cheryl. :S

The reverse of how I used to be able to send things ground rate to Hawaii :-) They have interstate highways there too; amazing the tricky things the government can manage.

marcella

When I've shipped merchandise overseas, surface rate has depended more on the volume and air depended more on the weight. The way one shipping company explained it to me is that for an airplane the big cost is fuel, and fuel depends largely on weight. For a ship, weight doesn't add much to the fuel cost, so the volume of stuff they can pack into the containers is more important.

strange thing about these places with a lot of water around them. when i'm driving from stockholm to norrtelje on E18 [EU equivalent of I-]. the destinations on the sign include Helsinki [Helsingborg å svenska]

of course, there is an overnight ferry in the way.....

This was costed based on weight because the box was a standard PO carton. Even the PO clerk could not explain it.

If you mean for overseas, there are an awful lot more planes than boats these days. This reversal was probably inevitable. If land, it might be the cost comparison between road and air fuel? . In message , CATS writes

In that case, I always blame gremlins. :)