BlackSun: ... from 2013. And
here's some more up to date data, with a ranking by the Universal Postal Union from late 2016.
Oh and while we're at it with mostly irrelevant links,
here's a TV that looks like an apple.
Certainly, you'd agree that looking at these particular datapoints is absolutely no reason whatsoever to deny service to countries on the basis of "unreliability", especially when a lot of the (only
potentially) resulting damages are
on the customers and not on the businesses. It's the customer who cheaped out and didn't pick insurance for shipping.
All the business has to do is, look for one or two options to offer on their shop for shipping to a destination other than USA, and get familiar with maybe 1 additional form to stick on the package when shipping. That's all they have to do, and only once.
invenio: For example, I can order a key chain from China for $1 (which includes shipping).
BlackSun: And, comparing a china shop merchant's cost of shipment to any other service on the market while ignoring multiple gigantic caveats of the cheap service serves which purpose...?
Because the flipside is, and I don't know if you've noticed it yet, but this kind of shipping will take just a little under
3 months to make its way to you, if at all, because it's not just the cheapest thing imaginable, but also uninsured. Because why would you insure something worth 20 cents. And you'd probably agree that this approach of "zero-fucks-given" shipping won't do with anything more valuable. Your return shipment is a service you pay your postal office for, to have the item delivered in a much more timely and secure manner. Because
they, unlike certain chinese shops, do have some standards.
invenio: Yet It would cost more than ten times that for me to ship it back.
BlackSun: ... it would also arrive -
alright, let's do a bit of math here... 3 months are 12 weeks... your shipment will probably take about 1 week... carry the three, divide by zero... - so, about
12 times faster for "10 times the cost"! On top of that, it would be trackable, maybe even somehow insured, and handled by a company that actually takes fulfilling their delivery contracts as more than just a general suggestion.
invenio: I'm not sure about your argument as CDPR allows digital purchases. The logistics and cost of shipping to some areas may just make it not profitable. If they have to ask $65 for a t-shirt because of shipping, it's just better to not even list to that country. What is so difficult to understand about that?
BlackSun: ... now, here, you kinda lost me. What about your purchase with the china shop is... not a digital purchase, exactly...?
But, that point aside, no you are not paying 65 for a T-Shirt. You're paying whatever the T-Shirt's price is,
plus shipping. Those shipping costs will not go to the business, but to the shipping service you selected from their options to ship the product(s) to you.
Now, this might be a foreign concept to people in the USA, I don't really know.
But it's not entirely uncommon here for friends to get together for an omnibus order at a shop, to split worst case scenario level shipping costs. Mostly though, it's not too bad, and we'll order despite the 20 or 40 in additional shipping fees on top. That's what a ton of fans all over the world do,
have to do, on a regular basis to get their hands on Japan- or USA suff that's not going to hit the global market. And we are legion. So, the more you know...!
Your quote skills are way above mine! But I will try to respond to each point.
1) Reliability is an issue in many parts of the world (less so in the US and rich EU countries). A company may only want to work with one shipper for discount purposes or ease of shipping management.
Also, if an item is lost, the business may be the one taking the loss as I can initiate a chargeback with my credit card company and they almost always side with the card holder if there was no delivery confirmation.
2) Shipping from china usually takes about 2-3 weeks for me in the US. Rarely a month. I was just using China as an example of price difference in to and from shipping.
3) Same as 2) above.
4) What you are describing is a logistic headache for a company and the primary buyer. Let's say you order a few items as a group. What if the shirt size is wrong, or something arrives broken. The person who put the order in is now responsible for getting things fixed. Huge headache. This kind of ordering represents a tiny fraction of their total business. It's just not worth their time.
The bottom line is that shipping in the US is relatively easy and inexpensive for these companies and it's a large market and thus it is worth setting up the logistics to ship in the US. I'm not arguing against shipping to other countries. I'm just trying to think of it from their perspective. How much goods are they really going to ship when the cost of shipping and handling is so high relative to the cost of the product. The volume/profit margin probably does not justify going into small markets. Maybe having to deal with more than 1 or 2 mail carries is a barrier in itself? Who knows. Clearly they don't feel like the investment is worth the return.
