sabbatwolf Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 Hi there, I've ordered quite a bit of reaper stuff in the past (from memory I think I've ordered a total of $450 ish over several orders) but I'm always put off by the shipping costs to the UK. I've just been trying to pick out a few figures to order from the DHL line and for just one figure shipping came in at $16 (that's £8) I have been in lurk mode for a while and I've noticed that some people have been saying how expensive it is to import figures from UK companies to the USA, but I know that many UK companies charge far less for their international shipping and I've ordered from other US companies with far more reasonable postage rates as well. I'd be interested to know how much orders shipped to US customers tend to cost (it might work out cheaper for me to have an order delivered to a friend and have her post it to me) and how reaper can justify such high overseas shipping costs in the first place. I'm not having a rant, but it is just frustrating to know that for the price of shipping I could have ordered two or three more figures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Kutz Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 The cheapest that I can send a box of any size to the UK for is $10.40 and that doesn't include any packaging or related expenses. When shipping from the UK to the US though, it actually costs significantly less (around $8 for airmail and around $4 for standard surface mail). It just ends up being an issue of the delivery expenses and I do believe that it is completely out of the control of Reaper (or any other US supplier). If you want to poke around at the various fees a bit - take a look at the USPS site. For a bit more sticker shock, FedEx or UPS is also interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristof65 Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 Well, I just shipped my exchange mini to Ishil in the UK - and it wasn't cheap. Just a single mini via the US Post Office's cheapest method was still $9.00. Via FedEx or UPS was even more expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastman Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 what about buying from the UK Reaper distributor? (listed on the back of the newer blister packs, I'm at work now, so I don't have one to check). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vejlin Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 (edited) Depending on what you need I suggest you try an online store within the UK or EU, I believe that will save you the expenses on import taxes because it's within the EU. My own favorite is <a href="http://shop.whitedragon.dk/" target="_blank">http://shop.whitedragon.dk/</a> because I know the owners and more importantly they sell their stuff at Reapers suggested retail prices (I've not yet found anyone else in the EU who does that). They have an English version of their shop, just click the little Union Jack in the top left corner. The only real problem is the size of their Reaper selection. But their reaper stock is growin and if you want something specific just shoot them a mail and they'll include it in their next order from Reaper. Edited March 14, 2008 by vejlin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vutpakdi Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 Shipping costs for both US and international orders are listed on the terms and conditions page of the Reaper online store. From what I can tell based on past auction shipping experiences, the costs are pretty reasonable. You still don't want to order one mini at a time. One advantage of buying from a US retailer is that you get to take advantage of the exchange rate. Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabbatwolf Posted March 14, 2008 Author Share Posted March 14, 2008 Goodness me, USPS seems very expensive compared to Royal Mail, you can send a small package to the US from the UK for £2 ($4). Like I said, I wasn't having a rant more like raising a point. I've spent many an hour adding stuff to my cart and reached the payment screen, and said 'sod that, I don't think I'll bother' when I've seen the shipping costs. I like ordering direct from reaper for two reasons, I can get all the minis I want, its rare to find a retailer with a big range of the figures and I can make use of the conversion rates. The downsize is when I make a big order I end up with huge shipping costs and a big import fee to pay when it arrives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristof65 Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 Goodness me, USPS seems very expensive compared to Royal Mail, you can send a small package to the US from the UK for £2 ($4). Keep in mind that the USPS stopped receiving most of it's government subsidies in 1983. As far as I know, it's still pretty much self supporting over here, and one of the only government agencies to produce a profit. It's my understanding we're one of the few countries that doesn't subsidize our mail service with taxpayer dollars - or at least not to the extent other countries do. I don't know if that's the reason for the vast difference between the USPS and Royal Mail, but it's what I'd guess is the disparity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyberShadow Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 I know that you said that you prefer to buy direct (as do I), but these guys have a large range for us Brits, in case it is useful: http://www.miniaturefigurines.co.uk/Home.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshuaslater Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 Hey Sabbatwolf! I sometimes see your posts over on the FOD. I too, feel your pain. Believe me, it's all about trying to track down the cheap shipping. If I order from England, from Heresy, I always order enough to get free shipping. For my compatriots that play Chronopia and Warzone who want to order Cyclopes Forge from Italy, we all pool together and order to keep shipping down to a minimum per person. I don't know if I have the answer for you, but I would look into an ordering collective with a few of your mates over there, and see if you can organize a grass roots effort to buy in bulk, and share costs. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kahlus Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 Um I've ordered from the online store every time I've ever gotten something buy Reaper and have had to get over sea's shipping cause of where I live. But when I look at the cost of shipping I see that $24 and think "Blimming Heck!!!" then realise its dollars not pounds so it roughly comes to £10 or so, which to be fair can be seen as a lot but I've had to pay a lot more for items off Ebay or some other sites for things smaller and closer to home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skya Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 I think part of it is that shipping small packages overseas cost us more to send, but shipping larger ones for some reason costs us less. A priority flat rate envelope (I think they're about 8x12 inches) only costs $11-14 to ship most places in the world. Smaller packages arent much cheaper though. I'm not sure about shipping from the UK, but I do know that from Germany, Finland and Sweden it is much more expensive to ship something of equivalent size because the costs are based directly by weight as opposed to package size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabbatwolf Posted March 19, 2008 Author Share Posted March 19, 2008 Hey Sabbatwolf! I sometimes see your posts over on the FOD Hi there, its always good to see a familiar face...erm.....avatar! f I order from Heresy, I always order enough to get free shipping me too! Even if there wasn't a free shipping offer though, shipping for a parcel of similar size and weight would cost a lot less from Heresy than it does from Reaper. I know that you said that you prefer to buy direct (as do I), but these guys have a large range for us Brits, in case it is useful: http://www.miniaturefigurines.co.uk/Home.aspx Thanks for that, they seem to have a fair chunk of the range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vejlin Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 (edited) just checked the prices at miniaturefigurines. With the US dollar freefalling the prices are actually also very favorable. Not even including shipping into the equation mf is quite a bit cheaper than ordering straight from reaper with the current rates. EDIT: Darn just checked shipping rates. mf is definitly a "no go" for me Edited March 20, 2008 by vejlin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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