Cheaper (possibly slower) shipping?  

Re: Cheaper (possibly slower) shipping?

That shipping price to Israel is just silly I would not expect it to be much more than the mainland Europe price

Those prices in US dollars at todays exchange rates at $26.68 and $82.00

Regards,
Martin

Re: Cheaper (possibly slower) shipping?

Woa! now the shipment to the US jumped to $103.76 for 5-6 days and a bit higher for a bit faster.
I hope this isn't my doing - so US is not so much cheaper than Israel 😉
It seems Prusa are getting really bad deals for shipment...

Re: Cheaper (possibly slower) shipping?

I think you should have a look at the "retail" rate cards for the shippers; in most cases, PR's prices are less than half the price charged to "regular" customers.

Don't forget, it's the shipping company which dictates the price. Yes, is could be cheaper, but you would most likely get significantly worse/slower service.

Peter

Re: Cheaper (possibly slower) shipping?

For the money you get surprisingly terrible service over here. They charge me what would be an extra 30-40€ just to handle the import fees and toll (which are zero) and collect the VAT. But for that at least you get doorstep delivery right when no reasonable person would ever be home (three days in a row, then you can hop in the car and drive to their depot in the ass-end of nowhere with zero public transport access, which is open ... during normal work times). Basically you need to take a day off everytime you expect a package and usually on the first attempt you get the "your package will arrive today" SMS right after the driver left. Last time I arranged a handover at work, only to have the driver call me on my cell and it turned out he was again at my home adress (but still refused to let my neighbours sign for it even though I offered to call them and speak to him through their phone).
Turned out the data I saw when logging on to their website were totally out of synch with what they saw, it had registered the new pickup but not the adress.

Oh, and cash payment only (no small change, you need to pay the exact amount), because they seem unable to assign online payment to the package and communicate to the driver it has been paid. We've been joking it would be better for PR to arrange a pickup at their factory. The 7 hour road trip might well be cheaper and less stressful 😈
My employer moved away from UPS entirely, apparently it was just too much of a pain in the neck.
I so want federal mail package service back.

Re: Cheaper (possibly slower) shipping?

Peter,

We are in total agreement. I wanted a cheaper (possibly much slower) shipping. As I originally said - since there's a relatively long lead time for having the printer ready, I'm already going to wait (as least) 2 weeks + 4-6 days for delivery, so a 2 week delivery isn't significant.

Again, this was more of a wishful thinking. Keep on making excellent printers, and I hope the shipment can also improve somehow.

Re: Cheaper (possibly slower) shipping?

Peter,

We are in total agreement

Not sure about that.

Cheaper = slower and less reliable. Slower = more time in transit = more time for damage to occur = less customer satisfaction = higher costs for Prusa Research because the customer wanted to "cheap out".

Only my experience of courier services... (that's over 1000 parcels received via various couriers over 10 years - I can't live without baked beans 😉 ).

Peter

Re: Cheaper (possibly slower) shipping?

Epilog for whoever is interested...

It turns out there are no customs in the US if the total price of the item shipped (including shipping) is up to $800. If it's more, you have to pay some tax (not a lot, something like 4%), but there's an additional hassle in getting the shipment.

So it seems Prusa (and kudos) for it, worked hard to get the total price below $800, which includes a low negotiated shipping price.

The same doesn't hold for Israel as you pay customs (17%) for anything above $75.

In my case, I had a business trip to the US, and ordered a printer to the US, which I carried with me back.

Re: Cheaper (possibly slower) shipping?

The same doesn't hold for Israel as you pay customs (17%) for anything above $75.

You don't have a clue how lucky you are 😉

Here in Slovenia, the limit is just €20 and the VAT is 22%, but for imports from outside the EU, there is also duty to pay and the fees (minimum €5 + VAT), which are charged even on items valued at less than €20 🙁

Peter

Re: Cheaper (possibly slower) shipping?

VAT is another name for a tariff paid for by the end user. It only applies to things made outside the person's country. I am glad we do not have VAT in the US, it is a horrible thing for a government to do to its people! Talk about greatly reducing your buying power.

Re: Cheaper (possibly slower) shipping?

VAT... It only applies to things made outside the person's country.

No, it's a purchase (or sales) tax, applicable to all goods sold irrespective of origin. Duty, on the other hand, is a tax applied on certain imports from outside the relevant economic region.

Peter

Re: Cheaper (possibly slower) shipping?

VAT... It only applies to things made outside the person's country.

No, it's a purchase (or sales) tax, applicable to all goods sold irrespective of origin. Duty, on the other hand, is a tax applied on certain imports from outside the relevant economic region.

Peter

Ah, so it is even worse. VAT is not charged when exporting, but anyone living in a VAT country has to pay it on things they buy unless those items are the special exempt ones in the countries that allow exemptions. So essentially, you have both a sales tax, a personal income tax, AND a consumption tax (VAT). Ugh...

Sorry to hijack the thread, back to shipping methods.

Re: Cheaper (possibly slower) shipping?

[...] So essentially, you have both a sales tax, a personal income tax, AND a consumption tax (VAT). Ugh...
VAT is usually "the" sales tax. You generally won't see VAT plus sales tax. In that sense, it's the same to the consumer. It is also not borne exclusively by the consumer/citizen as corporations pay it throughout the supply chain.

Re: Cheaper (possibly slower) shipping?

[...] So essentially, you have both a sales tax, a personal income tax, AND a consumption tax (VAT). Ugh...
VAT is usually "the" sales tax. You generally won't see VAT plus sales tax. In that sense, it's the same to the consumer. It is also not borne exclusively by the consumer/citizen as corporations pay it throughout the supply chain.

What I mean, is that each province usually will add a sales tax, or an additional VAT, to the national VAT. That would be like the US having a national sales tax and then each State adding another sales tax on top of it.

Re: Cheaper (possibly slower) shipping?

[...] What I mean, is that each province usually will add a sales tax, or an additional VAT, to the national VAT. That would be like the US having a national sales tax and then each State adding another sales tax on top of it.

Where are you speaking of? Where I've encountered VAT, there is no other local sales tax. The world's a big place, and so there may be exceptions.