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What's an inexpensive way to ship from the US to Australia?

I mean...I know that it's not going to be "cheap" by any means...but...what's the least expensive way?

 TheMeanDM wrote:
What's an inexpensive way to ship from the US to Australia?

I mean...I know that it's not going to be "cheap" by any means...but...what's the least expensive way?

The sad answer is there isn't one.

Your best option is USPS. Which is of course the one I trust the least, especially with international shipping. But it'll be the most cost effective.

FedEx or UPS are going to be incredibly cost prohibitive, and the other party will most likely have to pay fees on the package as well.

What exactly are you trying to ship? How valuable is it?

If its pretty valuable you don't want to go cheap on the shipping.

I've shipped quite a few packages overseas with USPS, including to Australia, and I've never had a problem. Your mileage may vary of course.

 cincydooley wrote:

 TheMeanDM wrote:
What's an inexpensive way to ship from the US to Australia?

I mean...I know that it's not going to be "cheap" by any means...but...what's the least expensive way?

The sad answer is there isn't one.

Your best option is USPS. Which is of course the one I trust the least, especially with international shipping. But it'll be the most cost effective.

FedEx or UPS are going to be incredibly cost prohibitive, and the other party will most likely have to pay fees on the package as well.

Why is USPS the one you trust the least? In my experience, they've been more reliable than UPS. I've worked for companies that ship with UPS and ones that ship with USPS, and pretty much every negative experience I've had was with UPS.

 cincydooley wrote:
Your best option is USPS. Which is of course the one I trust the least, especially with international shipping. But it'll be the most cost effective.

That's odd, I have the same experience as Ouze... I've never had any problems using USPS to ship anything, including internationally. I'm glad they're still the cheapest game in town when it comes to shipping stuff. I've had way more issues (mainly delays) with FedEx and UPS in the past than I ever have with USPS.

Someone wants my MTG Commander deck and hebis in australia. Just trying to fimd the most cost effective way for he and i to share the s/h.

I just shipped single minis to a bunch of folks on this board from US to Europe. Used USPS. They aren't fast at all. But only cost me about $10 for a 5oz box anout the size of a 150 count Magic deck. That's pretty economical.

 ScootyPuffJunior wrote:

 cincydooley wrote:
Your best option is USPS. Which is of course the one I trust the least, especially with international shipping. But it'll be the most cost effective.

That's odd, I have the same experience as Ouze... I've never had any problems using USPS to ship anything, including internationally. I'm glad they're still the cheapest game in town when it comes to shipping stuff. I've had way more issues (mainly delays) with FedEx and UPS in the past than I ever have with USPS.

In all honesty, it's the one I've personally had the most problems with. I've had multiple packages lost over the past three years shipping via USPS overseas, so much so that I'll no longer do it through eBay.

From my experience, unless you're able to get your items in a flat rate box, they're not always the least expensive for anything over 5lbs or so.

But again, it's clear YMMV.

I'm just not a huge fan of USPS based on the personal problems I've had. It's perfectly reasonable that it's a problem with my local USPS though, as it sounds like others haven't shared my woes.

Well, there's always one carrier out of the three that sucks where you live. For me it's Fedex - I've had problems galore with Fedex over the years. Lost packages, damaged packages, packages delivered to neighbors, and so on. I try to avoid them. I think it ultimately comes down to how your local office is run.