I'd like my $3 package to cost less than $30 in postage, please.

June 16, 2007 6:44 PM

With the end of USPS international surface mail, what alternatives remain for posting bulky, low-cost items that don't qualify for the M-bag?
posted by holgate to Grab Bag (3 answers total)

Freight forwarding companies perhaps. Probably not useful for $3 items, but certainly it's the cheapest way to get half a pallet of stuff on a boat and across the world.

I bought a bunch of stereo gear (Vifa & Adire drivers), computer and monitor while I was in the US, saving about $1500 over the AU prices. Shipped it all back on a pallet when I went home for $100 - pretty decent considering it was about a cubic metre and weighed probably more than 100kg. Took 8 weeks to get here.
posted by polyglot at 6:58 PM on June 16, 2007

Pardon me, but could you expland on this change in USPS? I haven't heard about it. Sounds like real trouble, and I look forward to the answer myself, next time I need something from the states!
posted by Goofyy at 9:01 AM on June 18, 2007

Sure: USPS no longer offers international surface mail apart from the M-bag for bulk printed material. (It's apparently retaining surface mail for volume shippers such as Amazon, but not for the little folks.) In short, posting stuff overseas from the US just got a lot more expensive: a 3lb package now costs a minimum of $23 to post to Europe.

So, is there anything to fill the gap for packages that aren't suited to pallet/container shipping? There's the 20lb flat-rate box at $37, but that only makes sense if you've got multiple items to send and someone at the other end who'll stamp and forward them.
posted by holgate at 1:40 PM on June 18, 2007