P+P to the UK??

ellageorgina

Why is this so expensive - is it really necessary? Because I would be a regular customer at Curlmart if the shipping weren't so steep.
Could it not be lowered in any way at all? Or is it necessary??

oddityofwings

I can't say for sure, but there are a few things to take into consideration here that I've learned living in two countries:

1. Shipping anything from the US (can be) expensive. Even just ground shipping something around 10lb (5 kg) will cost you $25 (or it did a few years ago), and that can take upwards of 6 weeks to arrive.
2. The faster you want it, the more expensive it is. I believe my parents once sent me something from home and the shipping cost, kid you not, $200. Granted, that was 2 day air via UPS... which brings me to point 3:
3. UPS is more expensive than USPS. Don't know why. Last I checked, CurlMart was only using UPS.
4. Duty/customs/etc. Because these are not gifts, the company selling and sending them to you and you as well can be liable for fees like duty and customs. Sometimes these are included in the shipping price, sometimes you have to pay them before you get the package (or even have the package released from customs) - it depends on what sort of deal the company has worked out (NB this is why a lot of US companies won't ship overseas: it's too much hassle). Even if they *are* gifts, if it's worth over a certain amount, customs are allowed to charge fees of one sort or another. The same package that cost $200 to send to me last year also had £90 worth of random fees slapped on it (but it was a lot of new stuff, including some DVDs and a new computer battery).

So the answer - things could be cheaper, but not by much, and keep in mind that if you order a pile, you could incur some massive customs/duty/fees on top. USPS does do fixed rate international mailers, but you can't always fit enough into them, and they still cost about $50 to send, and I'm not sure if CurlMart is interested in using them or not.

sweetseven

CurlMart does have the USPS shipping option again for international orders.
(I refuse to use UPS for international orders since their prices and extra duty costs are outrageous.)

But I haven't ordered from them again since the whole shipping changes, I felt a total lack of respect for their international customers when they decided to ignore our concerns.

I used to buy from them quite a lot in the past, I always waited till there was a coupon code. The USPS costs are high, but these packages do weigh a lot, so I can understand. Although I do wonder why other American websites only charge half the cost...

I always had to pay between $10 and $50 extra in custom charges, so I always calculated that in when I ordered.

oddityofwings

I do vaguely remember reading somewhere that the outrageous pricing with UPS was completely accidental on the part of CurlMart.

I think many other American websites will charge less because they've been in the business long enough or are big enough (eg Amazon) to either a) absorb the cost of the shipping or b) find ways around it costing so much (I think, though I'm probably wrong, that there is a 'business rate' for international shipping).

Lyoness

I've never ordered anything but there are so many more products I'd be willing to try if the shipping and customs wasn't so expensive!

ellageorgina

Me, too. It's rediculous!
I just want my [buylink=http://www.curlmart.com/Kinky-Curly-Curling-Custard-p-778.html?utm_source=naturallycurly.com&utm_medium=text-link&utm_content=curltalk-post-text&utm_campaign=kinkycurly-curling-custard]KCCC[/buylink]!!!!