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It might be cheaper to ship from China to the US than to ship from Chicago to NY, but it is also far slower. I think it's fair to charge less for "as you have space" shipping. http://track-chinapost.com/?p=774

I've had a couple hundred small packages (components for prototypes, tools, etc.) shipped via China Post in the last few years, and only 2 of them arrived in less than 3 weeks. Several didn't arrive at all. I'm not willing to pay as much for that kind of service as I am to send a package from e.g. Chicago to NY with fast and reliable delivery.

The rates are probably unfairly low, but you can't look only at the price. You have to look at price, delivery speed, and reliability at a minimum.




You're missing the point. Shipping from LA to NYC in X days should be cheaper than shipping from Shanghai to LA in Y days PLUS shipping from LA to NYC in X days. China Post charges some amount to get from Shanghai to LA, and they do that slowly. At that point it enters the USPS system, and they deliver the package to its final destination in NYC. But by UPU rules, the USPS has to charge less for that China Post package than they do for a package that originated in LA, even though they use the same infrastructure.


Do you know what the rates are, relative to something like bulk mail? I can't think of anything else that has low delivery priority like these packages seem to have. Sometimes even after arriving in the US, the packages take 2-3 more weeks to be delivered though it's usually more like a week. I would say that indicates a lower priority than a comparable package that is sent within the US.

I guess I'm saying that China Post packages are not going from LA to NYC in X days, more like 2X or 3X and sometimes up to 5X. The rates are probably still too low, but I haven't found any authoritative numbers.




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