something special on eBay

[Herman Koster]

Yes, the items we just placed on eBay are great. Signed books by Slydini, Okito, Lewis Ganson (a special edition of Dai Vernon's book of magic), Goshman, Geoffrey Buckingham, Arthur Buckley and Al Baker.

But the most unique item is the guestbook Henk Vermeyden used to have in his store. The biggest names in magic have signed it and wrote something in it. Even Pete Biro can be found.

To check al these goodies just click: Herman Koster

[D Laub]

$25.00 per item to ship? Are these hand delivered?

[Herman Koster]

They are shipped by priority airmail (actually it should be more expensive, because the euro is to strong against the dollar) It used to be the other way around. It could be shipped cheaper, but if it gets lost, there is no checking or insurance.

And just curious, isn't all post still being handdelivered? ;)

[mehtas]

Not too long ago it cost me nearly $45 to ship al koran book and a dozen or so instructions sheets ! !

People forget that air mail cost for overseas is very expenssive.


:genii:

[BrendanK]

From a US magic site

<<The foreign shipping rate for items delivered outside of the US is 5 times the domestic rate>>
- a 500% surcharge
Thus a packet trick costs 25 dollars to mail to Europe?!!
What a rip off..

makes 25 bucks for a book seem reasonable to me...

[Richard Hatch]

Brendan, just out of curiousity, what site is that (if you don't mind listing it)? We find we can send many books to most locations in Europe (not Italy, alas) for just $9, independent of weight, in a global priority flat mailer. Smaller items can be sent for just $5 independent of weight. This is not a special rate for books and would work just as well for small props such as packet tricks (which might even be less if sent by weight). Perhaps the owner of that site is not aware of these shipping options. Alas, we do find that shipments from overseas to us are much more expensive than the reverse.

[BrendanK]

kjmagic.com

The effects are inventive and well priced but 25 dollars to ship a glorified thumbtip... five seems more realistic - a dvd in a jiffy bag is less than seven dollars airmail

(whinging, stereotypical Scottish ranting...)

[Guest]

Some great prices on some classic books, but the shipping is totally crazy. Anything else that can be done about that ?
Rennie

[magicam]

I absolutely hate it when sellers anywhere jack up the postage and handling and make extra bucks off a buyer. That said, if these books (and none of them are thumb tips or mere pamphlets) are being sent airmail, insured from Europe and they are well packed, $25 is not out of sight in my opinion. Dont forget that one has to buy the packaging as well. Comparisons to US postage rates are irrelevant in my experience it is generally much more expensive to ship airmail from Europe. No matter what one thinks about shipping charges, for better or worse you have to just factor this into your total cost, much like you would do if bidding at auction, where premiums of 15%-20% are assessed.

Clay

[Herman Koster]

I just checked the site from our Dutch postalservice again, to be sure that the 25 dollar we charge for shipping isn't too high.
Well, it still is between the 22 and 25 euro's to the states.
Within the EU it is a little cheaper (about 17.50 dollars) Which will be charged if a winner is from a EU country.

The only way to ship a little cheaper is not sending it by priority, but normal. Only there is no telling when it arrives.

Also if someone bids on these items and wants them, I really think he also wants them shipped safely and fast.

If one day our Dutch postal service gets some more competition, maybe prices will drop, but untill then, they can charge what the like.

[pduffie]

Airmail postage from UK & Europe is very high. Global Priority is much cheaper from a USA perspective. That's the main reason why I started eBooks!

[Ian Kendall]

The best way to send to the States is Airmail Small packet. Up to 100g costs 1.43 (which is enough for a CD) and upto 180g is 2.13 (which is up to 3 CDs in one packet. They take seven days to arrive.

Admittedly, when sending heavy books this might be less of an option, but it's worth quoting to people if you are only getting small stuff.

Oh, and I don't jack up postage costs. In fact, I don't charge for postage at all...

Take care, Ian

[Herman Koster]

Here's just a thought.

Maybe our postage rates are high, because our personal rates are low. I can fly to Las Vegas and back again (from Amsterdam) for 299 euros.
I remember from friends that it is more expensive for Americans to fly from America to Europe.(just checked Expedia and they say about 675 dollars)
So maybe the aircarriers try to earn an extra dollar by charging more to carry postal items.

[Guest]

Ahhh, but once we have you in Vegas we get the rest of your money!
Steve V

[Herman Koster]

:)