Over the last 2 years I have invested heavily in H of N. Many items have been purchased through 3rd parties and not from Devil Pig due to your heavy postage charges. I am now nearly complete in my collection. Looking at your recent difficulties would it not be better to give more realistic prices? I also notice that the recent Brexit has had an effect on postage when it is unnecessary yet. Not just with devil pig but with others, both in the UK and the rest of the EU. This is daft as it inhibits even more cross channel trade which is something we all want in this comparatively small hobby. Your stance no longer affects me now, but may affect future sales, My experience in Business leads me to think you should reconsider this. Gaelic Shrug…… For my part Vive la Europe!

I am an online seller and have looked in to shipping. My international sales have vanished so I did some investigating.

This article explains it- https://www.forbes.com/sites/wadeshepard/2017/11/05/how-the-usps-epacket-gives-postal-subsidies-to-chinese-e-commerce-merchants-to-ship-to-the-usa-cheap/#2414ff0a40ca

To sum it up, the United Nations set rates between nations. They have set extremely favorable rates for developing nations. China and Hong Kong are among the nations listed as being at an economic disadvantage and are given extreme discounts. Look on Ebay and you will see massive evidence of this.

The country getting the shipments loses money on each package.

That nation has to raise rates on their own domestic citizens to cover the losses.

This makes the Chinese seller even more competitive and causes more domestic sellers to be pushed out of the market. This is a downward spiral of domestic online sellers that seems to have no real solution. Consumers are not concerned because they are reaping the rewards of free shipping from thousands of Chinese sellers. As a domestic shipper it is frustrating to know your own inflated shipping rates are being used to subsidize the very competition that is driving you out of business.

Visit seller forums and this is happening in many nations.

My own shipping costs to finish my Devil Pig collection from Europe were extremely high. 80 Euros for 2 orders. I paid them and do not in any way blame Devil Pig for this. It is simply a problem that makes a buyer think twice before making a purchase. I determined that I wanted to support the company and not have to chase Ebay for used copies.

I wanted to buy a slot car body from Ebay Germany that weighed 3 ounces. Shipping to the US was over 20 Euros. I did not purchase.

I really wish more people were aware of the impact this UN mandate is having on their own nations online sellers.

The solution for some online sellers is to palletize their inventory and ship it by ship to China and have a Chinese warehouse re-send it back to the US taking advantage of the subsidized shipping. This is absurd but companies are being forced to become very creative to survive in the online global ecommerce.

I hope this post is not too political or otherwise offensive. An online seller will sometimes be blamed for "gouging" the customer when that might not be the case. It is even harder for customers to understand when all over Ebay they can get things shipped around the world for nothing.

This is a topic that comes up a lot, and getting some testimonials from other folks dealing with the same issues can help DPG answer their critics with regards to shipping, so I think the thread overall it worthwhile.

Talking about International policy affecting the cost of shipping is a reality we all have to deal with, but let's keep the political spectrum stuff out of it, and that includes pro- or anti-EU or anything else. Just stick with the realities, please.

Shipping is very expensive and DPG cannot afford to swallow the shipping costs for the customers like Amazon does. I cannot blame them for something that is beyond their control.

Que sera, sera.

Whatever the reason, Amazon can still offer cheaper shipping and that makes the customers think that is the actual cost of shipping… then small businesses that have to charge the actual shipping look like they are gouging the customer… and we then get posts like the OP asking for the small companies to lower their shipping costs to the "real" cost.

And this is exactly why Amazon is willing to eat part of the shipping fees. To drive customers away from the smaller companies and into the bosom of Amazon.

In my case, many items were unfortunately purchased from companies other than Devil Pig due to the shipping cost. I think it would be nice to propose something more realistic these days. Besides, I have the impression that the prices at the post office have increased due to Great Britain leaving the EU, which is not good because we should keep international andel on the best terms. I buy and sell on eBay, and I was seriously surprised at how it all went up.