well there is global priority (flat rate envelope padded or non)  for $17 and it would hold a batch of modules worry-free.

Hey Bill,

Not sure if this would help at all but for my business we send a lot of packages around the world using Fed-ex.
We negotiated with them in Hong Kong a yearly contract and based on our volume we get a nice discount from them.

Mind you the packages we send are more bulkier than what you would be sending, so I'm not sure if you would be able to benefit from something like this.

Best regards,
Ronald

bbarsh wrote:

TheHistorian wrote:I can't imagine that DHL, FedEx, UPS, etc. would be any cheaper.  From the US, at the package size you're talking about, USPS is pretty much the only way to go.

From the pms I have received and other notes, this pretty much sums it up. I think I am going to look at options that include some sort of tracking. At this point I am pretty much done going the cheapest route possible. I really try to cut postal expenses for all customers as best I can, but this can create problems with international shipments - taking forever to arrive. This sometimes results in a disgruntled customer and that sucks for everyone, to put it plainly.

Thanks for the input and I appreciate all the great feedback here and via the pms.

You can track overseas with Fed EX, but it is very expensive.  

The cheapest route in this case is not the best, as you will trade expense now for expense later when packages don't arrive, or take months to arrive, which is one reason I will not ship any overseas method but global priority mail anymore (ok, sometimes first class international if it's just a paperback, but there is NO way to track those parcels).  Most international customers are aware of the shipping expense and would rather pay the fee and have the item in hand in 10 days than pay less and wait weeks and weeks.

I have found using flat rate global priority mail the past 20 years or so is the way to go. Out of thousands of packages, I've had maybe a couple dozen or so go missing in that time...far, far less than 1 percent in all that time.  Ironically one was this summer when I mailed out some NTRPG con goodies to one of our members in the Channel Islands!  And that one still may arrive there or back here, I've had packages arrive after 8 weeks in some cases (in one case almost six months).

I've also found through experience that high declared value will much more often lead to lost or delayed packages overseas.  This is a fact.    If you can declare wholesale value or face value of the item that helps a lot (not saying to lie on the customs form as that is illegal   )

Mike B.