TFCC club offer lower postage?

[langzixinxin]

hi,

Today I checked tfcc(transformerclub.com) special "astrotrain+arizar(can't spell, sorry)". for this 65USD package, you can choose posting it via "post office express", which is much cheaper than fedex.

I didn't know there was this option before. I remember last time I tried to buy a animated deluxe jazz, the minimum charge was 72USD on fedex.

is this "post office express" a new shipping option for international members? If so, it doesn't look too bad to order from tfcc then.

[DarkHyren]

I'm not sure that Post Office Express Mail International is a new option, but I know it's still more expensive to send direct to international addresses then the actual cost.

TFCC says to post that set to me is Post Office Express Mail International $76.00
The US Post Service list rate for a package that size is approx $55.75

Seems to me TFCC makes $20 extra profit by cheating post costs.

[griffin]

They've done that often. A couple years ago when we had three group orders done for Nightbeat and the Seacons - two group orders were overcharged on shipping by $20-30, and one group order was undercharged by about $15. Have a guess which one they corrected... yep, they charged that one the difference, but didn't refund any difference with the other two.

[Deonasis]

Do they rip off people in the US too? It would be great if we had a US person who would on-ship to AUS.

[DarkHyren]

Do they rip off people in the US too?

By all accounts, no, it looks like they charge real (or close to real) post rates when shipping within the US.

I used my TFCC Airazor for some dimension estimates.
TFCC to US address: Post Office Domestic Priority Mail - $11.10
USPS to US address: Priority Mail Medium Flat Rate Box - $10.70
So as I said, close enough.

[griffin]

Do they rip off people in the US too? It would be great if we had a US person who would on-ship to AUS.

They would be able to post anywhere, but only non-membership stuff - as Zippo had mentioned a few times, they won't register a non-US person with a US postal address. So you'd still have to pay the higher non-US registration to access the discounts, but at least they don't charge extra for later shipping out the membership items (magazines and yearly toy). Which means, you can get the other stuff sent to a US person if you knew someone willing to do it for you.
But then will the added US domestic shipping make the overall cost cheaper, or still work out the same or more? If it was consistantly cheaper, it'd be worth it, but the extra wait (and hassling a friend in the US from time to time) makes me just stick to the overpriced direct option for now.

[langzixinxin]

Instead of letting TFCC post to Australia, I let them post to my USA package forwarder address. Then the forwarder company will send it to me.


TFCC charged 7.9 US dollar for local postage, very good huh? But the local forwarder charged me 129 US dollar for the toy. I ended up paying roughly 140 dollar in total for postage. Had I gone through TFCC posting, it would be something 70$.


But wow, seacon!. I am happy to pay the 20+ postage cheat to have that!