I have succumbed to temptation and I am going to sign up to Pathfinder for at least the first AP and see how it goes from there. When I get to the "Confirm Your Order" screen I am given 2 postage options:
USPS Global (Parcel), 12 to 20 days, $5.00
or
USPS Air Mail, 12 to 20 dats, $5.00
Both options list the shipping time as 12 to 20 business days in transit and both cost the same amount so what's the difference between the 2?
Since I live in Australia should I be picking one over the other or is there no difference between the 2 options?
If they are the same thing then why do I have a choice in the first place?
Thanks in advance,
The slightly confused Olaf the Stout
CEO
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I have succumbed to temptation and I am going to sign up to Pathfinder for at least the first AP and see how it goes from there. When I get to the "Confirm Your Order" screen I am given 2 postage options:
USPS Global (Parcel), 12 to 20 days, $5.00
or
USPS Air Mail, 12 to 20 dats, $5.00
Both options list the shipping time as 12 to 20 business days in transit and both cost the same amount so what's the difference between the 2?
Since I live in Australia should I be picking one over the other or is there no difference between the 2 options?
If they are the same thing then why do I have a choice in the first place?
Thanks in advance,
The slightly confused Olaf the Stout
Hi Olaf:
I believe they are the same thing. The postal rates here in the US are changing as of this coming Monday. A bunch of old classes of postal rates are going away. It is going to be a little simpler to understand. I know that overseas postage rates are one of those things that is changing. When we launched Pathfinder, we anticipated the rate change and kinda hardwired that in. Gary is feverishly rewriting the shipping code to roll out with the new postage rates on Monday. I expect at that time, what you see will be a lot less confusing. Suffice to say for now that what you are seeing for Pathfinder is the exact same two shipping options. They will be MUCH faster than the traditional magazine postal rates that Dragon and Dungeon got shipped by and MUCH more reliable. I personally am really looking forward to rarely seeing a post about not getting an issue again. :)
-Lisa
Thanks for replying Lisa. I'll wait until Gary has updated the code in line with the new postal rates and see what options are available then.
I also share your hope of a lot less lost issues. When I was a subscriber to Dungeon and Dragon a few years ago I had 3 issues in a row go missing and then suddenly all magically appear about a week after I received the replacement copies that Customer Service mailed out to me. :-/
Olaf the Stout
Lisa, I checked just a few minutes ago and there are still the same 2 options available. Do you know if Gary has had a chance to rewrite the code yet?
Olaf the Stout
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Chief Technical Officer
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Lisa, I checked just a few minutes ago and there are still the same 2 options available. Do you know if Gary has had a chance to rewrite the code yet?
Olaf the Stout
Gary expects to roll the new code early tomorrow. Based on our testing, I think you'll see that, despite the fact that postal rates are generally increasing, we've managed to decrease shipping costs for a lot of orders.
-Vic.
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Chief Technical Officer
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The new code is up. If you like, you can view and change shipping options on Pathfinder subscriptions by visiting the My Subscriptions link at the top of the page.
I just rechecked the shipping charge for a Critical Hits deck, and it's still the same as before - $12.50. Is there any reason a small pack of playing cards costs so much to ship? It's totally unpalatable to me to pay more for shipping than the product itself.
Email customer service to get shipping & handling updated for orders that have already been placed but not yet shipped. I just built them a nifty "Reset S&H" widget that will choose the best delivery service and recalculate shipping & handling based on that.
Thanks for updating the code Gary. It is a lot clearer now which shipping option to choose for Pathfinder.
Another related question, why does USPS First-Class Mail cost $2.10 more than USPS Priority Mail when the delivery time is twice as long (12-20 days for First Class vs. 6-12 days for Priority)? That doesn't seem to make sense.
Olaf the Stout
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Senior Software Developer
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I just rechecked the shipping charge for a Critical Hits deck, and it's still the same as before - $12.50. Is there any reason a small pack of playing cards costs so much to ship? It's totally unpalatable to me to pay more for shipping than the product itself.
To get the new price you have to go past the shopping cart page. Click the "Proceed to Checkout" button and the price will update. Or, empty your cart and add it back in.
Lisa, I checked just a few minutes ago and there are still the same 2 options available. Do you know if Gary has had a chance to rewrite the code yet?
Olaf the Stout
Gary expects to roll the new code early tomorrow. Based on our testing, I think you'll see that, despite the fact that postal rates are generally increasing, we've managed to decrease shipping costs for a lot of orders.
-Vic.
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Vic, Gary and the rest of the Paizo gang,
I just wanted to say that you have done a great job with the shipping charges. Previously if I wanted to buy 1 back issue of Dungeon it was going to cost me $15.50 in shipping. The same item now costs $6.41. That's a very big difference and much more in line with what I am being charged for shipping from other US stores.
Keep up the good work,
Olaf the Stout
P.S. I also just signed up for Pathfinder, see my shiny new title!
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Senior Software Developer
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[Another related question, why does USPS First-Class Mail cost $2.10 more than USPS Priority Mail when the delivery time is twice as long (12-20 days for First Class vs. 6-12 days for Priority)? That doesn't seem to make sense.
Blame the USPS. :-)
First-Class mail is based on weight, while Priority Mail offers a "Flat-Rate Envelope" which doesn't care about weight.
In general, we sift through 20 different delivery options, each with its own rates and requirements (weight, amount of "bound printed matter", size, etc.) to determine which options to show you. The options you see will vary based on what you have in your order.
Edit: The delivery time estimate for Priority Mail International is based on what the USPS says it is. Personally, I don't think they'll be able to hit those targets. I wasn't able to find any delivery time estimates for First-Class Mail International, so we sorted the world into regions and used our own estimates. These are new services from the USPS, so in time we'll have better information about how they actually perform.
To get the new price you have to go past the shopping cart page. Click the "Proceed to Checkout" button and the price will update. Or, empty your cart and add it back in.
I did empty my cart and add it back in, but just to make doubly sure, I just did it again and proceeded to checkout. It still shows the same $12.50 shipping charge, with no options to choose from.
I do see the new shipping options when I check out my subscription, so I'm not sure what I'm missing, if anything.
I had to totally log out, add the item as guest, proceed to checkout, then login at that point, for the new shipping rate to show. But it works now. Yay!
Thanks, Gary and Vic. The reduced shipping rates are a very BIG incentive to us overseas customers. Now to see if I don't need a few other items as well...
Now that I have signed up for Pathfinder I am excited to see the first issue. What date does the first issue ship? I thought it was in July or August but I'm not 100% sure.
Olaf the Stout
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Director of Sales
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Now that I have signed up for Pathfinder I am excited to see the first issue. What date does the first issue ship? I thought it was in July or August but I'm not 100% sure.
Olaf the Stout
The first volume of Pathfinder is set to ship out in August.
And we're pretty excited about it, too. : )
Thanks,
cos
Now that I have signed up for Pathfinder I am excited to see the first issue. What date does the first issue ship? I thought it was in July or August but I'm not 100% sure.
Olaf the Stout
The first volume of Pathfinder is set to ship out in August.
And we're pretty excited about it, too. : )
Thanks,
cos
Has a more specific date than just August been set yet?
Olaf the Stout
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Chief Technical Officer
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Has a more specific date than just August been set yet?
Nope. While Dragon and Dungeon were scheduled to the day as much as a year in advance, Pathfinder is printed in China, and must therefore go through customs, which adds a giant window of variable length right at the end of the process. Thus, we won't be able to set an exact ship date or an exact street date until we've received notice that U.S. Customs has cleared the shipment for delivery, which will probably happen about a week before we start shipping.
Has a more specific date than just August been set yet?Nope. While Dragon and Dungeon were scheduled to the day as much as a year in advance, Pathfinder is printed in China, and must therefore go through customs, which adds a giant window of variable length right at the end of the process. Thus, we won't be able to set an exact ship date or an exact street date until we've received notice that U.S. Customs has cleared the shipment for delivery, which will probably happen about a week before we start shipping.
I thought something like that might be the case.
Olaf the Stout