<Sigh> I think I've got the broken record syndrome. I guess as an overseas customer I just have to suck it up, or give up.
I sympathise. I'm happy to give Paizo my money, but given my shipping costs this year I'll be disappointed if USPS dont send me a christmas card come December (if not stock options).
The myus.com solution Andrew Daley was posting about upthread might be useful to you. I'm not sure if there's the same "four pounds = premium prices" issue with domestic shipping from Paizo to the myus.com address. If not, there might be a cheaper but slower option for you via them maybe.
In contrast to USPS - FedEx or DHL might offer slower options even for large packages (perhaps - I dont really know, of course). If so, Kalraan might be able to find a better solution for himself.
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What prompted me to start asking questions was a) this thread, and b) my last shipping cost.
My last order was fairly large with 38 items, 3 of which were the RotRL Bundle. In total, the amount was $720.50. Shipping & Handling however was $223.93. And that's with Paizo paying $10 off that shipping.
And I had no choice other than Priority Shipping. Now Vic, I understand the reasons why, but surely there must be a better way?
Chief Technical Officer
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I'm not sure if there's the same "four pounds = premium prices" issue with domestic shipping from Paizo to the myus.com address.
The four-pound limit doesn't apply within the US; we can even take advantage of Bound Printed Matter Rates if a package is at least 50% books (by weight). On the downside, myus.com is about as far away from us as you can be while still being in the US, and distance does factor in. We can ship a Core Rulebook (aka "4.5 pounds of books") to their address in Florida for $10.46.
In contrast to USPS - FedEx or DHL might offer slower options even for large packages (perhaps - I dont really know, of course).
They don't.
What prompted me to start asking questions was a) this thread, and b) my last shipping cost.
My last order was fairly large with 38 items, 3 of which were the RotRL Bundle. In total, the amount was $720.50. Shipping & Handling however was $223.93. And that's with Paizo paying $10 off that shipping.
Stating it that way is a bit unfair, because $223.93 shipping on $720.50 does sound painfully high... but you were also buying stuff during one of our biggest sales ever. If you said it was $223.93 shipping on $1191.86 worth of product, that seems a bit more reasonable, doesn't it? Yet shipping is not based on either the cost or value of the items, but on weight, so what we're *really* talking about is shipping 29 pounds of stuff halfway around the world—we're talking the weight of a toddler here. Do I wish it were cheaper to ship you that? I sure do! But am I surprised? Not really.
Now Vic, I understand the reasons why, but surely there must be a better way?
Not that we've found. (And believe me, when you run a business where your primary product is a 4.5-pound book, you look *REALLY* hard, and recheck often.)
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Vic, that's why I said 38 items.
Ultimately, by the sounds of it, its a case of suck it up, or don't buy Paizo products. I just wish there was an alternative for overseas customers to be able to pre-order our products from retailers, and have a way we could get the PDF for free as well. I've never compared the prices that way, but it might be worth exploring.
I wouldn't have this problem mind you if your products were so friggin' good!!!
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Chief Technical Officer
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Free PDFs are, for many of our lines, pretty much the only perk subscribers get. Offering them to non-subscribers, whether domestic or international, would certainly undermine our subscription business, which is absolutely crucial to our survival.
What about offering subscriptions through retail stores, then? Here's a rather detailed post that covers that, as well as touching on topics like offering PDFs at retail.
