Hello my dears!
Beginning this Sunday (27 January, 2013), the United States Postal Service (USPS) is instituting across-the-board rate increases for shipping. For customers in the USA, this will make shipping a little bit more costly, but not extraordinarily so. For customers outside of the States, particularly those in Canada, the impact will be much more obvious.
You can read more about these increases at the website of my postage vendor, DymoEndicia. Since I don't expect to send out packages again before the increases take effect, price changes will already be reflected at checkout.
USPS remains the most competitive of all international parcel delivery services, but this will undoubtedly make some purchases harder to justify for many international customers. I'm just as frustrated and disappointed as you are. I love sending stuff across the map!
To help make up for this a little, I encourage you to consider these options:
- combine orders with a friend. The cost of sending a heavier package is virtually always less than the cost of sending two lightweight packages.
- double-check your mailing address! I've had packages come back to me from every continent of the globe because the customer provided an incorrect or incomplete address. In most cases this means re-sending the package at full cost. Boo!
- mail to a USA address. Do you have a friend or family member in the US? Planning on visiting for Christmas? Work with Americans who regularly mail material to you abroad? I'll ship to any address you provide me, so feel free to reduce your costs by having a friend tuck your purchases into a larger shipment.
- buy digital instead. Beginning this month I'll be offering many of my books as PDFs! This means you can read high-resolution comics and art books on your computer, iPad, Kindle Fire, or other compatible device. They're cheap, they look fantastic, delivery is instant, and you pay $0 in shipping!
- ask your local retailer to carry my products. It's often more cost-effective for you to buy an international product from a local retailer who buys books at wholesale prices! If you think a store near you would be interested in carrying my stuff, suggest it!
International shipping increases; PDF sales
Hello my dears!
Beginning this Sunday (27 January, 2013), the United States Postal Service (USPS) is instituting across-the-board rate increases for shipping. For customers in the USA, this will make shipping a little bit more costly, but not extraordinarily so. For customers outside of the States, particularly those in Canada, the impact will be much more obvious.
You can read more about these increases at the website of my postage vendor, DymoEndicia. Since I don't expect to send out packages again before the increases take effect, price changes will already be reflected at checkout.
USPS remains the most competitive of all international parcel delivery services, but this will undoubtedly make some purchases harder to justify for many international customers. I'm just as frustrated and disappointed as you are. I love sending stuff across the map!
To help make up for this a little, I encourage you to consider these options:
- combine orders with a friend. The cost of sending a heavier package is virtually always less than the cost of sending two lightweight packages.
- double-check your mailing address! I've had packages come back to me from every continent of the globe because the customer provided an incorrect or incomplete address. In most cases this means re-sending the package at full cost. Boo!
- mail to a USA address. Do you have a friend or family member in the US? Planning on visiting for Christmas? Work with Americans who regularly mail material to you abroad? I'll ship to any address you provide me, so feel free to reduce your costs by having a friend tuck your purchases into a larger shipment.
- buy digital instead. Beginning this month I'll be offering many of my books as PDFs! This means you can read high-resolution comics and art books on your computer, iPad, Kindle Fire, or other compatible device. They're cheap, they look fantastic, delivery is instant, and you pay $0 in shipping!
- ask your local retailer to carry my products. It's often more cost-effective for you to buy an international product from a local retailer who buys books at wholesale prices! If you think a store near you would be interested in carrying my stuff, suggest it!