I tried to order a contact adjuster tool, 8 slingshot plastic shoes, and 25 small post rubbers. It would have come to over $55 Canadian. Before I changed to the international the cost was $23 Canadian. I only order large orders to help consolidate the shipping costs now. So that is now few and far between... Anyone know a good Canadian source for a contact adjuster tool?

It sounds like there is great demand for a canadian supplier of pinball parts. Start looking for a warehouse.

a canadian supplier is not the solution for a good shipping rate.

example; to ship a box with less than 250 grams, 8'' x 8'' x 8'' will cost you close to $16+ from cost to cost in canada, go above that, your doom.

same thing from the us to canada cost will cost less than $10 for the same service but a business (not everyone, but almost) will charge you twice that if not 3 times that, that's where they make money and of course if they use paypal to give you an estimate on shipping, it's worst because they also want to make a cut.

Last year, I placed all my specific parts orders from Marco and others and go them delivered to my hotel in Allentown. Worked out well.

An LED kit from PinballBulbs.com costs $10 to ship, the same size box with Marco or BAA costs $36. A big order at Mezel Mods in a big box costs $10 to ship, the same box from Marco or BAA between $40 and $50, go fig how can Mezel Mods and PinballBulbs offer such good rates

Pretty simple really, some companies look at shipping as another revenue generator, some look at it as a revenue neutral service to the customer, up to you to choose which model you support.

yeah, mezel, pinball bulb, comet pinball, pinball resource and a few others have very good shipping rates.

I have noticed if I pay for faster shipping, Marco also expedites packing and shipping the order. If I pay for two day shipping, the box is usually packed and out their door in a couple of hours. If I choose the cheap method, sometimes it's been a day or three before the box gets marked as shipped.

I used to order in Marco but the Iglobal shipping is very expensive. I could deliver to a friend is US who next will send me the items by USPS... but... if you pay with an international credit card you have to use Iglobal... theres no option to ship to US if you pay with an international credit card. That sucks.
Maybe Iglobal is the best solution for marco, but super expensive.

So... PBR require traveling to an office to send them the money order algo paying a overpriced dollar and a comission. And Marco now has a expensive shipping.

So.... being an overseas pinball collector are becoming rude...

On a different side note / rant, I used to collect baseball cards, that is until USPS raised the shipping rates. Now, a $3 card costs me $7+ in a bubble mailer from the USA.

I used to buy 2-3 items EVERY day, since the increase, which was months ago, I've only bought 2 items and actually starting selling stuff instead. My collecting days are basically over now unfortunately.

Glass half full: Think how much money you'll save now that you are not buying stuff you don't need 3-4 times per day...

FWIW I share your pain. I have been having what I can best describe as a pre-death estate sale for years, if it is worth a bit or is something someone has use for AND I have not used it in years, it is gone.

At this point I only have a few boxes left. But as I have sold stuff over the last 3 years, shipping rates have gone up.... and up... and up. Canada Posts "if its thicker than 2cm, its a parcel" rule is particulary brutal. There were some items I could ship to the UK cheaper than across the pond to Vancouver. Figure that one out

Isn't that the truth. In Marco's case; they definitely aren't losing any money. Just a shame that they send the work to a second party to even further gouge the consumers. Shows how much they care about their international customers... and next door neighbours.

I would say it shows how great their distaste for exporting goods is. I don't think you non-US understand how much BS it is when items get stuck in customs or has tariff due or other problems that the customer most easily remedies with a credit card charge back. Exporting sucks. In fact, I won't sell anything outside the US.

If you don't like it, start your own pinball parts distribution business. As I said before, there seems to be plenty of demand.

That sucks. How bad is it? What's the ratio of goods that get held up and eventually charged back? I figured it would be relatively low, like shrinkage or damaged during shipment.

If only this was an option. It would be nice if someone did... that's for sure.

Marco doesn't look at shipping as an additional revenue generator. I don't either but it is more of a PITA to ship something to Canada than it is to ship domestically. I ship worldwide. When I have an eBay auction I provide a shipping cost for US customers but state that international customers need to send me their address for a quote. Then I either have to go online to the USPS website and calculate a cost or in some cases take the package to the post office to get one. Then you have to fill-out the customs paperwork for each shipment. I only charge actual postage but I don't ship anywhere near the quantity of stuff a company like Marco does.

Marco probably had to make the decision of hiring another person just to do international shipping or outsourcing it altogether to a company that specializes in it.

Either way they aren't going to absorb the loss. The additional cost will be passed along to international customers and it will be more than just the increased postage.

$53 postage for ten balls and 1 small ramp to australia, no thanks

For your info we 'Non-US' actually understand what it takes to ship internally and internationally. The world is actually bigger than the US and those organisations that recognise that will have a future. But for all of that as I have said before Marco for me has been terrific. Fast, courteous, great website & always returns emails even for a 'Non-US' customer.

Not sure why you would want to import 10 balls-they are readily available in Australia.

was just curious what shipping rates would be was all, 20$ for the ramp then another $33 for the balls.

You may consider opting for a US shipping address & have the ability to combine a no of items over a period to reduce per item cost. I use Comgateway but there are a no of providors. Unfortunately I have accepted that to be in this hobby importing on occasions is an 'occupational reality'.

Some things to share. It Does take an extra 7-15 minutes to ship a package to Canada, based on the amount of customs work.
At some point an Employee, who would like to make $12 an hour, (which costs a company close to $20 an hour) is an average of $4 to a company to ship.
Add to that if there are many different products, not just LED bulbs in my case, that need itemization.

Another consideration are box dimensions, as well as weight. A long ramp needs a box that costs $1.00 more plus packing material. Then a fragile object has to be separated from a heavy
object, requiring a different additional box, or effort. Trying to stock the myriad of boxes for 1 ramp or two?
So weight and dimension, not just $$ Spent.

Also is insurance. Many people dont wish to buy, but if a package is missing International, Customers expect not to lose. International packages are lost with a much higher frequency.

For us, I just reviewed our shipping to Canada, and we subsidize, meaning I spent 8% more then we charged. We use "average" costing, which will eventually go to weight/volume based.
That means small orders will cost less, and heavy orders a little more.

Of course, the other joyous add on are customs fees.

This is more a neutral opinion, as I am not disagreeing with the Op, that any in between company has fees, and savings, but more so that the logistics, cost, cost of additional shipping area, etc, may be overlooked when comparing a $80 ramp, (Large Box) vs $80 in balls (heavy Box), vs a $80 MOD, (Same small Box), vs $80 LEDs, averaging a Medium Box.

In any case, I hope you can find a way to be happy with the Hobby, more then shipping woes, and believe that this post has not fallen on deaf ears.

FWIW with my first order from you recently I was surprised how relatively inexpensive it was; it arrived well packed and in an appropriate sized box for the order.

That being said, if you were subsidizing the shipping a bit, I would not be surprised, or internet outraged if things eventually adjusted upwards a bit.

What I don't understand is the people who are charging back things when items are held up in customs? Assuming you are actually following shipping rules, I have not had many items held up in customs (both receing and sending) out of thousands of shipments. With the current trackability of most packages, why aren't people at least checking where their shipment is before going nuclear on the vendor?

The US market is plenty big enough for me. I am not counting on export to have a future. I'm sorry if this offends you, but seriously, I have enough problems with US customers not to exacerbate my suffering with cultural and language differences. Simply look how this thread demonstrates an attitude of foreign entitlement. Let's face it, you guys just aren't the best customers. Many of us in the US have learned this. Many more will learn it.

and i guess everything you have, eat and sale are from the us?
please let us know what is your company and what you sale.

I feel raging entitlement to have a small box of parts sent to me over a short distance for a reasonable price.

What a dickhead I am!

Better charge me $35 for being foreign.

not a retailer, but do sell stuff occasionally...

i pretty much basically refuse to ship internationally, not just due to the added costs, but due to the added effort... it isn't worth it...

And you dare to speak of "attitude" ???

Sweet Jesus

i gave you an honest opinion and stated why i don't... i'm sorry that is not good enough for you...

An absolutely incredible, baseless & offensive post. The only thing I can say is the avatar says it all!!

and those are some of the reasons why we don't see changes, fortunately, not everyone is like that!

It would be Interesting to see the different shipping rates for the same product. Something common like 1 micro switch, see how much each supplier would charge to send it to you.

Gonna voice my opinion and probably tick off a few, isn't my intent. Here I ramble:

I can't speak for why some companies charge a ton, but I'm going to guess it's because they've not looked in to it, and it becomes one of those things where they think it's not worth their time. I myself had to put in place a minimum order of $75 for overseas orders just because of that, the gripes and claims got under my skin, and pocketbook. And you know, sure. I know if I were to mail a coin door decal in an envelope anywhere it's a few bucks and not $10, but that same person griping about the $10 shipping is the same guy that's going to file a claim in 30 days. Trust me I know.

1. Anyone who ships a lot knows that shipping overseas is almost zero more work. Sorry people that think it adds anything, it really doesn't. It's a mere few seconds to type in "Pinball Parts" and the value to any online postage program, STAMPS, Endicia, eBay or PayPal shipping. If you're actually walking in to the Post Office and filling out paper forms, well in my opinion you're pretty silly. No vendor that does this daily does that. Or if they do, well silly. A. the time and B. the costs.

2. Shipping overseas or to Canada has increased a ton in the past years and the rules are different.. What used to be $10 went to $18 in some cases. Packages over 4 pounds have to go Priority or Express (with the USPS, in other words no "First Class"). It's a twice yearly juggle to figure out what's right, fair and won't deter customers for me. They don't exactly spell out the changes, the media screams about a 2 cent increase to letters when in the background package costs increase in weird ways.

3. People may not know it, but in MOST parts of the world, USPS delivery confirmation is not available. What that means is someone in Brazil pays, files a claim for non receipt after 30 days, and 100% of the time they get their money back. That means you just ate the $400 order for something you forgot to insure. And related to my earlier rant, this is now extended to 180 days. Insurance is only good for 60 days. Anyone see the problem?

4. US vendor to US customer, I've learned to figure out the best method to ship things and I like to feel my customers think my costs are fair. When it comes to Canada and overseas, I also like to think I'm fair but it's a gamble on costs. Sometimes I very well pay more than I charge, especially when insurance is involved.

To wrap this up: Shipping costs suck.

Is there any way for the customer to be given the choice in advance to either pay for the insurance or forfeit the right to a charge-back? I'm not sure if that is even feasible, much less attractive to either buyer or seller, but at least it would identify the real issue, which is the insurance cost for non-delivery, and shift the cost accordingly.

No, not really.

So that appears to be the real crux of the issue.

i never paid for insurance...

and when i ship something i have the option to add it or not.

If you think about it, insurance isn't for the buyer in most cases, it's for the seller. But it's the cost a seller has to take in to account. If a buyer is given the choice of paying for insurance, the answer should be no, because it's up to the seller to make sure whatever it is, is delivered, and delivered with no problems. A lot of sellers think if they ship something, it's out of their hands once it leaves them, or simply stating "As-Is/No returns" covers them. Neither is true.

Look how all the foreigners shit on me and called me offensive for simply stating I don't want them as customers.

WILL NOT EXPORT! Because it puts me at greater risk of having difficulties. I'll buy foreign items in my local stores without batting an eye, but that doesn't mean I have to put up with a bunch of bullshit or fill out customs forms or lift a finger because you choose to live as a subject.

Respect my freedom! Respect my choice not to sell to you. Understand I owe you nothing.

TBH we are starting at "none" ... but I would have a little more respect for you if you had the balls to actually identify your business. So far you have the profile of a sniveling troll so you invite the response you inferred above. and yes. Ich bin ein Ausländer.

I don't sell on pinside.. Just a few too may whining babies. But you really don't have to namecall me. I know you are just jealous that I don't have to live under the rule and take orders from some devil-worshiping witch and her pedophile son.

BTW, I think you need to look up the word "inferred". The only thing I inferred from all your comments is that my initial supposition was correct.

Nah i could never be as cool as you with fancy words...
Its funny to learn you might really be a yank.. I actually thought you were one of a certain Australian trolls ghost accounts.. Oh well.. wgaf.

This is what happens when you feed the trolls kiddies .. better dont.

I looked up something different:

sad sack noun

: a person who is not successful or able to do things well : an inept person who causes feelings of pity or disgust in other people

I wouldn't be surprised if Marco listens to you international customers and does something to reduce the shipping.

If I lived somewhere besides the contintental US I would certainly be looking to alternatives to Marco if that was the best direct option....

That escalated quickly!

I am glad you are not looking to expand internationally, you sound like the American version of Homepin. Good for you. I am sure your mother is proud

One thing you can always do is ask the vendor to confirm.
I built the shipping calculator system for PSPA and one of the issues was big light items. take big ramps and JD toppers for example. In dead weight it weighs only grams but in cubic weight it weighs some kilos. Its then further complicated by the post office using cubic weight and dead weight for different services and destinations. If the shipping seems 'off' it pays to ask because weight errors do happen.