International Shipping Rumors/Zscale Monster Trains

Hello to all Z scale hobbyists out there,
I am usually quiet on here because to me this is where hobbyists chat, not a retail market. I respect that and would like to keep it that way but it is time to end some rumors.

This message is for all the international customers out there who have not taken the time to read my shipping policy. If you do not know the details you should not assume. I hear all the time that my shipping prices are more than fair by those customers who read the policy.... and I really enjoy working with them too.

Since every country is a different price and every shipment is a different weight I decided years ago to give the most realistic prices out there. Instead of a flat rate of shipping cost, which are unfair, I have the shopping cart enter a number that is larger than required. I can then pack the box and weigh it to get the precise weight and cost of the international shipment. I then refund the unneeded portion from the cart minus a $4.00 handling fee for all the extra paperwork.
I hear all the time this is a good system and everyone is treated fairly. I realize some people out there that complain have not read the policies and start rumors.

When you have any questions, about anything, all you have to do is send me an email. I am always happy to work with you and answer all questions.

Happy Railroading to all!!!!
Best wishes,
Anthony
www.zscalemonster.com

 

As I said in my post, I am really happy to buy from Anthony. As I said, I even got some money back on the postage and the shipping took less than a week to Norway after I placed the order. Its not difficult at all to find out how much everything willcost when you place the order and the charging is reasonable. So my experience here, will do that I may place new orders in the future.

 

of course I read your shipping terms for international order Anthony. So what?
I do not want a refund I want to know immediately how much do I pay exactly.

but this is my idea......

What I do not like to see is this:



the rest are just words.

Best regards
Alessandro

 

Oh boy, this is going to blow up in a hurry and I imagine John or some other moderator will close this post soon if it gets out of hand, but I think some more clarification needs to be made for those who are still questioning Anthony's policies.

Anthony has never defrauded any customer, nor taken advantage of any customer and his selling practices are above board and easy to navigate. What some folks do not understand is the costs and paperwork, and time involved in internatonal sales. Shucks, some retailers and sellers on Ebay won't even ship overseas because of the haslsle involved. Hassles you say? Yes! First off, there is more paperwork necessary to do over seas sales and as Anthony states, each country costs differing amounts for shipping. No one should fault a seller for charging a bit just to cover the handling time spent in wrapping, and addressing the packages and filling out customs forms. After all, time is money and folks don't like to work for free do they?

Receiving a rebate or refund is not a problem is it really? To say that one doesn't like Anthony's poliocy is just not being willing to accept what works best for the seller. Now why should I want to defend Anthony when he is competition in some areas? Well, until you become a dealer and go through the daily hassle of being one, you won't understand so why try to explain it any further.

All who buy from Anthony should just take a deep breath, sit back and stop to rethink their thinking. You will ALWAYS get a fair deal with Anthony and never have to worry about wherther you were treated fairly or not.

Look at it this way.......just pretend you have paid your taxes yet again and all of a sudden, you are notified of a refund you didn't expect. Now isn't that good news in this day and age?

I am not specificially sticking up for Anthony over any other dealer, but honestly folks, just be assured you are not gettign taken advantage of in any way.

That's my story and you too ought to stick with it.

 

Always happy to buy from Anthony, with quick and accurate oversea shipping.
Sure he cannot proceed for free on international orders. USPS is not functioning as Hongkong post where you can sell the goods for 0.01$ and win on the shipping.

 

I don't even know where to begin with this. Bottom line, I would consider this highly unreasonable. Best to shop elsewhere if this is your attitude, and in particular refrain from bad-mouthing well-respected vendors on public forums.

 

I shopped from ZS quite a few times and I appreciate the service given there. In Europe we cannot always find the American Zscale items for sale and then ZS is almost always available as a retailer. American ebay is a really difficult place to get what you want as a European customer since not that many retailers offer international shipping. The shipping issues...well I don't really understand the problems here - on the Swedish version of Ebay the method of "over-pricing" shipping at first and then refund, or delaying payment until shipping cost is established, is often practiced.

 

Thank you to all who have contributed to this topic. Loren could not have said it any better since we are both in the same situation. We both love to serve international customers as well as domestic customers.
To the topics of...
:question: Why can't I offer free shipping on international orders? Why is there a $4.00 handling charge? Why....? Why....?

The simple answers are as follows:
Lets say I have 20 domestic orders to pack and I can pull, pack and print postage on all 20 in two hours. That is from the computer to the door in two hours (twenty boxes). Now let's put our international shipments on the table to discuss. In the same duration of two hours with international shipments I can only Pull, Pack and Print Postage and Customs Forms on about 4-5 boxes. This is due to all the paper work involved in the customs forms. Even worse, those boxes going via First Class Un-Insured can not be completed in the office. I have to physically take the time to drive them to the post office and pay their postage there. No matter how you slice it, there is tremendous amounts of time involved in international shipping that is not required for domestic shipments.

Lets look at this example:
20 boxes in two hours domestic
4-5 boxes in two hours international
hboy: :sweat:

Again, thanks to all who have chimed in on this topic. I did not start this post to start a heated debate but simply to inform those who were not on the correct page with the system.
I like shipping to you no matter where you are and I enjoy your emails. I even have a good time communicating with customers who don't speak English. I started and expanded Zscale Monster Trains to make your hobby a pleasant experience where you can find as much selection in one spot as possible... so you are not stuck buying at ten different places and paying for ten different shipping costs.
Just keep in mind I am here to support you the hobbyist!!!
:funny:

 

Anthony is one of the most responsible and helpful vendors of any kind that I have dealt with on the internet.

Joe

 

I am an international customer of both Loren of Stonebridge and Anthony of ZscaleMonster. I get good dependable service, with great pricing and the least expensive shipping costs of any one I have dealt with I give five gold stars to them both. Heck I even give them 10 or 12 if the number is important 100.

keep going guys there is a whole raft of us out here routing for you.

 

And just to make things even more frustrating... the US Postal Service has just put through a rather large increase in International Postage Rates.

Main announcement: http://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2012/pr12_114.htm

Specific New Prices (I love the way they call it "New Prices") including International Pricing: https://www.usps.com/business/prices.htm

As just one example, the "Small Flat Rate Box" for Priority Mail has gone up to $23.95 at the "Retail" level. (It's less at the "Commercial" level, not sure if any small business qualifies.) You can't fit much Z Scale in that box.

It was so much of an increase that we rushed birthday gifts out to Spain before the "new price" took effect...

 

FWIW, I consider shipping fees to be a lower-priority concern in light of more important things, such as customer service. When jokers on Fleabay regularly try to rape people for $35+ on domestic purchases, I cannot see the sense in quibbling over $5-10 when dealing with reputable people like Anthony. I've seen modelers argue over $3 of postage for a $30 order, and I find this to be borderline irrational. When you've got outstanding, professional service backing up a purchase, I believe it's worth a few dollars more; when I recognize a quality seller, I will never bicker with them over something so trivial. But then, that's just me.

 

Wow, USPS is or at least is becoming one of the most expensive post services in the world. Good try for your government to make some bucks...Should better get the money back from Armstrong and keep the prices low ;-)

 

Its unfortunate that this issue is discussed in a forum and not between the 2 parties, I can understand if english is your second language, you could find buying items over the net from english speaking countries can be a challenge especially understanding international postage policies, (lets assume this is the case) the great thing about ZSM is that Anthony will refund the overpaid amount, this doesnt happen with alot of other vendors.

Im my dealings with Anthony I have always found him to be very prompt with his e-mails even if its a generic question, he puts his customers first even when he is struggling with his illness, he loves trains just like all of us...

Keep up the great work.

Mike.

 

Paying a little extra for quality is always worthwhile.

I have always received quality service from Anthony, yet never felt that I ever actually paid that little extra.

One would be hard-pressed indeed to top his service and price.

 

Thanks for the smile Gerd... although I don't think clawback from our Tour De France competitor will solve this one...

And a +1 on how this whole thing should have been private.

 

Alessandro,

PLEASE don't bring this up in this forum. Anthony is THE best Z scale vendor there is, period. I have bought items from Anthony since he started Z Scale Monster and he is THE most helpful, upstanding, customer oriented person I know. All the top American Z scale manufacturers utilize him to sell their items (mine included) because he is THE best there is. If you don't like his shipping rates then contact him offline and/or don't purchase anything from him but don't bad-mouth him here in this open forum. This is a hobby web site, not a complaint department.

Moderator please shut this discussion down.

John