how can i calculate shipping costs?

shoelevy · Post by **shoelevy** » Fri May 07, 2004 9:06 pm

can anione tell me how to calculate shipping costs from USA?

kingkong · Post by **kingkong** » Fri May 07, 2004 9:40 pm

try here:
http://wwwapps.ups.com/calTimeCost?loc=en_SG
fill in the details and get an estimate.

but if you are thinking about buying telescope online, just add the item(s) to cart, go to checkout, fill in your shipping address, the site should tell you exactly how much shipping'll cost. or in my case, sorry they don't ship malaysia.

keep in mind that the online shops don't really ship to you from their "shops", it could be from a warehouse/hub somewhere in europe or even asia.

that's my experience anyway.

harlequin2902 · Post by **harlequin2902** » Sat May 08, 2004 1:13 am

can anione tell me how to calculate shipping costs from USA?

You don't really need to do any calculation yourself actually.

If buying new scopes from US vendors, they will tell you how much it'll cost. Just send them an e-mail to enquire. Even though they receive loads of e-mail enquiries from all over in a day, most reputable vendors there will reply within 1 or 2 business days.

For used scopes off astromart, you can ask the seller to check it out for you with your preferred carrier, since he will have access to the necessary info (weight, box dimensions etc...).

A third way is to go to the official website of the manufacturer (e.g Celestron, Skywatcher etc...) and obtain the product weight specification from the site. With that in hand, you can call UPS or Fedex and they will give you a weight-based estimate immediately.

For accessories, it's pretty standard. For small items in the class of an eyepiece or a barlow : US$5-US$10 for standard USPS airmail without insurance, US$15-US$17 for USPS insured airmail and US$25 for USPS express airmail. UPS and Fedex are more expensive, even for small items. For these guys, minimum parcel shipping costs are known to start at US$35-US$40.