On Tue, Feb 18, 2025 at 02:39 PM, Stan Dye wrote:
From our experience last time, international postage between US and UK or Europe may make the cost quite high (Cal delivered one kit to Germany).? We will contact you when we make plans for the group buy.
For shipping a single ABS Version 1.2 PCB/PCBA/MPUs kit without BOM parts to Germany, it was critical too keep the mass down, which made it necessary to find a perfectly sized and light weight box (which I just happened to have in my box stash). The total mass was 221g and the cost for First Class US Mail postage to Germany was about $20 USD. Unfortunately, the mass is close to a "price point." At 227g, the price goes up to 28.55 USD! I also sent a few PCBs in a padded envelope to Dirk in Germany, which cost the same. The First Class US Mail prices for a non-flexible envelope and a box are the same.
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The USPS Small Flat Rate Priority box can be used too, which includes tracking and insurance, but it is not as economical for such a light item, which is far cheaper to send via First Class Mail. The Small Flat Rate Priority box costs 47.95 USD to Germany/ That's about the same price as FedEx and UPS!? However, it is worth it for two or more PCB/PCBA units. Up to two Revision 1.2 board sets will fit in a Small Priority box or perhaps a single board set with the BOM parts included. If we ever have a Rev. 2 group buy, I might be able to fit three PCB/PCBA kits into a small box.
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Shipping prices will undoubtedly continue to rise. UPS announced it is slashing its business with Amazon by 50%, and the UPS CEO said it was necessary to mitigate "diminishing returns" or something like that.
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73,
Cal (AD8Q)
