Shipping costs....

[Al Terego]

Hi,
I'm new here(my intro is at the 'Real name' thread). I was wondering what it typically costs to ship say, one 1/16 scale, four 1/24 scale and some small items such as photoetched sets from one of the Japanese online stores? I would like to know the average shipping cost for land and also for air. Does slower=cheaper and is this not always a good idea? Please explain what some of the shipping jargon such as SAL means also.

Thanks in advance for any advice,

Al

P.s,
Oops, forgot to say that I'm current living in Toronto, (Eastern)Canada.

[disomma]

i found that media mix hobby (http://www.mediamixhobby.com.sg/catalog/index.php) is usually the fastest, and definitely my favorite. HLJ can take alot of time to process the order, and hobbysearch can be a bit more expensive, although they're pretty fast too.

[hirofkd]

Here's some info.
http://www.int.post.japanpost.jp/

You can estimate the shipping cost by using Hobby Link Japan's estimated weight, or Hobby Search (you don't have to buy anything, but can get a rough estimate with its shopping cart.)
http://hobbyworld.aoshima-bk.co.jp/eindex.asp
(you have to register your address)

SAL stands for surface air lift, and it's essentially the 2nd class air. From Japan to US, it typically takes 5-14 days, but I don't hear good thing about the Canadian customs.

EMS is express mail and takes 3-5 days, and again between Japan and US.

Surface is always cheap, and that's the method I use. I buy a bulk of 8-10 kits at a time, so the shipping comes down to about US$5.00 per kit, and it usually takes 5-6 weeks.

Another money saving method is to keep your order below 2.0 kg (including box and packing), then you can use the small packet rate, which is much more cost effective than the other methods. For example, sometimes the total shipping cost of two small packets is cheaper than one SAL or EMS.

[Al Terego]

Thanks for the info, that was very helpful and yes, I've heard that Cdn Customs can charge full import rates on packages if they so desire.

Al

[tigeraid]

FWIW... I'm located in Ontario and will likely be carrying Aoshima model kits, and possibly Fujimi, and some aftermarket parts...