On 10/06/2012 03:34 PM, Geoffrey S. Mendelson wrote:
Phil Hobbs wrote:
Sounds like a bargain to me. Very few other organizations would leave
money on the table like that. I sure wouldn't. Would you?

It depends upon wat you consider a fair price and what you want people to do.
If you want people from the US to NOT export cheap items then you keep your
postal rates high.

A fair price is what a willing buyer will pay in a competitive market.
If you were a logistics company, or for that matter a unionized
proletarian, you charge what the traffic will bear. That works as long
as there's competition--the more the better in general. You can't keep
jacking up the price if your customers can just go down the street to
your competitor.


If you want everyone to have a small business selling items over the internet
then you keep your postal prices low.

If you want to have economic efficiency, you avoid state enterprises and
subsidies except where there's a compelling interest at stake--for
instance the French pay more for food because they in effect subsidize
small farmers, in order to keep the life of rural France alive. I'm
quite fond of rural France, so I can understand their point.

Postal services? Well, sure, folks in the boonies need to be able to
send in their tax returns.


Plus they save on duty by claiming that everything is a gift. Such
generous folks, those Chinese.

The only gift is to the customs officers receiving the packages. If it is
a gift and the price is low, then they can pass it without inspection, and
if it is inspected just look for the diamonds, guns, drugs, etc hidden
in it.

For example, just ordered about several each of 10 different items
(around 40 items in all), from a vendor in Hong Kong. If he sent it to a
US address and lists it as a gift, the US customs can do a quick inspection
if they do any at all.

If he declares each item, and they inspect the package, they have to figure
out which is which, measure and weigh them and ascertain that they are
what is claimed, and the weight matches.

They say it's a gift regardless of how much it costs.


In this case most of the items were some some sort of USB fob, so good luck.

What treaties are those, and do they guarantee the same rates for everyone?

They are international postal treaties and the guarantee the same rates
between signatories. Or in plain English, each country pays the other
the same rates, but are free to charge their internal customers anything
they want.

Do you have a link? I'd be interested to have a look.



Depends what's important to you, of course. Mostly when I'm in Europe I
do my calling over wifi using UMA, so it costs the same as at home. But
I only go there every couple of years.

Assuming you can find WiFi. Some places think free wifi is a right, others
charge you high rates for it.

Generally the places I've stayed have had free or at least cheap wifi.
That's in Flanders, Artois, and Florence, most recently. And anyway,
since I'm on vacation when I go there, I don't really want to be in
constant touch with home!

Cheers

Phil Hobbs


--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics

160 North State Road #203
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510

hobbs at electrooptical dot net
http://electrooptical.net