Feedback on Ebay tea seller

That seems typical. I think it is also a function of Where in China. There are still rural parts. Did you notice a postmark date? Maybe they were slow in getting it out of the door. I had one shipment languish in China Post for nearly seven weeks, probably at Customs, when it arrived with the one behind it sent four weeks earlier. It is probably sent by default as Sea,Air,Surface(SAS). The slow boat from China doesn't leave everyday of the week. I've seen indications of once a week or maybe every two. The fastest I've seen is two weeks and that seller probably has an export license so doesn't worry about China Post clearing customs. I also get the feeling Big Brother is watching so maybe things speed up after a couple of shipments. Someone is attaching my Zipcode as a barcode. Anything from Hong Kong or Taiwan is lickety split.

Jim

Ozzy wrote:

Hi Ozzy,

I order from China at least every month. How long it takes greatly depends on what shipping method was used.

Airmail = 2-3 weeks SAL (Sea, Air, Land) = 3-6 weeks Surface = 6-8 weeks

Judging by that site's shipping charges they are indeed quoting US Priority mail prices NOT China Post. I am betting that they ran out of whatever you ordered and had your tea drop shipped from China. Trust me that there is no way they shipped anything from China for as little as $3.85 for a single tuocha or bingcha. They probably used SAL and 4 weeks is within the normal range.

All of that being said, it is my opinion that there are better choices on Ebay for puerh. Try

if you are looking for puerh. Or look at my website for a bunch of other choices outside of ebay as I list just about every vendor out that stocks any serious selections.

Mike

"Space Cowboy" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

Thanks Jim for sharing your experience. BTW, the 4 weeks is an estimate gotten from coresponding with the seller on Ebay; it was shipped last Thurs. or Fri. The next time I order direct (if there is one) I'll remember what you said about HK or Taiwan.

Ozzy

Mike,

I ordered from Teaspring a month or two ago. They advertise US$3.80 shipping, and I got my tea (200 grams) in under two weeks direct from China (the box was covered with PRC postage). Did I just get lucky, or does Teaspring know something others don't?

Regards, Dean

Ahh, Teaspring, Jing Teashop, and M and J's, are a different business model. They are all located in China but cater almost exclusively to the Western market. Since they are competing in the Western market they also try to compete with Western shipping prices. In reality they are paying $15 or more to ship the average package so, in order to compete with the shipping charges of most other Western vendors, they embed most of that cost in the price of the tea itself.

It's all about perception. The average Western vendor charges US Postal rates, these outfits in China don't want to scare the Western consumer with the high rates charged by China Post so they hide the shipping cost in the price of their teas. I am not sure what 200g would cost via airmail but I would assume around $8. I do know for a fact that to send two 357g bingcha so that they would arrive in 2 weeks actually costs around $20. To ship 7 bingchas this way would cost around $44. Many Western consumers are shocked by this reality and think the vendor is trying to profit on shipping. That's why many of these vendors simply figure the cost of shipping into their tea prices; it is easier than trying to explain all of this to their customer. The $3.80 they charge covers the packing materials and that's about all, it doesn't even put a dent in the actual shipping.

That's one of the reasons I like the Yunnan Sourcing LLC. They charge the actual price for their tea and then also charge the actual shipping price. I greatly prefer this method as it makes it a lot easier for me to compare prices from one vendor to the next. It also means that large orders get very cheap, especially if you choose Surface shipping.

The reason I said that imperialteagarden drop shipped their tea is because the price they are charging for the tea combined with the $3.80 they charged for shipping would not have even covered the price of SAL shipping. They broke even or lost money on that deal. The fact that so many people commented on fast shipping also confirms that they normally don't ship directly from China.

Mike

I'm curious did you notice the Yuan price of the postage? In this case you would be paying for 32y. In two weeks I guess it came by air. My SAL kilo price from Kunming is $15 which reflects the actual postage. I've gotten a kilo shipment from a vendor on a China port for $10. There is no reason a China vendor couldn't charge for actual postage but like the US there is usually a minimum.

Jim

DPM wrote:

Jim,

I didn't at the time, but I'll check tonight to see if I saved the box.

Dean

Jim,

Sorry - my wife was overcome with a desire to clean out our breezeway, and the box is gone.

Dean

I saved my stamps from my Teaspring shipments (they're pretty) and the one have here, assuming the numbers are the number of yuan, totals 863.

Melinda