Could an US forum member assist me with...

[Lanthanotus]

.. the purchase of a figure?

It may sound a bit weird, but despite living in Germany finding the Bullyland Mastodonsaurus seems to be a very lengthy and tedious task. In fact, in two years of more or less contineous search on ebay (national and EU), other fleamarket sites and several dino stores and trading sites I have yet to find any of these. Within this time I got two Bullyland Edaphosaurus and faced several others, just to give you an exapmple.

However, it seems for some reason an US based amazon trader has these (click). The price is quite fair, but handling and shipping triples the price which is... well, unfortunate.

I am not sure about the US international shipping prices for a mail/parcel that size... I'd guess the figure weighs less then 100 g and being made from PVC it doesn't require that an extensive wrapping and packaging. From Germany to the US a package that size would cost a mere 3.20 € .....

Could anyone tell me the shipping price for such a figure and if these are in a reasonalbe range and if possible, could assist me in buying that thing and forward it to me? I'd pay via PayPal in advance, so you are on the safe side. I would also offer my help in purchasing figures from Germany or the Eu that are hard to come by in the US if interested.

Thanks in advance.

[BrontoScorpio]

Hi,
I remember "dejankins" used to have it until recently :
http://www.dejankins.com/bullyland-museum-line/
You may try and contact him if he could 'scrape' one more for you.

As for shipping cost, you didn't mentioned how much they wish to charge you -
but, I tried it myself and it is 36$ for several countries - this is indeed a lot.

I meassured the item to weight as much as 115gr ( I have two .. ) and along with a small shipping box it should be arround 190gr.
The cost of such package from the US could be found on the USPS site :
https://postcalc.usps.com/Calculator/MailServices?country=10137&ccode=DE&omil=False&dmil=False&mdt=9%2F5%2F2017&mdz=23%3A59&m=6&dvi=14&p=0&o=6.7024

- sending it by a small box will cost $13.50 with First-Class Package International Service
- maybe it could also be send in a large envelope.

finaly,
I do seem to remember it poping out on ebay.DE -
it seems strange that one living in germany should find it abroad ..

[Lanthanotus]

Hi BrontoScorpio and thanks for your reply aswell as weighing the figure.

I indeed also checke out the USPS PDF of prices before, but hell, it's a mess of differing offers, but yes, handling and shipping from the trader is calculated by 32 $. I once ordered a single issue of a magazine from the US which cost me 12 bucks in handling and shipping, while I also ordered several used books via Abebooks which were calculated to a mere 2-4 bucks for shipping (and these included some big and heavy tombs).

DeJankins I check now and then, found the Mastodonsaurus listed, but never being actually offered.

Yes, I know it sounds strange, that I find that figure only overseas, but indeed some Bullyland figures seem to be damn rare. The Ankylosaurus I offered in my sellout few weeks ago is/was also the only one I ever saw for sale (got it in a lot with one of the Edaphos and other retired Bullylands) - and I search a lot (also in covoluts).

Yeah, maybe contacting DeJankins directly could help... thought I'd give the forum a first try

[PhilSauria]

Just out of curiosity (and I knew pretty much what to expect) I went through to the checkout stage on Amazon with the Mastodonsaurus; the figure would have cost me about $18 Australian but by the time shipping was added I was looking at a whopping $66! How do they justify these rates when, as you say, heavy books can be ordered via Abe or the Book Depository for next to nothing? And many of my Dinosaur purchases from China are free (and the figures are priced at such a rate that the shipping is clearly not factored into the price of the item). Shipping from some countries is a regular source of frustration in collecting from Australia and often the deal breaker when you see an otherwise reasonably priced sale item.

[Halichoeres]

I would be happy to purchase and ship the Mastodonsaurus to you. The cheapest option I know of would be $12.50 (first class international), so the total would be $27.49. It's pretty expensive but perhaps manageable.

Since you asked, PhilSauria, books can be shipped via a special media mail option that lets them move more slowly (boats rather than planes) and requires less careful handling. It's specifically so that large quantities of printed matter or electronic media can be moved cheaply, and no other merchandise is supposed to be shipped this way. I think part of the reason it works is that books are typically compact and rectangular, and stack well, etc.

[PhilSauria]

Thanks for the info Halichoeres.

[postsaurischian]

Throughout the last years the U.S. international shipping quotes have been freaking out totally.
Meanwhile I try to avoid U.S. imports as much as I can.
The American politicians should stop whining about their lack of exportations and start to encourage exports.
But not with shipping quotes like this .

I'm not a US forum member , but I could help you with the Mastodonsaurus.
I have sent you a PM.

[Lanthanotus]

Thanks very much Halichoeres and postsaurischian for the kind offers,...  PMs sent