Shipping cost to DR (e-shopping)

CaribeDigital

Active member
Sep 5, 2014
295
113
43
I was shopping on ebay for running shoes and found the shipment charge from the USA to the Dom Rep a bit high.
Out of curiosity, I changed the destination country from DR to France... and the shipping cost went 40% down.
I tried another US merchant - same thing.

Can someone explain me the phenomenon?

(This is pure academic now as I bought my shoes in Hong Kong, where the shipment is included in the attractive price)
 

Derfish

Gold
Jan 7, 2016
4,441
2
0
It may be that the shipping to the DR is mostly privatized, and as such is at the mercy of the private company instead of being a government service as in the USA and France etc..
 

PJT

Silver
Jan 8, 2002
3,562
298
83
I was shopping on ebay for running shoes and found the shipment charge from the USA to the Dom Rep a bit high.
Out of curiosity, I changed the destination country from DR to France... and the shipping cost went 40% down.
I tried another US merchant - same thing.

Can someone explain me the phenomenon?

(This is pure academic now as I bought my shoes in Hong Kong, where the shipment is included in the attractive price)

The reason for the difference in cost is there is more available commercial modes and cargo space, air and ocean, serving France than the DR. Therefore, competition among the modes drive rates down, more cargo traffic lowers costs. The DR does not enjoy the high volume traffic of France from the US and the higher cargo costs are a result of lower commercial traffic to the DR.


Regards,

PJT
 
May 29, 2006
10,265
200
0
Per pound, it's more expensive to ship a half dozen items on a flight than fill up air freight containers every day and ship in bulk. There is no economy of scale, prices are higher.

Best to ship to a friend and have them courier it down or wait until your next trip to the US.
 

windeguy

Platinum
Jul 10, 2004
42,211
5,966
113
Most of us use shipping companies in the Miami area that forward goods to the DR when ordering items in the US. Cost is about $4 US a pound for smaller items like shoes.
 

stretch

Member
Aug 25, 2005
51
7
8
Here in Las Terrenas we have "Mailboxes Etc." I'm not sure where all their locations are, but we can order stuff off the web and ship it to a Florida address, then they ship it here and we pay by weight when it gets here. Here's their website:
https://mbe.com.do/sobrembe/sobrembe