Here’s a link to USPS international rates:
http://pe.usps.gov/text/Imm/Immctry.html

To answer your last question, I’m not really sure. I haven’t been able to find anything that actually explains why the rate structure is the way it is. I’ll hazard a guess and say that at least part of reason has to do with hand-off to a different postal system.

I work in the freight industry and I know that it’s always more expensive to have a shipment split between 2 carriers than it would be to have it delivered by the same carrier that picked it up.

FWIW

One of the departments I supervise at work is the mail center. I got the numbers by placing a similar weight on the scale of our mail metering machine, and plugging in the various service options.

One thing that a seller has, is bulk rates in place. The costs I posted were based on a single shipment. Those usually tend to be higher than for an outfit shipping 100′s of pieces a day.

p.s. – sorry for not seeing this and responding sooner

I’m sure this has been asked and answered?
What is perhaps the top 3 books and DVDs for novice to in his/her astronomy library.

Hmmm??

Philip from Australia.

Wow! I never knew that shipping to the District of Columbia was so expensive…

I suspect that report intended to say, “twice every three hours.” That’s just about the minimum orbital period in low earth orbit.

- Jack

$140!? Where the heck is that? Does it get its own first class seat with meal service?

I ship books (mostly my own) internationally and it’s about the same size (5 lbs/2.3 Kg) and the most expensive country to ship to is Japan. That costs about $40 for air and $35 for surface. Most European countries are under $30 for surface. GB is the exception for some reason. They are almost as expensive as Japan, but I get more of my international orders from there than any other place that has to cross an ocean. Canada is only $18 for air shipment of something that heavy. That’s from any state to any province.

- Jack

That sounds like a weird unit: 3 pounds per pound for shipping to Britain. I read a report recently that a particular satellite orbits the Earth “twice every two hours”; I wonder why they didn’t say “once every hour”?

Perhaps because a satellite in a one-hour orbit would be somewhere in the mantle. The shortest possible freefall orbit is something like 80 minutes.

(Actually, a one-hour orbit might not be possible even if you allow a subterranean evacuated tunnel; the portion of the planet above you doesn’t contribute to its effective gravitational mass.)

But yeah, I want the book, and I’m in the US. Feel free to disregard one of my two comments when you pick the winner.

The same piece going to Canada via economy parcel post was $16.00.

Just FYI.

drbuzz0, unless you’re using a crystal to concentrate your energy, it won’t do any good.

HA!