What causes huge discrepancies in international shipping prices?
I recently found a t shirt I want for sale on ebay. The seller is located in the US and I am in New Zealand. I understand that shipping to NZ is expensive at the best of times, and that eBay international shipping is pricier than standard shipping, but what I don't understand is the discrepancy between shipping prices on similar items.
It's just a cotton t shirt, size medium. The shipping is $47 USD (all prices I list here are in USD). Looking at other second-hand medium t shirts from USA based sellers, shipping ranges from $15 (suspiciously cheap) up to $60+, with most averaging around $25 to $30. In all of these cases, they are using 'eBay International Shipping', not direct shipping.
What causes these price differences? Is it possible the seller I'm looking at hasn't optimised something correctly? Or are other sellers doing something wrong to cause their rates to be so low?
I'm really keen on this shirt, but $47 for slow shipping is a hard pill to swallow. I understand completely that most sellers aren't keen on shipping international directly, but am I likely to have luck asking them to adjust their shipping options for this item? The shirt is second-hand and inexpensive; it doesn't require any special handling.
Any advice is much appreciated :-)