Ok, so I have received a multitude of questions about ordering from Papertrey Ink so I thought I'd answer them all in one place :0) I can only go by my personal experience and what I feel works best for me. This applies to the UK only.
So shipping costs are expensive from PTI it is about $34/£21 for just one item, however, there are a quite few stores in the US that charge that same amount to the UK also.
PTI work out shipping costs by weight so if you order heavier stuff like cardstock the shipping will be more expensive. I would say to try and add as much into your cart for that shipping level, if it is lighter stuff like ribbon then you can't get quite a lot in before reaching the next level of costs.
PTI give a $10 discount on orders over $100 or $20 discount on orders over $200. Personally I save up and buy a big order i.e. $200 so that I get the $20 discount. For my last order (with discount) my shipping came to $19/£12 was was pretty good I thought. I did not order any CS though so usually it is higher. I will save up and make the order for the few months new releases which usually include new CS.
Customs charges vary with the amount of postage paid. Personally I don't agree that customs charges should cover postage costs but they do. My last order got through customs without charge however this doesn't happen very often at all. My last customs charge (the Jan order) I had to pay £44 customs charge - this is a lot. I think it's usually around the £30 mark. The cheapest I think has been around £17. There is a customs calculator on the web somewhere, sorry I am not sure where now, so you can calculate it yourself. You need to remember to add on a £8 Royal Mail/Parcel Force handling fee though.
All in all, PTI products really are cheap for what they are, you wouldn't get a big reel of good quality satin ribbon for £1.89 or a pack of 24 sheets of heavy weight CS for the same price in the UK. Their stamps are my kind of style and I think they are great quality. I love their CS and that everything matches colour wise. I don't like that orders take ages to get here (usually 3-4 weeks) and I don't like paying the customs fees but that's what has to be done. I am getting product cheaper than I could in the UK and importing it here so Customs fees should be paid. I also know that the products can't be bought in the UK so that's why I buy them. I work very hard for the money that I earn so I feel I deserve to get nice things I like, if it costs a lot to get them here from the USA then so be it.
Rigtht now I don't have kids or a mortgage so I can do it. I know that in a few years time I won't be able to do it so I am making the most of time I have got!
The best way, as some of you suggest would be to combine an order with someone. That way you are more likely to get the discount, you can split the costs of the shipping and the customs fees. I have done this before myself. There is a place on the
A Passion For Papertrey blog that you can find someone to combine the order with if you don't already know someone.
Thanks for listening and I hope it has helped a few of you out.
