Cost of shipping vinyl from Germany shoots up following DHL policy change

[Katji]

Cost of shipping vinyl from Germany shoots up following DHL policy change​

https://ra.co/news/77372

Effective from July 1st, the update means 12-inch records no longer fit in the popular carrier's smallest and cheapest packages.

Changes to DHL's international packaging policy in Germany will massively impact record shops and sellers sending vinyl abroad.

Launched on Friday, July 1st, the update affects DHL's Warenpost International option, which was previously run by Deutsche Post (both companies fall under Deutsche Post DHL Group) and was popular with record shops and sellers because of its low cost and reliability. (DHL's domestic package costs remain unchanged.)

The size of the cheapest international package has now changed from 35cm across to 25cm, meaning 12-inch vinyl will no longer fit. This leaves sellers with no choice but to use the next size up, called Päckchen M Welt, which in some cases is triple the price.

Before July 1st, a 500-gram package containing one or two records from Germany to the UK cost €4.40 without tracking. This will now cost €13.49. The price hike is even steeper when sending vinyl outside of Europe, rising from €5 to €17.99 in some cases. Adding tracking takes the total cost to €21.99.

"I'm selling 12-inches for between ten and 11 Euros," Andy Vaz, label owner at Cologne's Yore Records, told Resident Advisor. "Who would order one or two 12-inches for that price if the shipping to the USA is €20 instead of five? There's no freakin' way."

He added: "It affects every vinyl record label of all genres in Germany. Everybody who presses vinyl, everybody who sells used vinyl, and the most important thing is [the impact on] record stores. Every store I have spoken to says they cannot survive without sending records to the world. Just with walk-in customers, nobody can keep their doors open." Hamburg's Remoto Records, which is about to launch a web shop, is one such example.

[...] https://ra.co/news/77372

Stoffel also mentioned the Change.org petition that has so far garnered more than 13,500 signatures. Sign it here.

Watch a clip of Vaz speaking about the issue on local German news network WDR Lokalzeit.