international shipping!!!!!

[tomslik]

sooooo, i need to ship a dash to finland (bout 25 lbs) and UPS sez 450 bucks!!!!!



uh, for a 50 dollar dash!?!?!?


need some ideas guys, how 'bout you south of the border types?

oz aint exactly across the street......
how do YOU guys get your parts?

[58 Yeoman]

If the size meets USPS guidlelines, it'd be cheaper.  Believe it or not, I've had better luck with USPS on international shipments towards Europe.

[Anonymous]

need some ideas guys, how 'bout you south of the border types?

oz aint exactly across the street......
how do YOU guys get your parts?

OK UPS is not crash Hot Down Under from my experience.

Large items from the US I use a Freight / Customs/ Shipping Agent.

I also suggest you look into the US Postal service as another avenue. US Air to Australia can be delivered in 7 working days from the East Coast of the US. Cheap,  fast and very reliable. My goods come to the door via QANTAS and Australian Air Express. All sent via the US postal system.

I also have goods sent surface ( sea freight ) post very cheap and very slow usualy 2 months from time of order to delivery. I think I would look at surface mail depending on how fast the item is needed.

I hope this helps Guys.

Simon.

[Gilles]

I order parts from the USA time to time and I never pay that much!

The most expensive shipping was 120$ for a complete 350 sbc engine rebuild kit, delivered by Fedex only two days after ordered it online!

By USPS the delay is 2 or 3 weeks and it works good too, when not in a hurry. I had the headers and turbo mufflers delivered this way.

The most common is UPS, more expensive than USPS but with a  8 to 10 days delay. I can't believe it can cost 450$ for a dashboard. There is certainely a mistake!

Gilles

[tomslik]

I order parts from the USA time to time and I never pay that much!

The most expensive shipping was 120$ for a complete 350 sbc engine rebuild kit, delivered by Fedex only two days after ordered it online!

By USPS the delay is 2 or 3 weeks and it works good too, when not in a hurry. I had the headers and turbo mufflers delivered this way.

The most common is UPS, more expensive than USPS but with a  8 to 10 days delay. I can't believe it can cost 450$ for a dashboard. There is certainely a mistake!

Gilles

well, i checked with fedex and it was 360 bucks....
still looking..

[purplepickup]

It sounds like somebody's ripping you off.  I went to the UPS and FEDEX website's shipping calculators and put in a shipment from your place to Helsinki and it was around $210 from each if you dropped it off.....$246 to send from a UPS store.  There is a customs form that has to be filled out but it's pretty simple. I made the box size 40"L x 6"W x 12"H, 25 lbs, value $50.   .....Yeah, I got nothin' better to do while I'm laid up.

I also asked our shipping guy at work yesterday and he did a quickie estimate and it was between $50 and $75.  That's what a corporate discount gets ya.  If you know someone that will ship it for you thru where they work, it would probably be less than $100.  

Maybe you forgot to tell them you're a local.  They probably gave you the Rich Colorado Yuppie rates

[PeterR]

need some ideas guys, how 'bout you south of the border types?

oz aint exactly across the street......
how do YOU guys get your parts?

This info relates to shipments to Australia, but may have some relevance to your situation.

If an item can be carried by the postal service, delivery is quick, cheap and simple.    However there are weight and size limits as the packages are handled manually several times along the way, and if the consignment does not meet these restrictions, then the fun begins.

Sea freight is cheap per pound, but is geared for large consignments and has substantial minimum fees making small packages disproportionately expensive.

Air freight has smaller minimums but a much higher cost per pound.

A large chunk of the air/sea freight costs are due to the documentation the freight forwarder must prepare for customs assessment, and this cost is the same whether the consignment is a single part or a thousand.

Another wrinkle is that the postal service is door to door, while the base price for freight is terminal to terminal with additional charges for carriage to and from the terminal.

Just to indicate the difference, a package which if it had been one inch smaller and qualified for post would have cost $25, but was airfreighted for $220, and if sent by sea freight would have been over $300.

When a purchase is a number of small parts then it will generally be more economic to send them as several post sized packages than a single consignment by sea or air freight, --but that does not help you with a dash.

[C9]

It may help to go to UPS proper and not one of the private post office convenience stores.
The one in my area started charging about double UPS rates over what the UPS place charged.

I use USPS (post office) to send stuff overseas.

4 baby moon hubcaps well padded to France = $28.

4 full size wheel covers to S/E Australia = approx. $30.  maybe $35.

Both of these sent via "Slow Boat".
Air freight is considerably more on the larger packages, but for smaller packages it's entirely within reason.

Both of the above items took about 4 weeks to get there.

[tomslik]

It may help to go to UPS proper and not one of the private post office convenience stores.
The one in my area started charging about double UPS rates over what the UPS place charged.

I use USPS (post office) to send stuff overseas.

4 baby moon hubcaps well padded to France = $28.

4 full size wheel covers to S/E Australia = approx. $30.  maybe $35.

Both of these sent via "Slow Boat".
Air freight is considerably more on the larger packages, but for smaller packages it's entirely within reason.

Both of the above items took about 4 weeks to get there.

guys, i've been getting all the quotes off the websites, i don't deal with the "stores"
i'm gonna go down to the post office and see what they say on monday...

[C9]

guys, i've been getting all the quotes off the websites, i don't deal with the "stores"

I got some quotes off the Internet as well.
Not sure what the deal is, but they were very high.
USPS turned out to be so reasonable I don't use UPS or Fedex for overseas stuff.

[58 Yeoman]

I shipped a dollhouse kit to France this morning; 27#, 38x17x4", just to give everyone an idea of differences in shipping.

USPS = $44.00
FedEx= $181.00
UPS   = $203.00

Of course, it says it will take 4 to 6 weeks to get there with the economy surface shipping...but, if you're not in a hurry?

I used to take my bigger stuff to the UPS store and have her weigh it up and give me a cost.  After I got paid for the stuff (ebay), I would take it back, and lo and behold, the price could be much higher in dollars, with the same girl weighing it up.  Instant PO'd.  

Got my own scale, etc., went online, and they matched perfectly, after UPS went with the new puter system right in the store.  By then, I'd already decided to switch to FedEx, and haven't had any probs since, for domestic shipments.  No probs with USPS overseas, yet.

[unklian]

Two of our local Post Offices are like that,
the price depends on who is behind the counter,and the mood they are in.
  :evil:

Looking for a new Post Office.

[enjenjo]

I have found with UPS, the price can change with how you describe the dimensions. A box 24" long, 4" high, and 11" wide will ship cheaper than one 24" long, 4" wide, and 11" high.

[PeterR]

I have found with UPS, the price can change with how you describe the dimensions. A box 24" long, 4" high, and 11" wide will ship cheaper than one 24" long, 4" wide, and 11" high.

I have had similar experience with the postal service.   Size limits are determined by weight (or the equivalent volume) and also by the perimeter of the package.  When the person pricing the package calculates the perimeter, the answer they get depends on which dimmensions are used. Some will instinctively use the first two dimmensions in the calculation even if that does not give the most favourable answer.

I give the two smallest dimmensions first to avoid the idiot factor.

[Topsterguy]

I wouldn't use UPS if my life depended on it! Up here in Canada they are just too expensive and too much hassle so very few people I know would use them. If I buy anything out of the US I ask if they will ship it USPS - if they say no that they use UPS I cancel the order and get it from someone that will use USPS.When I ship anything from up here I use the regualr postal service and it works just fine.