If anyone has imported a new frame and forks from the States recently, can I ask who the shipper/courier was that the supplier used and how much in dollars it cost for the shipping.

Much appreciated.

Would just be interested in which carrier was used.

I ordered a frame and forks, paid Inc carriage, now the supplier is say they can not ship via the paid for method due to the size of the package and the alternative is about $400 more which is quite a lot especially as import duty will be applied to that as well.. they have offered a refund, but still very annoying.

Ta

Airfreight costs based on volumetric weight i.e. the bigger the box, the more it costs. Ask the seller for the shipping carton dimensions and see for yourself how much it costs – see if they are prepared to fit it inside a smaller box?

Bought a frame and forks and paid for carriage ($130 usps international) odd for the shipping, now they are saying they can it ship due to size and and want another $400 to go with DHL who can. Seems an insane price, especially as it will be factored into import duty. They have offered to investigate other options or cancel and refund the order.

What just insterested to see if anyone had recently imported a frameset to see which carrier was used and the cost before I hit the refund button.

It was 7 or 8 years ago but I paid $209 to have a fatbike shipped from Alaska. That came in two boxes – one had frame, forks and all the components, the other had the two build wheels and tyres. Even allowing for cost increases, $400 for one box sounds excessive. I suspect they are simply pricing it a point where they want you to cancel – either to avoid hassle or because the manufacturer has rules about cross-border shipping.

Sounds like the packing is well off or you are buying a tandem!! I’ve shipped bikes to Oz for less via UPS

As said, it might be cheaper to send in two boxes if the frame can safely fit in a smaller box.

I sent a full sus bike to Oz recently,  21kg and that cost £300 😮

For that price you could fly out and collect.

Shipping from North America is expensive – mostly because the size limits are restrictive.  A lot of couriers won’t take packages bigger than around 100 to 130″ length plus girth.  Although the price you are being quoted sounds like a please go away quote.  That is high. I know of some people who have looked into having frame and forks shipped the other way, from UK to North America – quotes ranged from around £100 to £300.  And that is when senditnow or parcel2go or parcel monkey could do it for £40-60. So I don’t think it is entirely a matter of what it really costs.

If you know the approximate size, why not hit a few of the courier company US websites and try it out. Note that anyone with an account will get a small discount and anupgone that does any volume will get a bigger one

If you know anyone in the US I’m sure they could ship it to you for less than that by cutting down the box to the smallest possible size.  You don’t have the problem of having to get the VAT deducted.

I forgot to mention bikeflights and ship bikes seem to get great deals.  I don’t know if your shipper could be persuaded to use them but iirc bikeflights got me a quote of $135 via FedEx while the FedEx site itself was $650.

Has the supplier shopped around for quotes? Sounds to me that they have just picked one carrier and gone with their quote. They might have also asked for insurance which has really jacked up the price.

Can you ask them to box it as small as possible and then shop around and book the carrier yourself  to collect from the options listed above?

Thanks for all the replies, good points.

<span style=”font-size: 0.8rem;”>Will see what they say when they get to their emails to tommorow. They are blaming a glitch with their shop / usps system due to package size.</span>

What is annoying is that have a UK based distro, but not for the option I wanted and when I asked would it be better to ship direct they made it clear there were more than happy to deal direct as they ‘shipped internationally’ and where moving away from a dealer network.

Did think about a trip out their, and funnily they said many of their customers do indeed do a pickup whilst on a to the states.

Anyway will see what they come back with, but can see taking the refund and going for another option.

Oh well, not the end of the world.

Hi Scotroutes,

This is a purchase direct from the brand/manufacturer so assume they have no issue with cross border selling options. Just think they have messed up their shipping offer. They have offered also to keep exploring options as well as the refund.

Ok they resolve it, fedex international economy (5days) $250 inc insurance for the full value of the frameset.

Out of interest, what’s the framest?