shipping bikes overseas

[kevin881]

I have a bike on ebay now, and it appears a guy from germany wants it. He has been emailing me asking about shipping rates.

When I do a rate calculation on FedEx and UPS.com, I get anywhere from 500-650 dollars.

For those of you who have experience shipping bikes:

1. who did you use for the freight?
2. how did you package the bike up, was there anything special you did outside of plenty of bubblewrap and protection?
3. what was the transit time?

Thanks

[Yo Eddy!]

Kevin,

I am sure it can be done way cheaper.

Some foreign people will ask you to split packages to reduce costs. Often they ask you to fill out incorrect details on the forms, so they have to pay less duties and VAT.

Only ship insured!

Bottom line: More hassle, a tad more risky, but someone on the other side of the pond will be gratefull.

[mainlyfats]

Originally Posted by kevin881

I have a bike on ebay now, and it appears a guy from germany wants it. He has been emailing me asking about shipping rates.

When I do a rate calculation on FedEx and UPS.com, I get anywhere from 500-650 dollars.

For those of you who have experience shipping bikes:

1. who did you use for the freight?
2. how did you package the bike up, was there anything special you did outside of plenty of bubblewrap and protection?
3. what was the transit time?

Thanks

Couriers don't calculate using the actual weight of the package, they use some formula for larger, not so heavy pieces, that means a bike, to them, weighs the equivalent of 150lbs.

I never found anyone else to ship went I sent a bike to Japan, so the guy had to eat the $680 FedEx charge. 3 days.

Pipe insulation works really well. Strap everything down with zip ties and make sure no raw cables are caught between your packaging and the paint. Double reinforce where the front axle meets the box and the rear derailleur point, which should be shifted into the largest cog prior to taking everything to pieces.

Good luck!

[kevin881]

thanks for the good tips mainlyfats!

[Yo Eddy!]

I do not know whether or what I do wrong, but entering Netherlands and 25 pounds I end up with:

http://ircalc.usps.gov/intl_speed.as...ds=25&Ounces=0

[kevin881]

problem is that if it is shipped via our USPS then they are only responsible for the package until it reaches the country it is destined for. After that, its up to that country's postal system. Things I have shipped via USPS internationally usually take forever to arrive, and sometimes are damaged.

[Doug Carter]

Kevin, I shipped a FS Turner to England last spring and it was less than $200 via FedEx, but the receiver of the bike paid more in taxes on entry. He was fine with that, but it got to him in less than a week, safe and sound. He now rides it in a forest next to Stonehenge. Go figure...



Oh, BTW, I got your PM and I'm still laughing about the 6

[kevin881]

Hey Doug... yea I totally laughed when I went to apexspeed and realized that you had to know my brother. It really is a small world.

Thanks for the advice on shipping. If I dont sell this thing on ebay tonight, I am going to take it apart and sell it piece by piece. More trips to the P.O... but smaller packages.

[Doug Carter]

Yeah, funny thing is, I know Rob from LONG before ApexSpeed and racing F2000s (old school Chicago VW/Audi stuff).

[kevin881]

nice.

when he had motopersona he tuned my TT 225 pretty nicely.

[Digger90]

I've shipped bikes both ways now as I used to live in California and am now in London. I think I used USPS when I lived in Cal but am not sure - it was 8 years ago... When shipping from UK to USA I've just found a company who were less than half everyone else's prices: www.parcels2go.com It's still expensive though: with insurance the shipping cost for Yo Eddy frame alone (not the whole bike) was $160.


The reason UK/European buyers will want you to state a lower value for the goods on the shipping documentation when sending from the US is that we get charged spectacular rates of VAT and import duties b y the money-grabbing b*stards in Customs & Excise. To avoid this, it's best to write "Trade Sample - No Commercial Value" on the customs forms. I have done this with no problem yet. Once however, I had to pay $40 duties on a Cane CReek air shock that the factory replaced under warranty free of charge because they'd written a value of 100- on the customs documentation. When I called them to complain they said they just thought the shock was worth $100... but UK Customs read it as

[stevek]

Bought a Wicked f + f from the States last year, cost around $75 USPS IIRC.

Of course there was more to pay at this end.....

[Yo Eddy!]

For me the same as Steve ...except for that there were no additional charges
Two frames. Only one tiny detail: One didn't arrive Good thing is I paid with AmEx, so no damage has been done to my wallet. Such payments are insured.