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Looking for some advice, tips, tricks, or anything that can be of use in regards to international shipping. Trying to shore up a deal but as of now, UPS and FedEX want over 400.00 to ship from Arizona to Australia.
When I bought this RC Boat, MHZ 114 from Germany, shipping was less than 200 easy. We all buy from CHINA and the like, so what am I missing?
Any help is appreciated!
The size of the hull is important. Anything over 42 inches in length exceeds the US Postal service shipping limit to Australia, so a freight forwarder such as UPS or FedEx or DHL is required. These freight companies treat personal shipments as commercial freight and charge accordingly. Companies such as UPS may charge domestic costs for packages shipped domestically, however, when shipped outside the country then these companies become international freight forwarders and know how to gouge the customer. Also if the seller is a registered customer/client of the chosen shipping company then the shipper charges the client considerably less to ship the item then what they actually charge the customer.
Also, when the hull arrives in Australia, if value including shipping and insurance exceeds $1000.00 Aud then GST of 10% of total value (including shipping and insurance costs) must be added plus the legal costs of importing the item into Australia. The freight forwarder will handle the paperwork but the added costs could be $500.00 Aud or more on top of purchase and shipping costs.
From my experience, even if the total value is less than $1000.00 Aud then the freight forwarders add the GST plus administration costs. Anything sent other than USPS will cost the buyer a fortune with increased shipping costs plus import fees on arrival in Australia. There are no actual customs duties as such on our toys into Australia, however, the GST plus freight forwarder import/administration charges (customs brokers) does add considerably to the cost. There are specialist freight forwarders who ship by surface mail (shipping containers) and these charge less as the package is taking up spare volume in the container, however, the shipping time is between three months to six months depending on how long it takes to fill the container.
Unfortunately, high shipping costs are the norm when shipping downunder.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Old School
You nailed it, shipping was just too high of an obstacle to overcome. Even after both of us taking a hit to offset, it was still way too high...... Too bad too, he would have gotten a great deal..... Hopefully he finds one, he will enjoy it
Shipping out of the US is a lot more than shipping out of China or Europe. That's why i don't ship lipos out of the US unless they have a freight forward company.
Mark
Im not sure on the size, but we use USPS expressmail for boats like ul19 and or explorer hulls, those are $100-$150 to ship.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tbauer
Also shipping costs have sky rocketed in the last 10 years. 2-4 times what it used to be.
I checked on shipping a ProBoat Pursuit to the Netherlands by UPS and it would have cost $485! My friend suggested that for that price I might have purchased a plane ticket and packed the boat in the overhead compartment :) I shipped via USPS for $73.30, it should arrive in 6 to 10 business days.
Even though six or seven times more expensive, the freight forwarders in general are no quicker, with the exception of DHL which out of Europe are surprisingly far less expensive than the U.S. shippers like UPS and FedEx and will deliver downunder in about four days.
Years ago I was slugged with a $1000.00 usd shipping bill by a U.S. eBay seller who though he initially said he would ship by USPS actually used UPS to ship the item. First that I knew of it was when the shipper's agent was knocking on my door. He shipped the items before I had even paid. I paid the shipping but did not pay for the goods shipped and he gave me a positive feedback. That is when I discovered that UPS charge the seller less than they charge the buyer if the seller is a registered client of the shipper. Thus the seller was able to cover his loss.
I remember the good old days (prior April/May 2006) when one could have a relatively large object shipped by USPS surface mail for less than $30.00 usd to Australia. It took about 8 weeks but worth the wait as the shipping was less than one-third the usual airmail rate and by airmail could take up to four weeks to arrive.
USPS basically hands it off to the local country's post to save cost, UPS/FedEx usually brings it to their door. An item I DHL'd to Israel was delivered in 4 days on a Sunday. I've also had a USPS Pri. box get delivered to Australia in 4 days but that was an exception.
USPS is sort of reliable. I made two purchases from OSE, two days apart, near the end of last month, the first got to me in 8 days, the second is three weeks and counting. It is in NZ, by the tracking, but who knows where? The difference is whether it goes on a Courier Post or NZ Post (both NZ Post). I am waiting for the day when the postie turns up with it, unless they have done like in the past and redirected it, without authorisation, to someone else's post box!