Help ! I'm trying to import a whole heap of parts for my 1952 1/2 ton pickup from BrothersTruck in the US. I've got on order a pair of bumpers, splash guards and front grille complete along with some smaller stuff, but they have said it has to come via UPS as its too big / heavy for USPS. It's gonna cost $800.00 which I think is just crazy. Does anyone know a cheaper way to get it over to the UK ? Thanks in advance.
Well, in my business I ship smaller items to the UK, Australia and Canada every week. Fedex is always cheaper than UPS. The limit on USPS I think is 130 inch circumference + length and about 70 lbs. Ask the vendor to price yours in multiple packages that each are under the limit. The bumpers may be a problem but everything else should work. The catch is that standard boxes may not be available that are under the limit but big enough in your longest dimension. I often 'cut and paste' boxes to do this for my customers.
Thanks KENC, I'll send them a mail now. I did ask if they could send it surface mail ( ie by boat ) as I'm not in a real hurry for the parts, but they didn't seem too keen, any ideas why ?
Yea.. they want to have real time tracking of the packages.
I've sent thousands of packages out of the U.S.. to all over Europe, Asia, and down under.
UPS and FedEx have never lost a package.
USPS has lost no less than 10 packages.. when you start calling them asking about them all they can say is "once we get it past our borders, it ain't our problem"
Of course, they have no real way of being able to tell if it ever made it past the U.S. border, either.. and their "Delivery Confirmation" gets scanned twice. Once when it leaves the post office, and once when it gets dropped off at its destination.
Anything going UPS or FedEx from the U.S. to the U.K. is going to be pricey.. and if its heavy or weird shaped (like long and skinny bumpers) it's gunna cost some bucks.
an idea is only stupid if you think about it rationally.
I have good experiance with GXG. Global Express Guaranteed® (GXG) is an international expedited shipping option from the U.S. Postal Service and FedEx Express. GXG™ is a date-certain service that takes 1-2 days to most major international markets and 3 days to most other international destinations.
A 70 pound package from the US to the UK is from $298.00 to $350.00 depending on the dimensions.
I can tell you that I would do without a part, rather than use UPS to ship from the US to Canada. They are the only ones to charge "brokerage fees" which are a thing of the past for us. The "brokerage fees" that they charge are often more than the value of the item . I have had UPS lose items within Canada, tell tales and some of the items magically turned up a year later. When I buy from Jim Carter, I request an alternate to UPS.
I had Jim Carter send me 2 bumpers and front windscreen to the UK for my 54, shipping cost was around $375.00. I got hit with an extra handling and shipping cost from Excel Logistics in UK aa JC packaged everything in 1 giant box which made it to large for UPS to handle. if I was ordering again and in no hurry I would place separate orders a few days apart and UPS could then handle most things, I have used JC for lots of parts and found them well organised for international orders and most of the reproduction parts are of a similar quality whoever you buy from. By the way are you restoring or rodding you truck?
Sounds like others in Europe can get bumpers sent from the U.S. across the pond for just under $400.. so if this merchant is charging $800 either they're way overcharging you, or you're ordering a whole lot of stuff in addition to the bumpers and grill.
For $800 you could just about fly over here and pick it up in person and fly back!
an idea is only stupid if you think about it rationally.
