Shipping to England

[bsprowl]

I want to ship a 43 pound torque plate to England.  I built a wooden box for it and the package weight is 56 pounds. Fedex/UPS is quoting a $300 to $550 to ship it via Air. 

Ground (actually shipping vis a ship) would be OK.  How do I get find a shipper?

[fekbmax]

You could ship it through a transport company that fills containers with cars and parts pretty reasonably but it could take 4 to 6 weeks (or more) to arrive. 

[428kidd]

Bob i have found USPS the cheapest. I sent some heads to England a while back for WAAAY less than UPS or Fedex could touch using USPS.

[jayb]

+1 on USPS.  I use Priority Mail or Priority Mail Express, usually about half the cost of Fedex or UPS for any international shipment.

[bsprowl]

USPS want $355.15 for a 56 pound package.  Fedex or UPS, I forget which, wanted $270.

[Drew Pojedinec]

USPS is cheapest for sure. I have had international shipments go astray tho and some have taken 2-3weeks.
Fed ex is the next cheapest. Find someone like myself with an account, it makes it fairly reasonable. Typically doesn’t take very long.
DHL is hands down the best international shipper. They literally are just the best. I wish I could ship every carb to every customer with dhl.

Ups I would not consider. I shipped essentially the same box back and forth from my house to denmark. I did this same exact shipment a dozen times. Was always $160ish
One time ups marked down 30inches instead of 30centimeters.
I was initially charged $160.  Later they added an extra $588 to the bill due to the package being larger (it was not)
Two years of claims and they still deny that happened.

[428kidd]

Bob , not sure how they quated you but no way USPS is more expensive than Fed ex or UPS going to England.

[cjshaker]

If you used the online calculator for USPS, forget what the quote was. Go to a postal office and get a direct quote. Their online calculator is wonky at best, and unusable at worst.

I've sent several items overseas over the past year, and like the others said, USPS was by FAR cheaper than anyone else. UPS was just off the chart expensive, and I was actually surprised how cheap the postal service was. As an example, I sent 5 tachometers to Germany for about $35, which seemed fairly reasonable given the current situation. The weight is a big factor, so not sure how much that played into what you got back. I would ditch the wooden box and use a sturdy cardboard box with good polystyrene or foam protection inside. You're just doubling the price with the added weight.

[Drew Pojedinec]

Example:
I just sent two boxes from my shop in Georgia to Spain via Fed ex.

Box one:
14x18x24 55lbs

12x12x24 32lbs

Total for these both (combined) was $390.
I find weight honestly isn’t super critical for Fed ex, but play with the overall dims.
There is a very specific reason I use certain standardized boxes.

[bsprowl]

I went to the post office with my package (box),  55.6 pounds - the plate weighs 43.5 pounds by itself.  I was quoted $385.14 to Coventry, UK. 

I previously cut down a large card board box to fit the plate. I test dropped the box 24 inches onto a large 2x12.  One corner punched right through four layers of cardboard and an inch of dense Styrofoam leaving a large dent in the 2x12.  Since I didn't want to have the plate destroyed by accident I built the wooden box.  Top and bottom are 5/8 plywood, edges and ends are 1.75 inches of cut down 2x4s.  26 inch 2-1/4 inch screws hold it together.

David didn't want to pay that twice (round trip) when he could buy an aluminum one and get it shipped for $450 or so. 

Thanks for the help.

[winr1]

Wow !! .. prices have risen since I shipped large items

A few years back, shipped a SCJ crank to California and it went into the trunk of a car destined for Oz.

Then it went cross country through Friends to its new home

Did almost the same with an A 833 4 speed a few months ago , dropped it off at a shipper by the port

Went into the trunk of a car destined for Poland



Ricky.