buying heavy things from the states

does any one know how to go about shipping second hand heavy goods from the states?

is it going to empty my pockets?

cheers,
Rob.

 

I received a small integrated amp from the states, the box was around the size of a "black box" cd player ant the mp and ps prolly weighed around five kilos, this was sent at a cost of around $40US.

 

Freight from the US is pretty cheap IME. I got a VPI record cleaning machine (a heavy thing) and the postage was $70. It arrived within one week, too.
Admittedly, I'm in Japan (less than $10 import duty to pay on a $500 item), so YMWV.

 

Rob

I got a quote from DHL to ship an amp (30kgs) from the States to here and was quoted £180.

Don't forget to add approx 22% for excise and duty.

 

thanks guys,
180 sheets is quite steep. i was thinking of buying some stuff (vintage pioneer kit) of e bay in america and having it posted here (london).due to the nature of the kit it can be quite heavy but america is the only place i can get it, e bay is full of it and its a lot cheaper than it is here when it does pop up from time to time.
has anyone ever tried fedx?

cheers,
Rob.

 

Get seller to send it for you may be a lot cheaper, get sender to post ups might be cheaper.

 

If you're buying from a dealer, they may have a business discount rate (this is probable), so get a quote from them for the shipping.
You may be surprised.

 

I imported my speakers and stands from the states, it cost £220. Two boxes and both quite heavy though. It worked out cheaper to use a small import company here in the UK rather than getting the shop to send them.

 

A cautionary tale. Get quotes form the US and from more than one UK-based courrier. Importing from the US via a shop should be cheaper - they will be getting a business discount on already cheap rates.

 

I had a Fed-Ex quote of US$298.00 for delivery of an amp that weighed 58lbs, from the west Coast of USA.

It was direct from a manufacturer.

Ken

 

i think ups from the states is the cheaper service. i had a 55lbs amplifier from florida for circa $200.

 

It also depends what you mean by heavy!
If you get a pair of loudspeakers (or any other equipment) which are over 50kg each then I think neither ups nor any of the above in this thread mentioned delivery services would send it (don't they have a weight limit ).
Then you'll need a cargo service.

 

When importing from outside EC there some additional costs to consider. Freight, Import Duty of 6-8%, VAT on top and admin fees charged by some carriers such as Royal Mail and ParcelForce.

Details and calculations at
http://www.sloanefox.freeserve.co.uk/importukduty.htm