shipping from the UK?

[Rick Kirchner]

I'm thinking of buying a couple of parts from the VD guys E-bay store. An oil pan and a much needed rear upright. A couple hundred bucks total, and maybe 12 pounds or so to ship.

Does anybody have any reference data on shipping from the UK and especially duty? Years ago I bought a complete set of suspension from Royale at fire sale prices only to have duty double my effective cost.

The VD guy doesn't seem to answer E-mails very well.....

[R. Pare]

I used to have my UK shipping done by UPS mostly, but recently had a shipment from elsewhere done by DHL for a better price than UPS would have done. Can't say what happens with duty on UK shipments anymore - it's been too many years.

[racerric]

Use Parcel Force, quicker and cheaper than UPS etc.

[racingcpa]

I have ordered parts shipped from England and the shipping costs seem to vary greatly based on the size/weight of the package and the current exchange rate. It has never been inexpensive. I had some suspension parts and an upright shipped that would compare to the size and weight of what you are shipping and I believe it was around $60-$65 USD via Parcelforce. I believe the currency exchange is better now so may be slightly cheaper.

[turnbaugh]

Does Parcel Force also ship from the US to the UK?

[Peter Horvath]

Rick. surely there must be an importer of the parts you want here in the U.S.

[Daryl DeArman]

Rick,

Let the shipper deal with all that....have him/her give you a price including all shipping and taxes/duty, you can then decide if it is worth it at the current exchange rate.

I bought my OMP stuff from "somebody" who used to sponsor the Rally car I serviced for, so I got a smoking deal on the suit and gloves, but the duty was a fair chunk (don't remember the %), but it was still $100's cheaper than I could have bought the same stuff here.

[John Nesbitt]

It's been a couple of years since I imported parts from the UK, but at that time the duty was trivial - something like 2-3%. If it comes via Parcelforce, there is often no duty charged at all. UPS always passes things through their customs broker, and charges a fee for it.

Shipping depends heavily on dimensions and weight. As others have noted, Parcelforce is usually the best deal. Fedex/UPS can be quite expensive, and often no faster. Have your seller price a couple of options.

The UK pound is at a 24-year low against the US dollar, so now might be a good time to buy.

[Rick Kirchner]

Thanks all - yeah, the exchange rate is what's driving my decision. Prices have dropped nearly 50%US since I started watching. I'll give E-mail one more try and then say to hell with it.

Having another run-in with UPS as we speak - bastards! They must be great for business and their employees but if you live in the boonies bend over! You get nickeled and dimed for everything and their delivery times never seem to apply.

Too bad DHL left the states.

[thomschoon]

If the size and weight are over 30 pounds you may look at an economy airline ticket and do an over and back. A friend does it as he buys small art pieces and the shipping is a killer so he just goes over and picks it up, I also bring some things back as I usually go to the UK each month, just declare the value when going through customs, never paid a dime of duty. You get 2 or 3 50-60 pound suitcases depending on the airline, that is a lot of stuff.

Good luck

[minimarcos1967]

None of this is cheap! Why shipping from the UK is so much higher is hard to understand, but that's the way it is. But sometimes you either need something that you can ONLY find in the UK for sale, or you find something so much cheaper there that it makes it worthwhile despite the shipping costs (as was true in my case).

I've recently shipped a Ford 4.9:1 Anglia 105e differential (18kg) and a set of four (4) Dunlop racing tires and alloy rims from the UK to the States for our Marcos GT. So I've been through this same drill as of a week ago.

I recommend you consider Parcel2Go, which is a competitor to ParcelForce. I used them for shipping the diff and was pleased with the price & speed of service. They are aligned with Fed-Ex and that's who delivered the diff to us here in Virginia.

They have a decent website with various options, and they pick up at the point of origin in the UK on a date you request. You have to fill out the shipping label and customs forms. You can fill out the shipping labels online but must ask the Seller to fill out the customs form at their end (or at least that's what I did since I had no way to fill in the Customs Form .pdf document from here).

And you can pay with credit card or via PayPal.

Worth a look. No personal interest on my part, etc, etc -- I'm just a customer.

Parcel2Go Link: http://www.parcel2go.com See section for "USA & Canada Delivery". The website gave me several choices for shipping options, and in my case it turned out that the "World Express Service" rate was about GBP 5.00 cheaper than shipping in the "25kg or less" category.

Best Regards,
Andy

[Charles Warner]

Depending on the weight and size, use the Royal Post. Standard air mail. It will come to your door. Value the parts at a reasonable amount and the duties will likely be waived as you are allowed a personal duty free allowance of $800. You do not need to pay an international broker fee (as the carriage companies all much charge.) Takes about a week from the UK and doesn't cost any more than the rest.

[Larry]

I've used Parcel Force as a much less expensive alternative to UPS. I'm not sure, but I think the current limit on duty-free is about $1,200 in a day.

Larry Oliver
International Racing Products

[Paul LeCain]

I'm with Charles on this one. The Royal post works fine. I get the stuff quickly, and the duty is either zero or small.

I've used both Fed-Ex and UPS when I needed next-day service (expensive as you might guess).

[JimLill]

If the stuff is small/light enough to go Royal Post -> US Post Office, that is your best bet by far.