8mm Forum: Shipping charges from UK to USA

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Posted by Alan Rik (Member # 73) on April 20, 2006, 11:23 AM:

Hello all! I have the option of picking up a very nice projector weighing in at 13.5 kilograms -What would be the cheapest option to get it to the states? The Gentlemen said the lowest rate he could find would be around 98 sterling..that seems pretty high considering I have had projectors from Germany cost only $60.
Can anyone suggest a cheaper alternative?
Thanks!

Posted by Andy Oliver (Member # 604) on April 20, 2006, 01:46 PM:

Hello, i just checked out shipping costs on www.parcelforce.com i am afraid the cost is even higher, 5-8 days for delivery time, insurance up to £150.00 only! parcelforce quoted £100.10.

Posted by Rob Koeling (Member # 35) on April 20, 2006, 03:57 PM:

Hi Alan,

Shipping from the UK is terribly expensive. I found that shipping a 16mm feature from the UK to the continent is twice as expensive as the other way around!
There seems to be a cheaper new kid on the block: www.parcels2go.com
Two weeks ago I tried them out for the first time. I sent 2 16mm features to Italy. They didn't pick up the films on the day they said they would; you can't speak to anyone (it's all done via email); you can only inquire about a problem with an order _once a day_.... Anyway, a few days later suddenly someone appeared on the doorstep to pick up the parcel (he only had half the destination address, but that could be corrected)
So, my first experience wasn't all that great, but the parcel arrived in Italy in good condition a few days later. A parcel up to 25kg is some £30 for Europe and some £60 for the US (which is very good compared to PArcelForce and others). You do seem to need some patience with them though...

- Rob

Posted by Kevin Faulkner (Member # 6) on April 23, 2006, 06:06 AM:

Yes this is a real problem. I too have found that the shiiping costs out of the UK are about double that coming in. I dont really know why this should be the case but it certainly puts people off of dealing with us UK guys on say eBay especially when the good are heavy. I have also found that there is not much cost saving going to companies such as DHL etc in fact on one or two occasions I have found ParcelForce to be the cheapest as it seems to depend on the weight band that the item falls into which differs between the couriers.
Another problem is that some of the couriers wont deal with you unless you have a business account with them.

These people Rob, sound like a reasonable alternative. Lets hope that your first experiences are not representative of their normal service.

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