U.S. Bikes/Framesets postage to Australia...

trustdoc7

Im trying to find a way to have a Frameset or Complete bike posted to Oz, from the U.S.
Australia Post pricks have changed the MAX sized posting Box to 79in. Most countries allow for 108in. I'm told you can't get a Frameset or Wheels into this 79in...
FedEx and UPS are complete Ripoffs... U$350 for a Framset or set of Wheels...
Can anyone help with a way to sort this?
How to get Australia Post out of 4th. world postal policies???

artemidorus

I think you'll find that a frame with or without forks is shorter than 79".

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trustdoc7

The 79in. is the Girth of Box, not 1 side...

matagi

A bike box is typically fairly narrow, so I would have thought 79in would be sufficient, is this not the case?

chuckchunder

looking at the US Postal site Global Express Guaranteed is still 108in - see here

http://pe.usps.com/text/Imm/ab_012.htm#ep1572941

it looks like only Express Mail is limited to the smaller size.....

Thylacine

"girth" is height+width+height+width.

So, your 'average' small framebox for an MTB frame (frames under 22") is 42+24+8+24+8=106.

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anthonyg

Well they're not just trying to rip YOU off. I tried to buy some wheels from US eBay before but the postage costs were over the top. I wish I knew a cheaper way to ship large items as well.

Regards, Anthony

sogood

9-11 changed everything. There are now so many inconvenient security rules around. I wouldn't be surprised if this size restriction came out of the same issue.

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Thylacine

Did you know, that if you freight a lot of stuff around the world like we do, if you look at your itemised charges theres a 'war surcharge'.

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alfeng

FWIW. I don't know what you/anthonyg were quoted for shipping a wheelset from the US to Oz, but I had to ship a set of wheels from the US to South Korea (just last year), and the shipping paramenters are even more restrictive from-here-to-there ...

I unexpectedly ended up needing to repack each wheel separately because of the unanticipated size (and, weight!) restrictions (originally, I thought I was working with that generous-by-comparison 108" girth limitation). I think the total was (thankfully!)/(only?) in the $75 range. Those wheels would have cost over $250 to send using UPS/FedEx/whomever.

I think it cost me about $60 to ship a SMALL hardtail frame(-only) from here to Switzerland ... I shrouded the frame with corrugated cardboard to achieve the girth limitations.

Consequently, I now have no doubt that a complete bike could not be shipped economically internationally using normal services ... figure on at least FOUR boxes -- frameset, wheels in one-or-two boxes, miscellaneous parts according to weight in one-or-two boxes. The freight must be in the $200+ range, regardless, for the Postal Service.

Were you/trustdoc7 also given a quote to have the bike shipped via the Postal Service?

I think a way to limit the cost (perhaps, only barely) is to contact QANTAS/whomever and see if they have a cartage service where they will include the box(es) if-and-when there is space on one/many of their planes ... it could take months, and the boxes may not arrive simultaneously!

alfeng

FWIW. GLOBAL EXPRESS INTERNATIONAL (not available to all countries) has a 108" girth limitation, but a 12 pound package (e.g., frame + box) shipped to Oz would cost an incredible $317US! A lighter box would be less, of course.

Donga

In 2006 I brought a road frame from the US to Aust for USD75, so I got a shock when I bought a wheelset on eBay last year and it was going to cost me many hundreds. Also in 2006 I brought a whole MTB over and got the postage cut from $350 to $200 or so, using a freight forwarding company called Access USA (www.myus.com). You join up for a fee and get a PO Box in Florida that you have stuff sent to, then they onforward it. For some items their freight can be quite a lot cheaper. Mind you, I didn't solve my wheelset issue that way - a US mate looked after them for me in his garage until another mate was travelling there and agreed to bring it back for me - cost me a bottle of Bundy OP.

chuckchunder

er, just for accuracy's sake according to the US Postal link - http://pe.usps.com/text/Imm/ab_012.htm#ep1572941 - for Global Express Postage to Australia the limit is 70lbs, a 25lb box would cost US$227.05 + insurance of US$18, maximum box sizes L 46inches, W 35inches, H 46 inches and as mentioned before 108inch girth limitation.

Thylacine

That's how much it costs to ship a bike frame from the US to here!

If you can do it cheaper, it's mostly because you've found a post office who have no clues and let it go through.

However, if anyone knows of a freight company that's cheaper than that, please, by all means let me know, because in 5 years of tearing my hair out, freight costs have essentially doubled.

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