Bike Postage from the States to Oz.

I'm sure that we can reduce the shipping charges. How good are you at welding frames back together?😉

Seriously, the cost of shipping anything is astronomical these days. If you know anyone who does a lot of shipping from the US to Down Under, you might be able to get them to allow you to piggy back your bike onto one of their shipments. You might also try getting space in a shipping container and have it sent sea freight, but you will definitely want to fully unsure it if you do this. There are a lot of Australian Yacht builders who get partially filled containers all the time, and you might be able to talk one of them into helping you out.

Just curious, what kind of bike is it? Does it have your revolutionary non-saddle?

Russ Reynolds said:

Has anyone bought a complete bike or frame for the States and shiped it to Australia. Due to the packaging size I'm getting prices of AUS$300 for a frame, but I'm sure there is a cheaper service.

While you probably don't want to have a complete bike shipped from the States to Australia, it probably doesn't have to cost quite that much (it depends on how it's packed, of course). Here's the link for the USPS international rate calculator:

[center]ircalc.usps.govdefault.aspOpen ↗[/center]

[center]pe.usps.govimmiclab 012.htmlOpen ↗[/center]

If it's just a frame & fork + packaging ... figure about 13 (?) pounds (weight) ... which works out to $131.75US. The key is getting the frame in a package whose "girth" is only 108 inches (smaller than you think!) which would be for GLOBAL EXPRESS GUARANTEED DOCUMENT SERVICE. If the weight is more, the cost would be higher, and if the weight were less, it would be less.

I just (last week) sent a wheelset to South Korea which I had to repack into two cartons which each had a maximum GIRTH of ONLY 79" ... or, pay about twice as much for the postage if they had been in a single carton which was only slightly larger (in my mind) than the larger of the two (for the rear wheel ... I had to WORK to get the carton for the rear wheel down to a 79" "girth"😉 -- I found out AFTER showing up at the post office with the larger, single carton. Each separate carton was under 4 lbs., so I was able to use "standard" Air Mail.

ECONOMY MAIL PARCEL POST indicates $76.20 for 44 lbs. (less for a lower weight) ... you probably won't see the frame for a month, or more.

[center]pe.usps.govimmiclab 012.htmlOpen ↗[/center]

I'd like to think that 108" is the maximum GIRTH for the package, but it may only be 79".

BTW. The package does NOT have to be rectilinear. The frame can (with the rear triangle suitably braced, of course) just be "wrapped" in HEAVY corrugated cardboard (or, a medium + possibly thin "sheath" of corrugated cardboard) -- the GIRTH would then, probably, be measured around the BB to the top of the seattube PLUS the length from the rear triangle to the headtube ... maybe, not. Anyway, a few years ago, I got a frame from the UK which was pretty much packaged as described ... additionally, I've received oddly shaped items from the UK which were basically wrapped in butcher's paper + a lot of clear packing tape!?!

AIR CARGO carriers (e.g., UPS, DHL) are prohibitively expensive ... but, QANTAS (or, some other airlines which flies from OZ to the US, and back) may have an unofficial freight service ... cargo would be shipped when there is space available on a plane (you know, a possible legacy from decades ago the way buses still carry freight when space is available) ... so, something could arrive quickly OR take forever.

Hope that helps ... you're sort of at the mercy of the guy who is shipping it to you ... he may bend over backward to pack things compactly, or not.

$300AU may be a good rate!?!

kdelong said:

I'm sure that we can reduce the shipping charges. How good are you at welding frames back together?😉

Seriously, the cost of shipping anything is astronomical these days. If you know anyone who does a lot of shipping from the US to Down Under, you might be able to get them to allow you to piggy back your bike onto one of their shipments. You might also try getting space in a shipping container and have it sent sea freight, but you will definitely want to fully unsure it if you do this. There are a lot of Australian Yacht builders who get partially filled containers all the time, and you might be able to talk one of them into helping you out.

Just curious, what kind of bike is it? Does it have your revolutionary non-saddle?

Thanks. US Postal are into cycling promotions. You would think they would do a special deal for us hey. I have bought plenty of bike bits and the prices arn't too bad, but a frame seems to go over the realist price barrier. Sharing a container with a South American EPO smuggler could be the go.
I don't use a saddle any more. Once you have mastered what I call the sphinkter grip :eek: , you never go back.

alfeng said:

While you probably don't want to have a complete bike shipped from the States to Australia, it probably doesn't have to cost quite that much (it depends on how it's packed, of course). Here's the link for the USPS international rate calculator:

[center]ircalc.usps.govdefault.aspOpen ↗[/center]

[center]pe.usps.govimmiclab 012.htmlOpen ↗[/center]

If it's just a frame & fork + packaging ... figure about 13 (?) pounds (weight) ... which works out to $131.75US. The key is getting the frame in a package whose "girth" is only 108 inches (smaller than you think!) which would be for GLOBAL EXPRESS GUARANTEED DOCUMENT SERVICE. If the weight is more, the cost would be higher, and if the weight were less, it would be less.

I just (last week) sent a wheelset to South Korea which I had to repack into two cartons which each had a maximum GIRTH of ONLY 79" ... or, pay about twice as much for the postage if they had been in a single carton which was only slightly larger (in my mind) than the larger of the two (for the rear wheel ... I had to WORK to get the carton for the rear wheel down to a 79" "girth"😉 -- I found out AFTER showing up at the post office with the larger, single carton. Each separate carton was under 4 lbs., so I was able to use "standard" Air Mail.

ECONOMY MAIL PARCEL POST indicates $76.20 for 44 lbs. (less for a lower weight) ... you probably won't see the frame for a month, or more.

[center]pe.usps.govimmiclab 012.htmlOpen ↗[/center]

I'd like to think that 108" is the maximum GIRTH for the package, but it may only be 79".

BTW. The package does NOT have to be rectilinear. The frame can (with the rear triangle suitably braced, of course) just be "wrapped" in HEAVY corrugated cardboard (or, a medium + possibly thin "sheath" of corrugated cardboard) -- the GIRTH would then, probably, be measured around the BB to the top of the seattube PLUS the length from the rear triangle to the headtube ... maybe, not. Anyway, a few years ago, I got a frame from the UK which was pretty much packaged as described ... additionally, I've received oddly shaped items from the UK which were basically wrapped in butcher's paper + a lot of clear packing tape!?!

AIR CARGO carriers (e.g., UPS, DHL) are prohibitively expensive ... but, QANTAS (or, some other airlines which flies from OZ to the US, and back) may have an unofficial freight service ... cargo would be shipped when there is space available on a plane (you know, a possible legacy from decades ago the way buses still carry freight when space is available) ... so, something could arrive quickly OR take forever.

Hope that helps ... you're sort of at the mercy of the guy who is shipping it to you ... he may bend over backward to pack things compactly, or not.

$300AU may be a good rate!?!

Thanks mate. I have gotten Compond Bows and bike bits sent out without a problem with the price. I'll go through this and do a search on some sites. The US pbike and bits prices are better than ours so if the postage cost can be reduced we could be on a winner.

I had a look at doing this not long ago. Seems as though if you pack the frame and forks down as small as possible it should be about $80 US including insurance. It will be pretty light but you are paying for the volume of the package not the weight.

The sender would need to pack it well, removing the forks and placing them within the boundaries of the actual frame. The key is to then cut the box right down so it is barely bigger than the actual frame itself. You will end up with a diamonfd shaped package that should have a smaller maximum girth than the 108in. mentioned previously. If you google you might find a bit about this.

One post I read the guy recommended getting pool noodles, slice them along one side and use them as padding around your frame - sounded like a fairly good idea to me. Make sure the sender packs the frame and forks with spacers too (where the hubs would be).

The deal I was working on fell through in the end, so I can't verify if all this actually works, but it sounded good in theory and all complied with the USPS T&C on their website.

Jezza

<edit>
From a US website:
www.soulcraftbikes.com
How much is shipping on a frame?
UPS and U.S. Postal ship big boxes (like frames and bikes) based on the size of the box. Most frames will fit in our standard frame box (41L x 24H x 8W) which fits under the 108 inch price (combined length and girth). Below are some examples (your cost may vary) of frame only shipping costs for the standard size frame box:

• San Diego Ca…………..$34
  
• Flagstaff Az…………….$37
  
• Portland Or…………….$34
  
• Boston Ma……………...$51
  
• Chicago Il………………$51
  
• Miami Fl………………..$51
  
• Honolulu Hi…………….$90
  
• Houston Tx…………….$38
  
• Australia……………….$95
  
• UK……………………..$80
  
• Netherlands…………….$75
  
• Switzerland…………….$75
  
• New Zealand…………...$85
  
• Norway…………………$75
  
• Scotland………………...$80
  

If the frame has to be shipped within the U.S. in a bigger box, then the price jumps by about $25 to $30. If the frame has to be shipped overseas in a bigger box, total cost is usually between $350 and $400.

greatbigjezza said:

I had a look at doing this not long ago. Seems as though if you pack the frame and forks down as small as possible it should be about $80 US including insurance. It will be pretty light but you are paying for the volume of the package not the weight.

The sender would need to pack it well, removing the forks and placing them within the boundaries of the actual frame. The key is to then cut the box right down so it is barely bigger than the actual frame itself. You will end up with a diamonfd shaped package that should have a smaller maximum girth than the 108in. mentioned previously. If you google you might find a bit about this.

One post I read the guy recommended getting pool noodles, slice them along one side and use them as padding around your frame - sounded like a fairly good idea to me. Make sure the sender packs the frame and forks with spacers too (where the hubs would be).

The deal I was working on fell through in the end, so I can't verify if all this actually works, but it sounded good in theory and all complied with the USPS T&C on their website.

Jezza

<edit>
From a US website:
www.soulcraftbikes.com
How much is shipping on a frame?
UPS and U.S. Postal ship big boxes (like frames and bikes) based on the size of the box. Most frames will fit in our standard frame box (41L x 24H x 8W) which fits under the 108 inch price (combined length and girth). Below are some examples (your cost may vary) of frame only shipping costs for the standard size frame box:

• San Diego Ca…………..$34
  
• Flagstaff Az…………….$37
  
• Portland Or…………….$34
  
• Boston Ma……………...$51
  
• Chicago Il………………$51
  
• Miami Fl………………..$51
  
• Honolulu Hi…………….$90
  
• Houston Tx…………….$38
  
• Australia……………….$95
  
• UK……………………..$80
  
• Netherlands…………….$75
  
• Switzerland…………….$75
  
• New Zealand…………...$85
  
• Norway…………………$75
  
• Scotland………………...$80
  

If the frame has to be shipped within the U.S. in a bigger box, then the price jumps by about $25 to $30. If the frame has to be shipped overseas in a bigger box, total cost is usually between $350 and $400.

Thanks mate. I'm thinking that it may not be worth the effort. If I knew the seller well and knew that he would pack it well and would attempt to pack it so that the price was low, well the fair enough. The U.S. distributors who do it regularly may be a bit more savvy about postage.
Thanks.