Shipping to Africa

[peterc]

Hi all

Hope this is not too OT but I am tearing my hair out.

I bought a Minimoog from an AH member in Orlando & I'm looking for (cheaper) shipping suggestions.

He originally quoted me $190-00 for USPS air mail, but USPS has changed their rules & the girth of the package is too large - package is 36 x 24 x 10 inches (90x60x25 cm), 37lb (17 kg).

The cheapest quote is Fedex - $580-00 to Johannesburg. It is a deal breaker.....

I'd settle for Surface mail but USPS's size restrictions apply again.

Does anyone have a reasonably priced shipper?

Thanks for the bandwidth.

Peter

 

[peterc]

would it be cheaper to ship it from USA to Australia and then to SA ?

It might be! One idea we are pursuing is to ship USPS to the UK & then forward it to South Africa.

Peter

 

[Mbira]

So USPS will ship to UK but not to Africa? I guess it would go surface to UK? I work for UPS and I can honestly say that anything other than USPS is going to cost a FORTUNE international-upwards of 3 to 4 times the amount of USPS. Maybe from UK you could go DHL?

When shipping things to Zimbabwe, I always waited till someone was flying over and paid them to bring it along as luggage. A big request, certainly, but we got 4 guitars and a PA head there that way...

Joel

 

[peterc]

Hi Joel

USPS will not ship that size box air or sea freight to Africa, but they will to UK or Aus. :sad:

I even looked at flying over myself for the weekend! Wrong time of year +- $3000.

Peter

 

[Scenaria]

we can take it apart and send it in pieces :razz:

 

[tommytones]

Check the commercial airline freight services. They usually cost about $4 a Kg + a few service charges. If the package is not too small, this would probably the best way. We use British Airways and the likes for cross Atlantic cargo often and it's more affordable than you might think.

 

[Helsing]

If the shipper is willing to do a little work I d try this.

First find out the max USPS dimension to the country you are going to. The restrictions vary from country to country but it is usually around 108" total length plus girth. It may be 79" and in that case you better talk to Fedex or UPS or a freight company. I might go down to the PO where you are going to ship and ask them in person. The info on the USPS site doesnt always translate into the real world.

The idea of continent hopping isnt a good one since you want to minimize the travel time. Global EMS is only a few days AKA fewer chances to get munched. Many shippers will not insure this synth without the original packing materials. Yeah the 1975 packing materials. Crazy but true for UPS and Fedex. USPS will insure it though.

If you cant have size then try brute force. Build yourself a small crate for the Minimoog with 1" styrofoam lining the crate. The crate can be made of 1/4" plywood and 3/4" pine from home depot. Styro can be bought at HD as well. This crate should fit snug around the synth. If there are accessories, ship them in a separate box. If you can then fit this crate into a box with about 1-2" of room on each side for peanuts, you should be good.


I do a lot of ebay shipping and many countries are a real bitch with size restrictions. I just had to shave 1" off the total 108" at the post office for a shipment to japan. If you do go with them dont think they'll cut you slack with a little overage.

Good Luck

Helsing

 

[lanxe]

you can ship it to my house and come get it when plane tickets go down!!!!

haha, i will own a minimoog some day, i hope

sorry i have no real suggestions


Ryan

 

[NewYorkDave]

[quote author="Scenaria"]we can take it apart and send it in pieces :razz:[/quote]

Hmmm, that's actually not such a crazy idea, if the disassembly was done very carefully.

 

[Mbira]

Many shippers will not insure this synth without the original packing materials. Yeah the 1975 packing materials. Crazy but true for UPS and Fedex.

]

That's actually not true. I can only talk specifically for UPS as I handle UPS claims. As long as the box is packed to certain specs (IE-expensive electronics should be double boxed with one inch around the item in bubblewrap to the inner box and then one inch from the inner box to outer box with packing peantus-you are fine. In fact, the opposite is usually true. If a box has been shipped once (or maybe twice if the box is really strong) UPS will not insure it. Boxes lose their strenghth by over 50% each time they are shipped

Helsing-if they said that to you and denied your claim-I'd raise some hell...

Hope this helps.

Joel

 

[Scenaria]

I know it isnt crazy

:green:

its not rocket science :razz:

 

[peterc]

Some good suggestions, thanks, will pursue them tomorrow at the grindstone.

Regards
Peter