Shipping skydive rig internationally

[grigri 0]

Shipping skydive rig internationally

Hi,

I've found second hand rig I'd like to buy. Rig is located near Denver, Colorado whereas I'm in North Europe. I'm looking to find a safe (with insurance and tracking) shipping method that doesn't break the wallet. Can you share your experiences and suggest companies to use?

FedEx calculator gives me a price estimate of about 700USD, same story with DHL. 

Seller has proposed USPS but I do no know if there is tracking and insurance options for USPS?

Blue skies

[massis 2]

Take into account the import & customs duties.

In Belgium/The Netherlands (and I think most of Europe) this is 21% of the total parcel value (gear + shipping) in VAT, then another 5-10% import duties on top of that + an additional 30€ in administration fees.

All in all it often adds about 30% to your package...

[Reills 2]

Depending on the price of the rig + duties being paid on receipt in your home country it may be a better/cheaper and more fun option to go pick the rig up, get a few jumps on it, then bring it back with you

[BIGUN 1,230]

10 hours ago, grigri said:

USPS but I do no know if there is tracking and insurance option

https://www.usps.com/international/insurance-extra-services.htm

[ghostdog 7]

I just bought a jumpsuit from a nice jumper in France and he shipped it to Texas for me by La Poste and USPS.

It was a nightmare for me. La Poste lost the package and we were looking for it for 20 days. It arrived after 35 days at the end but we were hopeless. USPS does a great job in tracking when it arrived in US, but I'm not gonna buy anything from out of US anymore

[degeneration 5]

Search for prices via 3rd party intermediaries, rather than going direct to the courier. 

For example, I'm in the UK, and I've used all of the following intermediaries at one time or another for sending kit:

www.parcelmonkey.co.uk

www.interparcel.com

www.parcel2go.com

www.parcelhero.com

www.transglobalexpress.co.uk

 

Each will have their own list of couriers that they have accounts with, and you will get a cheaper rate via them than going direct to the courier. The insurance is highly variable in cost with them though, some are cheaper than others. I'm sure each will also allow you to get a quote from USA to wherever you are. Always shop around and get quotes from several places. 

Hopefully one of the above will give you something a bit more reasonable!

Edited March 12, 2019 by degeneration

[JerryBaumchen 1,272]

19 hours ago, grigri said:

Rig is located near Denver, Colorado whereas I'm in North Europe.

Hi grigri,

Over the last 10 yrs or so, I have shipped a number of rigs/gear to Europe using the US Postal Service.  I have never had a real problem.  One took about 6-8 weeks on the European end to get resolved.

Yes, you can insure it; the limit is about $700 I think.  On some gear, I had to break it down & ship separately.

Yes, they do have tracking; it is much better now than a few years ago.

Have your seller check with the USPS & get the details.

Jerry Baumchen

Edited March 12, 2019 by JerryBaumchen