Thread: Importing, Shipping, pitfalls and work arounds

Instead of hijacking the Kuiu shipping thread I thought I'd try and share some of my experiences.

Kuiu, Sitka, Eberlestock and other US companies that ship direct usually have a default shipper like FedEx, UPS etc.

The shippers have standard box sizes that up to a max weight (say 2kgs ) will be a set price to NZ. So you'll pay that for one jacket in the box or one each for you and a mate, and two tops, a beanie each and gloves.

Some retailers in the US, such as Moontrail won't sell / ship product such as MSR to NZ, because of licence agreements.

It was a guy at Moontrail that put me onto www.shipito.com, a US freight forwarding outfit. You register with them, set up an account, and bingo, you've got a bricks and mortar shipping address. I bought the MSR stuff, had it sent to myself in Torrance CA, then did my own shipping. Shipito will take photos, repack, consolidate, remove invoices.

Many US sellers offer free ground shipping via USPS, usually 7 days. So I look for free shipping inside the US..

I get 90 days free storage at the warehouse in Torrance. That has allowed me to get small items sent there from all over the US,(read Tenebraex scope covers, Swaro bino lens covers, Leatherman pouches and bits ) that are unobtainium here, and that if shipped seperately would be horrendously expensive.
They have options for consolidation, I just get the items reboxed in the retail packaging into one box.
Requests such as photos, etc cost $1 each. They're available on a drop down menu.
The box is weighed. You select shipping options from a multitude of companys, from FedEx to USPS, insured or not, etc.
DHL has come on board and is usually $USD10.00 cheaper than any of the other players....BUT you pay by weight, not a flat rate.

My US shipping address has got me around eBay sellers who won't ship internationally.

In my eBay account I change my shipping address to mine in Torrance CA....bingo, I buy it, they ship.

eBay is great for the likes of Meindls...if you know your size. I paid €55 for shipping for some from Germany, but landed them for less than half price.

UnderArmor base stuff from Cabelas or eBay, get your size sorted here, mates get an order together, free shipping to a forwarder in the States, sort the documentation, sort the shipping...boom, save heaps bro.

Prior to consolidating and shipping, you have to do your own online customs declaration.....this has certain advantages.....

Outfits such as Gateway.com will purchase on your behalf, some sellers won't ship if the billing address doesn't match the shipping address. They charge a minimal fee, but remember, you're going this instead of getting raped back here, and are still probably saving a bomb.

Things have changed. Most if not all US forwarders will not ship anything that is part of, or fits to a firearm. That's their policy, it's not illegal, they just don't want the hassle from the Feds.....so they won't ship scopes etc..anymore.

Consolidation and group buying just requires a bit of forward planning, but there are savings to be made, both on purchase price and shipping. A lot of the US apparel is seasonal, their winter is our summer, so I'd be ordering now for our winter, while their stock levels are up.

I've used NZ Posts UK YouShop twice. I made substantial savings using their shipping rather than default Royal Mail prices.

In my experience YouShop tracking info is shit compared to US tracking, and the time taken to induct a parcel into the warehouse in the UK is a joke.

I hope this answers a few questions for some who haven't tried.

You must do your homework on exchange rates and shipping.

B