Shipping large parts from Canada to US?

5speed · 12-04-2006, 07:50 PM

I bought some 930 turbo fenders from Canada and have no idea what the best way to get them to the US. I don't know if Canadian Post will ship something that large. The last time I bought something from Canada I got hit with a small customs tax and a large brokerage fee, which I would like to avoid this time around. Anybody have any suggestions for me?

Charlie V · Charlie V's Garage

I shipped with FedEx, but they have a limit on package size. I know the fenders will be too large for FedEx. Take a look at Greyhound.

dentist90 · dentist90's Garage

If you want to avoid large brokerage fees stay away from UPS. They're the worst, at least from US to Canada. I may have to ship my whole tranny down to WA so i'll be interested to hear the answer too.

Joeaksa · 12-04-2006, 08:21 PM

How far are they from the border? If you can get the seller, or a Pelican friend to drive them across the border, your costs would be cut by a lot. I have done this in the past and it works well.

5speed · 12-04-2006, 09:04 PM

I think the fenders are coming out of Surrey, B.C. If I could find someone to bring it across to the US that would help alot. Greyhound sounds like a possibility, how does greyhound handle the customs between Canada and US?

Zef · Zef's Garage

+1 for the dentist90...AVOID UPS...never...never...never...

dvkk · 12-05-2006, 02:57 AM

I don't think UPS is as evil heading south as they are going north.

MikeDL · 12-05-2006, 03:19 AM

I just shipped a 450 lb engine from Canada to the US via Forward Air. It was $340, and their service was absolutely perfect. I highly recommend them.

porschenut88 · 12-05-2006, 09:50 AM

ship from bellingham, wash greyhound depot. cheapest way to go. (i do this with lg. shipments(fenders, bumpers etc..) only problem is the wait at customs to get across and a $5.00 user fee

5speed · 04:04 PM

The seller came back with a quote from Greyhound for $655 for two fenders! That's kind of high for Washington to California. If the seller is willing to cross the border, what shipping company charges a reasonable fee for shipping two front fenders from Washinton to Northern California? And if the seller ships from Canada, is there a Canadian brokerage fee for him and a US brokerage fee for me? Or just one for me? Sorry for all the questions I am not familure with customs.

porschenut88 · 12-05-2006, 05:17 PM

the quote from greyhound sounds if he was to ship from greyhound here in canada. if he was to drive across the border, then they would cost no more than $200.00. i've shipped a pair of fibreglass 930 fenders for $120.00 to north carolina at one time last year.
just my 2 cents!!

dentist90 · dentist90's Garage

5speed; just curious, did you buy privately or from a parts dealer of some sort. It's hard to find used parts here... I get most of my stuff from California!
Brokerage should only be paid once. It is just a handling fee for filling out the paperwork and clearing it thru customs on your behalf. Duties and taxes (if any) are asessed by your state and federal governments based on what you're importing and it's value. $655 sounds very expensive, even to cross the border, but I've never shipped anything that big before.

5speed · 07:00 PM

dentist90- Although he hasn't mentioned a company name I think he is a parts dealer - seems to be very comfortable with boxing/crating fenders.

The quote for $655 seemed very high for greyhound. I would have thought that they would charge alot less. I think it must have been from Canada not Washington.

Thanks to everyone for the info. I keep looking for a reasonable way to get these fenders to me.

rvanderpyl · rvanderpyl's Garage

Try Yellow Freight, you will have to clear the package thru customs yourself and the shipper will have to drop off at a depot but it should be a lot cheaper.

ecm911 · 12-07-2006, 10:00 AM

If you are close to a major airport you can go with a air shiper/expeditor - airport to airport. It gets really expensive to/from airport. A few years ago I had a rollcage ship from Canada to Phl for around $60, It would have been almost $200 if they had to drop at my home.

Their are plenty of these companies out there all near airports - can't remember the name of the one I used. sorry .

earl

5speed · 12-07-2006, 01:41 PM

My hope is to find a really nice person to help me bring the stuff across the border and throw in on Greyhound or Forward Air(the airport shipper). It's starting to become a hassle dealing with this purchase. The good thing is that alot of Canadian members are giving lots of help and advice.