I'm going to be putting in my first big order to Motobins (R100GS) - anyone have some good advice on shipping to Ontario, Canada? MAT
Been trying to find a cheap way of shipping parts to the US, I've no idea how motobins ship so cheaply.
I don't recall being given any choice. Whatever method it was, it got here in about 8 days and was reasonably priced.
I buy a lot of items in the U.S and I always try to have it shipped with the mail US POSTAL ( USPS) ...... I am SICK of UPS charging me MENTAL broker me fees.
I do a lot of ordering of stuff from overseas. My preferred method is always the postal service. If a supplier will only ship via some courier such as Purolator or UPS, I cancel the order. I don't like paying huge brokerage fees on top of outrageous shipping costs. Motobins will ship via mail service, you may have to ask them thtell them that is how you want it shipped if it is a large order. The Mail service in England has different regulations than we have and will not ship large parcels, so they may have to break up the order into a couple of boxes for you.
Fuck UPS!!! I refuse any package shipped by them and have boycotted them for life. I hope they're listening
This should be interesting. Just posted my parcel with DHL express today. Collected at 15:38. Lets see how long it takes them to get it delivered in the USA.
Me, too. They greeted me with a $65 "brokerage fee" on a package I'd pre-paid shipping charges on. Me: "Why didn't UPS tell me about the "brokerage fee" when I arranged the shipping?" UPS dude: "That's not UPS Canada's policy." Fuck UPS, indeed.
In general, I'd say yes, but sometimes the cost savings on a bigger order with the right parts can be hard to ignore. I have a spreadsheet from an order I placed with Motobins a few years ago and the difference was a couple hundred bucks (?) or 15% or so. This week, I was looking for a solo saddle for a GS. $318 from the dealer (on backorder from Germany) but $213 from Boxer Supplies (repro, although I'm not sure I'd care too much since I'll be cutting it up a bit). I placed the order at my local dealer but canceled the next morning because an inmate came through on my WTB ad, i.e. I woulda bought local despite the price difference on that one (even though it may have taken longer to get). My first choice by far (85% of my purchases?) is my local dealer (lucky for me I've got two) but I have ordered from others or gone overseas when there's a good reason to do so.
Customs require the "brokerage", but UPS decides to gouge you for it. UPS does all their own "brokerage", which is simply passing along the information the shipper has already included on his shipping form. It's an outmoded cash grab racket. Anyone can be a customs "broker".