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Anyone shipped wheels through freight forwarder recently?

GT 550

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I'm keen to import a set of wheels from the US, unfortunately the vendor will only ship to a US address. Lots of people use forwarders but it's something I'm new to, and I don't want to risk getting into a situation where they might arrive at the forwarder damaged but the forwarder sends them anyway because they won't inspect etc etc on and on...hopefully you can see where I'm going with this...

Grateful for any advice from folks who've done it.

:cheers:
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Burkey

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I can’t say too much but do NOT use UASTOAUS! Ever. At all, for anything, ever.
 

MaxQ

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I have been using shipito no complaints to date but just received this email today


[FONT=&quot]Beginning July 1, 2018, Shipito is required by the Australian government to collect a 10% Goods and Services Tax (GST) on all “low value goods” imported into Australia, with a value of 1,000 AUD or less. GST is calculated based on the value of any items you ship, plus our service charges. As a result, you will now see a charge for GST at mailout[/FONT]
 

apsilon

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I had a problem with Shipito recently and would strongly recommend avoiding them. Basically they flat out lied to me. Shipped an exhaust (a rare new in box no longer in production system) over, paid for insurance, extra bubble wrap, fragile stickers etc. Arrived to me with some damage to the box, went over it carefully and found a very small dent. Sort of thing that mostly shows up as a distortion in the reflection.


Thought stuff it, I paid for insurance so put in a claim as while it'll still work fine it's effected the resale value immediately, submitted the photos etc and waited. About 2 weeks later got a message saying Fedex had denied the claim as the packaging wasn't suitable for shipment. That seemed odd as it was the OEM packaging from a well known Japanese brand and I'd had Shipito add further protection and take photos so why didn't they say it wasn't suitable for shipemnt?


Long story short I questioned Fedex directly. Turns out Shipito hadn't insured the package at all and were BSing me. Got it sorted in the end but absolutely won't be using them again and highly recommend anyone thinking of using a freight forwarder to look elsewhere.


That GST thing is a new law as of today. All businesses who do over AUD$75k per year in business to Australian customers are now required to register for and collect GST to be remitted to the government. It's why as of today Amazon US no longer ships to Australia. I've seen several announcements like the above and I'm sure several other businesses are going to be caught out.
 
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GT 550

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[MENTION=26587]apsilon[/MENTION] good on you for pursuing it, as you say you payed for insurance so it's there to be used. But what lying pri@ks, this is the type of thing that worries me. I've found eBay is a good option for this type of thing due to buyer protection but not all vendors will put their gear on eBay.
 

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BenM

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I have used UStoOZ a number of times www.ustooz.com, not to be mistaken by usatoaus as per Burkey's post.

I have used both air and sea freight and has worked out well on all occasions. Sarah is very helpful.
 

apsilon

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I've found eBay is a good option for this type of thing due to buyer protection but not all vendors will put their gear on eBay.
Amex customer service is also outstanding in terms of buyer protection. They've helped me out on several occasions. Not as widely accepted as others and you occasionally have higher fees but those little inconveniences are well worth it when you need them to back you up.

I couldn't think of the name last night and haven't used them myself but Mr Wheel Deal (https://mrwheeldeal.com/) might be worth looking at. They were recommended to me by a few people but I found I was able to get a slightly better deal myself locally after some negotiations but if what you're after isn't available locally they could be worth a look.
 

BenM

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No, haven't owned a GTR.

Did own a sleeper XD Falcon, the motor that was in it is in my Avatar. :D
 
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GT 550

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Been emailing with ustooz, Sarah is very quick, helpful and importantly communicates well.

Difference between sea and air for 4 19x10 wheels is interesting:

Sea. USD300 freight including up to $200 insurance, extra insurance is extra. 6 ish weeks. They don't inspect or repackage contents prior to sending. Problem arises if the vendor sends incorrect/damaged item, or item is damaged in transit due to insufficient packaging and insurance claim is knocked back as per Apsilon's experience.

Air. USD550 including insurance. 1 week. They inspect and send photos to me to verify the item is correct and undamaged, and repackage for shipment.

I was thinking the Air option looks good until I found out insurance only covers the value of the goods and not the freight. FedEx can damage the wheels through carelessness, deliver them in pieces and I can only claim the cost of the wheels themselves. It's a neat arrangement for FedEx. I pay insurance on the item (largely so they can pay their premium to whoever insures their loss and damage risk) but in the event of a claim I'm still foregoing about $786 Australian beer tokens (freight cost converted to AUD plus GST applies no matter the condition of the goods when landed) with no recourse to claim this back. I sent a couple of emails back and forth as I wanted to clarify this, and Sarah assures me the arrangements are as stated above. Hard to believe but something to think about if you want to use Air in the future.

Bugger!

Update:

Spoke to FedEx directly, extremely helpful. There IS a process to reclaim freight costs if goods are damaged in transit, it’s just a different process to the one that covers reclaiming the cost of the items. Thing is the claim needs to be submitted by the freight forwarder so anyone contemplating this as a fall back is essentially at the whim of the forwarder, who's shopfront you can't readily visit and who may or may not decide to champion such a claim as they're not bound to do so. I've emailed ustooz to see what they say about it.

The cost FedEx offered me to go direct with them was very reasonable but the forwarder still wins as they can inspect the package to make sure I'm not getting sent the wrong thing, and repackage for o/s freight. Bit of cold comfort I guess, hopefully I've pointed out some issues that may save people disappointment after they put down their 'hard earned'.
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