USA Freight Forwarders - who do you use - what are they like?

[rrich]

OK, Mates.
I can forward things to you. I understand the "I need this. The only place I can get it is . . "
I'm not trying to make money. (I'm 76 YO and I don't need a business or a job.)
I can do small things as a "Birthday Present" for one of my many 'Brothers' via post.
Just let me know what you need, I'll order it and post it to you. YOU can then figure out how to reimburse me for costs. Again, at 76, I don't need a business or job.
The last time that I did something for one of you blokes, the reimbursement was far too much. ($42 US cost and $50 US reimbursement) As I said I'm not looking for a business or a job.

The big problem is that I don't think that large / costly / heavy items will fly under the customs a$$ hole scrutiny.

[rrich]

OK, Mates.
I can forward things to you. I understand the "I need this. The only place I can get it is . . "
I'm not trying to make money. (I'm 76 YO and I don't need a business or a job.)
I can do small things as a "Birthday Present" for one of my many 'Brothers' via post.
Just let me know what you need, I'll order it and post it to you. YOU can then figure out how to reimburse me for costs. A gain, at 76, I don't need a business or job.
The last time that I did something for one of you blokes, the reimbursement was far too much. ($42 US cost and $50 US reimbursement) As I said I'm not looking for a business or a job.

The big problem is that I don't think that large / costly / heavy items will fly under the customs a$$ hole scrutiny.

[Bushmiller]

Who are you using now Paul, or are you also on the lookout? (I just can't see you restricting your saw collection to the current paltry 5-700)

Brett

Activity is severely restricted nowadays. A very good friend collects a few purchases on my behalf and posts them off at some point in the future. It certainly looks as though it is going to become even more complicated, more expensive and more fraught with frustration in the future.

Regards
Paul

[FenceFurniture]

Brett

Activity is severely restricted nowadays. A very good friend collects a few purchases on my behalf and posts them off at some point in the future. It certainly looks as though it is going to become even more complicated, more expensive and more fraught with frustration in the future.

Regards
Paul

Yes, he told me about it.

Rich, that's a very kind offer, but my volumes are a little unfriendly.

[elanjacobs]

Australia Post has a freight forwarding service called ShopMate

[FenceFurniture]

Australia Post has excelled even their own standards of illogic at ShopMate. You CAN consolidate 5 parcels into one! Hallelujah brother!
Oh, wait, they have to arrive within 21 days of the first (almost bearable maybe)
but get this....they have to come from the same retailer!
Who in their right mind pays 5x the local postage from the same mob within 3 weeks!!! Why am I not surprised that AP is in trouble, with vast logic like that?
(they have another whole bunch of restrictions, but time for that later)

Thanks Elan, but we've spotted them. Essentially they don't consolidate (see above quote), which means that Shop and Ship Flex are 65-75% of the ShopMate cost. As far as I'm concerned, AusPost have a golden opportunity to clean up on this but they've ballsed it up.

[elanjacobs]

Thanks Elan, but we've spotted them. Essentially they don't consolidate (see above quote), which means that Shop and Ship Flex are 65-75% of the ShopMate cost. As far as I'm concerned, AusPost have a golden opportunity to clean up on this but they've ballsed it up.

Oops, missed that post

[woodPixel]

I saw this today on SMC...https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....tax-collection

Are we reading about the UNITED states of America?

Seems like their system is... fractured, broken and unrepairable.

It might just be easier to break it up into 50 different countries.

The world would mourn its passing

[ian]

Are we reading about the UNITED states of America?

Seems like their system is... fractured, broken and unrepairable.

which is as the drafters of the US constitution intended.

The states were essentially rebelling against a strong central government (the British crown) and saw any semblance to such an entity forming in the US as something to be avoided at all costs. They believed that strong central governments had a tendency to become tyrannical, so they created a system where every branch of government -- legislature, executive and judicial -- was weak. And to top it off they explicitly authorised the population (meaning white adult males) to "bear arms" so that at any moment the people would be in a position to overthrow the government should some part of that government start to act "tyrannically".

[woodPixel]

That makes a lot of sense actually!

[justonething]

OK, Mates.
I can forward things to you. I understand the "I need this. The only place I can get it is . . "
I'm not trying to make money. (I'm 76 YO and I don't need a business or a job.)
I can do small things as a "Birthday Present" for one of my many 'Brothers' via post.
Just let me know what you need, I'll order it and post it to you. YOU can then figure out how to reimburse me for costs. A gain, at 76, I don't need a business or job.
The last time that I did something for one of you blokes, the reimbursement was far too much. ($42 US cost and $50 US reimbursement) As I said I'm not looking for a business or a job.

The big problem is that I don't think that large / costly / heavy items will fly under the customs a$$ hole scrutiny.

That's an extremely generous offer. On behalf every Ozzie forumite thank you.

[FenceFurniture]

Ok, here are some results as best as I can get them accurate. Figures are in AUD.

	2kg	5kg	10kg	20kg
NON-CONSOLIDATORS
AusPost Shopmate	$ 42.75	$ 72.45	$ 121.95	$ 220.95		from USA only
S&S Flex from Zone 1	$ 34.24	$ 55.04	$ 87.04	$ 151.04		USA, UK, HK, Germ, It, Fr, Spain, Sing, Malay
S&S Flex from Zone 2	$ 42.79	$ 80.69	$ 144.19	$ 271.19		Canada, Japan, China
S&S from Zone 1	$ 42.00	$ 72.00	$ 122.00	$ 222.00		USA, UK, HK, Germ, It, Fr, Spain, Sing, Malay
S&S from Zone 2	$ 50.85	$ 98.55	$ 178.05	$ 337.05		Canada, Japan, China
CONSOLIDATORS
USA2me FedEx Econ + $81 month	$ 1.03	$ 34.52	$ 107.10	$ 250.75		from USA only
Shipito AU Post	$ 55.34	$ 78.42	$ 127.27	$ 216.09		from USA only
comGateway Prime +1% insurance	$ 56.25	$ 92.48	$ 152.86	$ 273.62		from USA only
USA2me FedEx Econ + $47 month	$ 42.32	$ 76.62	$ 150.70	$ 297.33		from USA only
NOT WORTHWHILE
MyUS FedEx Economy	$ 57.01	$ 109.95	$ 175.16	$ 300.09		from USA only
Shipito FedEx Priority	$ 73.62	$ 106.50	$ 178.60	$ 319.66		from USA only
USA2me FedEx Econ + $13 month	$ 84.42	$ 120.76	$ 198.57	$ 352.67		from USA only
UStoOz (+7% of value)	$ 73.12	$ 127.46	$ 211.00	$ 362.37		from USA only

So, for a single package with no consolidation allowed, Shop and Ship Flex from Zone 1 ($155 per year fee) wins handsdown, with the added advantage of being able to ship goods from other countries.

In the Consolidators,
comGateway is overall the most suitable.
USA2Me $81 per month plan has good rates, but you have to be doing consistent high volume. Even the $47 plan would require consistent volume to be worthwhile.
Shipito AU post might be good rates, but it means A) dealing with Shipito and B) there are too many restrictions with the AU version


US to OZ is obviously ahhhhh, not looking to increase their market share. Not only are those the brand new end-of-last-week "cheaper" freight costs (WHAT were they before?), you have to add ~7% of the value of the package to cover their fee! So a 2kg $200 package is around $87, and 20kg $1000 is around $430. You'd swear they think they have a captive market, with no competition.


In the next post I'm going to apply some economic logic.....

[woodPixel]

Might I note FF, that S&S is strictly weight and not volumetric.

This makes them even better value for large items.

This is an excellent comparison. It should be saved.

[FenceFurniture]

Consolidation had always been where it's at for me, and I'm sure for many others. Bear in mind that nn days of storage at the warehouse are only needed for consolidation purposes. If you are not consolidating then send the package as soon as it arrives.

However, is it actually worthwhile tying one's self up to higher rates for this service? I suspect not (overall), so let's have a look at some examples.
Note: I am not applying any consolidating fees to these prices (or any other fees)

Example 1.
I have 4 packages, 2kg, 2kg, 5kg, 5kg
With comGateway that would be $222 for the now 15kg package (a new carton will make it a little heavier)
With S&S Flex it would be $34 + $34 + $55 + $55 = $178
S&S Flex wins.




Example 2.
I have 2 packages, 5kg, 15kg
With comGateway that would be $273 for the now 20kg package
With S&S Flex it would be $55 + $151 = $206
S&S Flex wins again.



Example 3.
I have 6 packages, 2kg, 2kg, 5kg, 5kg, 5kg, 5kg
With comGateway that would be $350 for the now 25kg package
With S&S Flex it would be $34 + $34 + $55 + $55 + $55 + $55= $288
S&S Flex wins again!


Orrite then, there must be a scenario where comGateway wins......lotsa light packages should do it......
Example 4.
I have 10 packages, 6x 2kg, 2x 4kg, 2x 5kg (I have actually done similar on a few occasions)
With comGateway that would be $413 for the now 30kg package
With S&S Flex it would be(6x $34) + (4x $55) = $424
S&S Flex just loses!

GUESS WHAT?
Consolidating to save money is now a myth,
thanks to Shop and Ship!

Extraordinary. Imagine how cheap it would be if S&S DID consolidate!

[Midnight Man]

Question if I may - weren't Shop and Ship the folks that were "not switched on" about the GST implementation though?

Or have they got their house in order on this topic?