shipping from the usa pt2

[paul]

not every thing goes like clockwork ,a friend off mine has recently  shipped a container fom the usa and put his trust in one off the maico gurus from over there to organize the packing /cleaning and generaly make sure it was done right ,he was paid acrordingly for his trouble and  20 or so maico.s and  various parts were purchased and lt was left to them to follow the stricked instruction give about how the parts and  bike should be packed. the container arrived and opened the owner was notified and custom inspection done as the boxes were being unloaded the was a lot off head shakeing for both sides and frowns

 

[paul]

so in the end the whole lot were knocked back unless every single part was steam cleaned at quarintine at a cost off 65 dollars a hour,they have managed to do 2 engines in 2 days ,so with about 3 weeks off steam claening to go its going to cost a furtune.so if you are bring stuff from over seas make sure its clean for instance this is what they picked on you never know when they will single out your stuff

[albrid-3]

I wouldn`t bother, l have been  stung twice , never again.

[Rossvickicampbell]

I don't think a lot of people realise how strick quantine can be.  We had to high pressure clean our container load of bikes coming back from the Nats in Queensland to Western Australia.  And a big risk if not done?

Rossco

[firko]

My newly imported DT2MX is still covered in the shit from the last time it'd been ridden and best of all, the American Eagle tank I bought in the USA still had petrol in it! (authenticated by witnesses for those in disbelief) The Maico engine I got a month or so ago was covered in grease and gunk as well so I think the money I pay for quarantine cleaning is a crock of shit.

[JohnnyO]

Paul that's a nightmare! Don't think i'd want to deal with the person that packed that container.

[jimg1au]

the key to this story is a container full of used dirt bikes.my stuff and firkos and most likly your stuff paul was brought over in a container with general cargo. mostly packed well.my mates who bring cars in go to the states and detail them before they get into the container as they know its cheaper than letting customs do it.the person was very foolish to allow someone else to pack the container.it was always going to be singled out.my guy is in the states now packing the next container to come here.he knows what goes in so everything is ok wonce the container lands as it could be knocked back alltogether and sent back. way more cost than a $1800.00 flight.the next problem will be the time the bikes spend out in the open while being cleaned.he could end up with a lot of rusty parts that are wothless.motors full f water and so forth.
just my experinces of importing stuff from the usa over the past 10 years.like firko never had to get anything cleaned ever. you can go on for ever.but importing has to be done by the book or it costs
jim

[paul]

it has taken 12 mths for that lot to be loaded ,and it was supposed to be done poperly but .i think the guy over there in question saw a way to make easy money and cut corners , there so much stuff in there its a maico nuts dream , it will be a real pity if its ruined

[Freakshow]

I ve brought over 15 or so bikes and never had issues, customs and duty is a crock of shit and an out and out money grab, and the shippers are too scared to make waves incase there shit get red flagged.  Its all a dock yard scam.

The only time i got jagged is the last motor i brought in was in a box, what i didnt realise when the guys said ill build a crate and screw it in , was he did just that, went to the hardware store and built it in, 4 month later when i still hadnt seen it, had to do a bit of detective work and found my $2K motor sitting in the back of a queensland warehouse and had been for months, complaints flew back and forth, when noone had picked up customs didnt like the wooden crate and had pulled it out and burnt it, no one picked up the label was on it so it and a pair of shocks ended up in the corner as unknown.

Something also tells me, its who is bringing it in not so much as what they are bringing in.  IM guessing its one of those industries where the long timers look after each other.

[jimg1au]

freaky
we need customs as for duty there is no duty on bike parts so if you are paying for it change shippers.never paid duty ever.if the packaging is sus it will always be looked at.as for wooden boxes my mr250 honda motor is still in the wooden box it was sent in.i think your last statment is right my shippers carrier is in the importing industry a long time.
cheers
jim

[firko]

There's a lot of guys bringing in bikes and parts from the USA these days and from my experience most of the imports end up as a happy experience. Every now and again though you come across situations like the one Paul shows but it's not typical. I've had a couple of situations with my shipper, Peter Leahy , the first being my Cheney going missing for over 6 months and the other, a box containing a near new TS400 Suzuki engine, unobtainium TM400 ACK aftermarket head and a PVL ignition to suit same is totally missing in action since last August. We've had searches of Peter Leahys warehouse and Preferred Transport Systems wharehouse in Long Beach but it hasn't popped up. I'm still on the case and as Peter is in the USA right now I've reminded him to look for any boxes that haven't been claimes or are unaddressed. I'm pretty sure it's sitting at one of these two locations with a dicky destination address or none at all. I found that my Cheney got lost because it was badly labeled and I've discovered from the Suzuki engines seller that he "may not have included all of the info on the package" so now I attach a standard address Word doc. with the correct shipping address on it to all correspondence which I ask sellers to either print out and attach to the package or to copy it word for word. There's hopefully no mishaps then.

Because the USA offers us opportunity to pick up bargains and /or rare pieces of gear it's a great way to shop, however there are some dodgy operators out there who don't seem to give a hoot. We should use this thread as an opportunity to 'out' any dodgy shippers or relate personal experiences either good or bad. For a start, I'd love to know who was the shipper in the disaster that Paul shows? Personally I've been dealing with Leahys for years, going back to the car days and must admit their service has dropped in standard since Roly died and Peter took over. Both Jonesy and I have a lot of stuff both in Leahys wharehouse right now and enroute from America so we still have confidence in them but....it's slipping a bit.

[IT400C]

Do you guys recommend using a Customs Agent?

And how much do they cost?

Anyone recommend a good one in the Brisbane area?