Freight to Australia

[tennyson]

Hey Guys.
I just bought a couple of aircraft seats from a company in Florida and I need to organise freight to Australia.

Can anybody recommend a freighter from there?

I bought gear from around the world, but never had to organise my own freight, so I'm a bit of a novice there.

I don't want to deal with DHL, as I bought FDS gear and had them ship, and the price kept going up every time I rang, so won't use them again.

Thanx for any assistance,


Frank Cooper

[mickc]

Hi Frank,

You may have better luck trying the freight forwarders here in Australia, and find one that has an agent in Florida.  Then the seller just drops it off at the depot and your forwarder handles it from there.

Be prepared though, there are huge fees for importing through customs into AU especially via airfreight

Here is a list of the fees i was hit for on my last import, on top of the actual freight charges:

IMPORT TERMINAL FEE (ITF):                              AUD $  90.00 PER AIRWAY BILL
AIRLINE DOCUMENT FEE (AHF):                          AUD $  50.00 PER AIRWAY BILL
AIRLINE HANDLING FEE (AHF):                           AUD $  55.00 MINIMUM
AIR CARGO/CMR/DOA:                                          AUD $100.00 PER AIRWAY BILL
DOCUMENT RETENTION FEE:                                AUD $15.00 PER SHIPMENT
CUSTOMS CLEARANCE FEE:                                    AUD $135.00 PER ENTRY FIRST 5 LINES INCLUDED, AUD3.50 PER LINE THEREAFTER
IMPORT DUTY:                                                         AUD – AT COST FROM AUSTRALIAN CUSTOMS  (Usually 5% of total value - including freight)
IMPORT GST:                                                            AUD – AT COST FROM AUSTRALIAN CUSTOMS (10% if the value is over $1000 AUD inclusive of freight)
CUSTOMS LODGEMENT FEE:                                  AUD $138.10 – AT COST FROM AUSTRALIAN CUSTOMS

I also had to have an AQIS Quarantine inspection which added another couple of hundred dollars to the bill. (That was on a throttle quadrant, so i'd think seats would be inspected too)

Then you have to get it from the airport!.

Not trying to put a dampener on your cheap seats, just letting you know what you are up for.

I have used Scan Global Logistics in Melbourne, and Hunter Cargo and Customs in Newcastle previously, both with good service.
.

[tennyson]

Thanx mate.
It's a joke, isn't it.
I have been stung many times before by freighters and DHL was the worst. Fees for everything.

I'll give a few of those you mentioned, a call.


many thanx, mate,


Frank

[brianwilliamson]

Gooday Frank,

I got caught with a huge bill after taking notice of a seller from Europe, as he suggested that he would freight the item to Brisbane and  let me pick it up from Customs rather than use a freight company door to door.

The problem was that of delay and having in the end to get a Customs clearance company to get the item as I was apparently not allowed to pick up direct from Customs !! So with demurrage and costs etc., I was up for a fortune.
So unless you have someone that can get your seats cleared through Customs, then you are better off getting a quote door to door.

Cheers...............good luck

Brian W.

[Aerosim Solutions]

A recent $250 spend I made on a pair of beautiful new dark grey sheepskins for my $100 Nissan R34 Skyline seats doesn't seem to hurt much anymore!!

Frank I have an idea - Take Liz to the USA, book a flight home and tell the airline you don't need seats as you already have your own!!!

I know I'm not helping much am I?

Cheers GP

[tennyson]

Gwyn,
That notion has it's merits, I'm just not sure whether to laugh or cry....



Frank Cooper

[Trevor Hale]

Where in Florida Frank? Maybe Sam could Help you out.  I know he has had stuff imported before...  I would get him to way in here LOL.  I know he was bringing stuff into the USA, You want Stuff to go out of the USA...

In any Case, he may have some advice.

Cheapest way would be by boat, but would take months LOL.

[tennyson]

The seats are at Santa Rosa Beach in Florida.

I'm also thinking about pulling them apart and shipping them home in bits, it might be cheaper, too.

I'm waiting on some quotes at the moment, but for sure, I'm looking into freight by sea, as well.

I'm open to all suggestions, thanx for your suggestion , Trev.


Frank Cooper

[Trevor Hale]

Frig, if it is even Cheaper, Ship them to me in Canada, and I can box em up and ship them to you in pieces..

[tennyson]

Thanx for the offer Trev, but I've had a few reasonable offers by some reputable shipping companies today.

It was such a relief, as I was also looking at the cost of airfares to fly there and pull them apart and send them home in bits and pieces, but the quotes so far are cheaper than I could fly, so I don't need to do that now.

I still have to look at the cost of Customs and if I need to pay import duties etc. but I also have a customs guy I used when I bought my gear from FDS in Canada and he was really great, so I'll give him a call.

Thank the Lord, this is my last item on the list to buy for the sim. I have it all now, just need to finish it off.........

Thanx again for all of the good help and suggestions, guys,


Frank Cooper

[brianwilliamson]

Great to see that you have it organised Frank. I had to get mine shipped by sea, and the packing was pretty dreadful, but was the best way I could do it.

You will be pleased with the real thing. It will make your cockpit really great.

Looking forward to seeing it all together..

Cheers..................Brian W.

[tennyson]

Thanx Brian.
I am sure you are right. I have had some pretty reasonable quotes now, so the problem is sorting itself.

Rob Hall, from Aerosource is the guy I bought them from in Santa Rosa Beach in Florida.
What a great bloke, he's been fantastic and very helpful, arranging to re-crate then to make the shipping cheaper.

I'll definitely be buying more gear from him!


Frank Cooper

[Trevor Hale]

I'll definitely be buying more gear from him!


Frank Cooper

Lol thought you said above that you were glad the seats were the "last piece". Ha ha ha lol

[kingchiro]

Frank,
Had my two seats MD-80 to be precise purchased and sent through the Airline Pilots Historical Society in Chicago ( I think) and flown to Melbourne. This was Feb 2014.
2 seats                          US $1350
Air Freight                      US $630
Paypal                            US $88
Customs and Logistics  AU $445
That was a year ago with the Aussie dollar looking good. Seats aint cheap if you need them in Australia ! But they are here now and ticked off the list..............the bucket list that is !
I asked about shipping via sea and he said don't and more expensive. Another option however if anyone is interested is if you know of a business in Australia that regularly ships a container from the U.S. you may be able to get some space. There was a car parts importer which may have been an option.
:2cw:Personally, take the hit when buying overseas and potentially look at double the price to get it home to make sure the bargain is a bargain.
You wont be disappointed. People look at  mine and go WOW.

Mark