Recommendations for ocean freight forwarders/couriers

[franjo_66]

Hi folks

A friend of mine and myself are looking to buy some W113 & W111 parts from a person in Spain. As some of these items are prohibited to be sent via air (eg shock absorbers), I am looking at sending all items via ocean freight to Australia.

This will include some larger parts such as complete front seats (which would be way too expensive to send via air).

Has anyone used a reasonably priced service that ships internationally from Europe ?

Appreciate any recommendations!

[wayne R]

Hi Franjo  66, the best method is for you to a contact a local shipper in your city,
let him find all that out for you, example i have a shipper here on Gold coast, that
is very reliable,and have used him for years now , for shipping cars,and parts. from oveseas to Australia.
He will also help you with customs  at this end ,whick makes a lot easyer to deal with.    regards.

PS i am going away for 3 days no computor so can not reply.regards Wayne..

[franjo_66]

Thanks for the pragmatic advice Wayne!

Regards
Franjo

[MikeSimon]

Shipping form Europe is not universally the same from every country. Although there is the "European Union", services vary. The best way would be to involve the seller and ask him to investigate what and who is available in Spain.

[hansr433]

Thanks for the pragmatic advice Wayne!

Regards
Franjo

Wayne's advice is solid.  No need to be sarcastic.

You always start with freight shippers in your area.  They all have their own global networks of companies they like to work with. In order to generate a quote they need to know the cubic meters of what you are shipping.

[franjo_66]

Wasn't being sarcastic whatsoever!

Well I did the rounds of contacting approx 12 freight forwarders in Australia. Cheapest quote was $1900 (AU) for sea freight & AU$4400 for air freight.
In comparison, the seller in Spain managed to get a quote for AU$950 via air freight !

Us Aussies constantly go on about how we get ripped off price-wise for most services & goods compared to colleagues in Europe & USA. This highlights that to some degree.

Thanks to all for your input

[MikeSimon]

One minor difference is that the local guy in OZ may have included customs clearing and processing and local transport to the final destination from Port of Entry. The guy in Spain may have not.

[franjo_66]

Hi Mike
The duty & customs clearance on the items comes to AUS$325, so even when I add that onto the quotes from Spain, the Aussie freight forwarders are still way more expensive.

I had an A/C condenser shipped from the USA for one of my other cars. The courier cost was only US$35. Cheapest quote from Australian companies (including Aus Post) was approx US$250.

We pay too much for almost everything down under !