Shipping options

[lenser]

I have a large camera, a Century Studio Portait camera, offered on this site for sale.

I recently got an inquiry about shipping to Europe, so I did some research on options and costs.

The post office will barely allow it within the USA and it exceeds length and girth requirements for anything out of the US.

UPS minimum is nearly $900.00 and the FedEx price is waaaaayyyyyy above that.

Are there any other options for shipping this outside of the USA that make it more reasonable and still have it arrive in a reasonable time frame?

Many thanks.

Tim

[Tim Povlick]

I have a large camera, a Century Studio Portait camera, offered on this site for sale.

I recently got an inquiry about shipping to Europe, so I did some research on options and costs.

The post office will barely allow it within the USA and it exceeds length and girth requirements for anything out of the US.

UPS minimum is nearly $900.00 and the FedEx price is waaaaayyyyyy above that.

Are there any other options for shipping this outside of the USA that make it more reasonable and still have it arrive in a reasonable time frame?

Many thanks.

Tim


Hi Tim

My wife handles international shipping as her profession. She said an air freight company could handle at about US$500 but they would require agents on both ends (thanks for the security concerns). This pushes the price back close to US$1,000. She suggested you try TNT International (www.tnt.com).

If you can break the camera into little pieces and ship USPS she said that would be best option.


Good Luck..

TimP

[Ed Bray]

It would probably be cheaper to Fly over with the camera as luggage and then fly back empty.

[jcoldslabs]

Tim,

The camera can be dismantled pretty easily to fit in a smaller box. Eddie Gunks has a video showing how this is done. (Not sure where it's posted; you might want to PM him about it.) Essentially you remove the front and rear standards from the focusing rail and this allows for packing the compressed camera and bellows parallel to the rails rather than mounted perpendicular to it. This doesn't solve the weight issue but lets you fit it in a slimmer shipping box.

I've taken my Century 10A apart in this manner and it isn't all that much trouble.

Jonathan

EDIT: Found the video link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQf8z3-xir4).

[Tin Can]

Good to know. Thanks for the link.



Tim,

The camera can be dismantled pretty easily to fit in a smaller box. Eddie Gunks has a video showing how this is done. (Not sure where it's posted; you might want to PM him about it.) Essentially you remove the front and rear standards from the focusing rail and this allows for packing the compressed camera and bellows parallel to the rails rather than mounted perpendicular to it. This doesn't solve the weight issue but lets you fit it in a slimmer shipping box.

I've taken my Century 10A apart in this manner and it isn't all that much trouble.

Jonathan

EDIT: Found the video link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQf8z3-xir4).

[Drew Bedo]

Tim,

The camera can be dismantled pretty easily to fit in a smaller box. Eddie Gunks has a video showing how this is done. (Not sure where it's posted; you might want to PM him about it.) Essentially you remove the front and rear standards from the focusing rail and this allows for packing the compressed camera and bellows parallel to the rails rather than mounted perpendicular to it. This doesn't solve the weight issue but lets you fit it in a slimmer shipping box.

I've taken my Century 10A apart in this manner and it isn't all that much trouble.

Jonathan

EDIT: Found the video link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQf8z3-xir4).


This may also allow you to declare the packages as "Parts" r "For Repair" (or something similar) and perhaps the duty and fees will be lower.

[goamules]

As you probably have figured, you can disassemble the stands into components, which makes it a little easier. Basically, then you're shipping lumber and cast iron girders! I've been asked many times to ship stands to Europe, but when the buyer finds out it will cost 2 or 3 times what the stand costs, they evaporate.

[IanG]

I had an Agfa Ansco 10x8 Commercial View in it's large case shipped to me a few years ago and it came by sea, tracked and fully Insured. OK it took about 6 weeks but we knew that at the outset, the tracking worked all the way and more importantly it was a fraction of the cost of Air freight, I think is came UPS but DHL, TNT and many other companies offer similar services.

So shipping by sea/overland can be a huge saving and make the difference between a purchase being economic and feasible or falling through because of excessive air freight costs, particularly relevant with an item like Tim is selling.

Ian

[goamules]

That's good to hear, I thought there had to be a cheaper way. I mean, heavy shipments go back and forth over the oceans all the time. I have a friend that beings two containers from China every year, full of gems and minerals.

[Jim Andrada]

It's surprising how little it costs to ship a container. When we moved to the US from Japan the company gave us a 40 foot container for all our household stuff (including a grand piano!) and they told me that with the corporate discount it only cost about $2000. When they picked up the container they told us the date and time the ship would dock in San Francisco and the estimate was within minutes of the actual time.

On the other hand, our dog had to be shipped by air and it cost the company $17,000.00 to ship him. You should have heard the screaming!!!!! The catch is that we had a full grown Great Dane and the special shipping cage (custom made no less) was big enough for four people to sit inside comfortably due to animal welfare regulations. Air freight goes by the greater of either the $/weight or the $/cubic foot, which is what ran this one up.

Definitely use ocean freight.

[lenser]

Many thanks to all of you for the great suggestions. I had not even considered the break down possibility until Randy and Jonathon forwarded Eddie's great video. By the way, that one short video got me acquainted with about two hours worth of Eddie's other videos last night. What a treat.

I truly appreciate all the info and will definitely look into the seas option as well as possibly using DHL within the US if that's where it sells.

Terrific help and info from fellow members as always.

Tim

[Jody_S]

In my experience, the good old Post Office, regular mail shipping is always cheaper. I've spent as much as half an hour with a tape measure in hand, freight scale on the desk, and the online shipping calculator on the screen, looking for the best way to break something down and ship. Even if it's in as much as 3 or 4 parcels, the cheapest 'Surface' (by boat) parcel mail will always be less than a courier or freight company, unless you have an account with a commercial shipping co. and are able to get the preferential rates. And if so, you'd better have all your paperwork in order or else you're in for a world of trouble; with the Post Office, it's a simple form to fill out and they attach to the parcel, end of story.

[IanG]

It's reached the point in the UK where there are companies who can ship parcels cheaper than the Post Office, so it's beginning to become important to check around if you post a number of items.

I ship using the Post Office and private companies and the paper work is easy and straight forward.

Ian