Bikerider007

Anyone have a reasonable source of shipping a vintage bike to the US? Or maybe facilitate? I am awaiting seller response but want to make it easy on her if it works out. Not in a hurry to have it arrive. Would need packing and ship. I have done this stateside and usually have a shop pack and ship or have it dropped at shipper after.

Bikerider007

She is willing to work with me on figuring this out. Someone has to have experience in international. My plan will be to call some shops on there Monday.


The bike is a Bates BAR, Cantiflex with Diadrant fork. The way people on FB ogle and covet Hetchins I will probably never see one of those, so this is my chance to pick something up that won't be an arm and a leg. I'm trying not to pay $500 shipping. Unless someone says that is normal, then so be it.

Wildwood 

I cannot assist with facilitation, but my last international bike shipment was in the neighborhood of $175 from Belgium to Seattle. The seller chose Economy shipping, which meant a cross USA truck ride from port of entry = New York City!; because i told him i was in no hurry and did not specify a method of shipment. In hindsight Economy was a mistake. Pipe insulation over the frame tubes would have helped.

Bikerider007

Thanks. Sounds like it didnt go well. If this works out I'll​ have a shop pack for and give some input. Unless I find someone to facilitate. I did a buy and facilitated for someone in Australia today. Hopefully some good Karma may come my way.

Kilroy1988 

I just got a bike from England from a seller who had a standard £180 fee for shipping to the US, though I suspect they'll end up paying more. I was hunting around and got three or four quotes for £260-300 to ship a whole bike here. One of the major problems is that not many bicycles will fit in a DHL box, the largest size of which would still cost as much. Using DHL for a frame set may only be £40 or so from Europe. It goes up exponentially with size. It seems that Parcel Force is a favorite for UK sellers, and that's definitely in the range mentioned. Good luck!

-Gregory

(p.s. If you're after that red one on Ebay and into originality, you might as well wait for something better... You can find one with totally original components for a similar price, while that one has clearly been upgraded some. These things are really a "dime a dozen" over there compared to here. I've been watching classic British lightweights on Ebay for years, and everything comes up for prices we'd consider unbelievable here.)

Bikerider007

Good info @killroy1988. I'll try that company as well. This one is a private party.