$40 to send tyre from US to UK?

[JohnH]

JFYI.....Yes $40 is very unreasonable for 1 tire shipped from the US. A 1lb package from the US to most all of Europe by US Priority Mail International is ~US$22 if the package is under 84 inches in combined length and girth. I have shipped two wire bead clinchers triple loop folded in one box 12x12x8"high to Europe for ~US$24 with 6-10 day delivery and it's only a couple dollars more for the Express International service. Some sellers charge more for their time to pack and run it to the post office if they don't pay for pick up service at their place of business. Many businesses also feel the need to have a mark up on shipping to cover the time spent to pack and process when they could have otherwise been working on a repair or on a sales floor selling generating income which pays the bills. For them there has to be a cost to packing and shipping. Packing and Shipping is treated as a profit center just like any other part of their operation. Please also understand that shipping by US Priority Mail also provides the seller a proof of delivery and tracking for the buyer at no additional charge...that's why so many utilize that service. Yes for tiny small items First Class can be an option but once you add delivery confirmation to the cost it starts to add up. Most sellers don't want to get the..."it never arrived" complaint when it actually did...so they won't take a chance shipping with bear bones First Class service having no proof of delivery.

GM, you raised a lot of good points there that I hadn't thought of. I suppose the best thing for me to do is to send them an e-mail and see what they say (anybody have their address?). $40 may be exactly the price that First Flights intended to charge for the reasons that you've given above.

 

[JohnH]

You could try to see if someone would organise a group buy to cut down on shipping? its 90$ to ship ten which takes the price down to £24 ish quid? AFAIK first flight have made these tyres as a labour of love and there not really making to much from them if anything, could be wrong though. You might have trouble rousing interest as a relative newbie but someone might be up for it and as First Flights a regular contributer to the site something may be able to be worked out.

Yeah, a group purchase would work for me. I understand that as a new face here, I'm not the best one to co-ordinate this.

Anyway, first things first; I'll see if I can find an e-mail address for First Flight...

 

[SeeingisBelievingGTMuseum]

a group from the German forum just put together a group buy

 

[JohnH]

a group from the German forum just put together a group buy

Do you know where I can get more details on this? (how many were bought, how much for P&P, contact details at FF, etc.)

 

[SeeingisBelievingGTMuseum]

Jeff Archer or Wes are the contacts at First Flight and they have a link for contacting them at their website or from the Mombat site. Last posting I saw on these tires said they were getting low but had more on the way.

 

[stew-b]

first flight are registered on this forum.

 

[JohnH]

first flight are registered on this forum.

I PM'd First Flight and asked about the surprising postage costs for the Timbuk IIs, and also what the postage costs would be for the Farmer John's Nephews that they have on their site. Here is their reply...

Unfortunately, USPS did away with sea shipping and has now gone with air shipping only.....which explains the costs. I hate it but that is the way it goes.

Should be the same for the other tires since the package just ends up being really flat but weighs about the same.

So now I know. $40 isn't a computer error, it's just the price of sending a single tyre 3000 miles. I'd love to fit a tan-wall tyre onto my bike to replace the worn one on the rear wheel, but $40 is too much to add to the cost. I suppose I'll just get a black-wall substitute from my LBS. :roll:

As for bulk orders, I can just type the quantity into the First Flight order page for an instant quote on P&P costs.

 

[manitou916]

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