[pinkpork]

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Just giving you boys and girls in the UK,a heads up about ordering chrome,,,last weekend,,i placed an order,, with our favorite dealer in the USA,,, the one we all use, and today i got a letter from Parcel force,,,there holding the package,,and wont deliver it till they receive ,£27.50,,:shock:, £14.50 is for VAT, and the rest for handling:shock:this makes the order very expensive now,,with $61 all ready paid for shipping,and now £27.50 stuck on at this end,,,making a grand total of £68.50:shock: i dont mind paying a bit but.,nearly £70 squid,, on shipping and taxes for some plastic chrome:shock:,,maybe its just a clamp down by HMCfor a while,,,, just be aware of the extras now when placing your orders all the best pp

 

[DigbyODell]

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To bad there wasn't somebody from the US you could ship to and have them forward it to you :waving:

 

[globetrotter]

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We have the same problem in Oz if it comes via FedEx and USPS - its held for "clearing" charges. Get them to post it via US Postal service this is generally OK :coollep:

 

[Littlejohn]

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I am just back last month from a 3 week stay in Las Vegas which would be the 5th year in a row we have been there. The changes this year and the effect of the financial probs over there had a real effect on the holiday. We were getting $2 to the £1 sterling last year and this year it was $1.45 which made our holiday more expensive. The Casinos were very empty, particularly during the night and there was a lot of talk of staff layoffs from the Hotels. Restaurants that last year were 24hr were now shutting at 11pm to save on staff expenses. The visitors to the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam were down by over 50%. Taxi drivers were complaining of a 40 - 50% reduction in trade and I really didn't enjoy this holiday at all. While we were there there was a Bull Riding comp on and several convensions but Vegas had lost it's buzz. I wasn't even able to get a poker game during the night as there were no players in the Luxor Hotel Casino and at 3am the dealers in the casino were doing nothing. The Hotel comps were well down on my previous visits as well. After about 10 days there we couldn't wait to get home. They even closed the pool in 92 degrees to save staff. Lots of money probs over there.

So at the moment I think the chances of getting anything cheap from the statesis over until the financial situation both here and in the States improves dramatically. When you consider the exchange rate today at $1.40 and add on the post and duty it isn't worth the effort right now. It would probably be better to approach one of the main dealers like HGB or Appleyards who brought loads over from the USA last year when the rate was good. They should be competitive as they will want toshift old stock rather than have it laying about. I priced a set of progressive springs from a popular dealer in the States but thought they would be too heavy to bring back in my luggage so didn't bother. I got a better price for them from HGB when you consider that there was no postage or duty to add. Sign of the times I fear.

 

[nobbie]

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Canadians get the shaft if parts come in by courier due to high handling fees. USPS works fine at minimal cost.

 

[Goldwings 4 ever]

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nobbie wrote:

Canadians get the shaft if parts come in by courier due to high handling fees. USPS works fine at minimal cost.

The problem being that some distributors don't give you a choice. They only ship by courier. I found a way around that. I get it shipped to a nearby US address and then go pick it up. Most times the border guys just let me through. It is handy to live close to the border, well except for all the Americans. :cheeky1: Some distributors don't ship the way they say they do. I ordered a set of saddlebag liners and the supplier stated that he shipped by USPS. Next thing I know, they show up by courier with a $40.00 brokerage fee. I contacted the dealer and he says he'll come good for the fees but after a year I have seen nothing.

 

[morram]

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None of this makes any sense, GWBush has said everything is fine and the USA is doing great.