Cost of parts shipping.

[Tinster]

A venting today!

Some Stateside vendors charge me a bloody
fortune to ship parts to Puerto Rico. They
call it "foreign country" extra handling
and shipping costs. We are NOT a foreign
country. FL to PR 1,100 miles or so. Less
miles than FL to Boston.

So Wendy finds her dream chair- all leather recliner
chair with matching ottoman so she can watch the
Steelers in absolute comfort. The Vendor ships all
over America at no $$ shipping fee because the chairs
are so costly.

From the Florida warehouse to California-
3000 miles with no shipping fee.

From the Florida warehouse to Puerto Rico-
1,100 miles w/ $275 foreign country special handling.

Wendy informed the saleman she could book a flight to
Florida r/t, pick up the chair, check it as baggage
and fly home for under $200. So no sale for the chair guy.

A book publisher in DC wanted $60 shipping for
a $20 technical book to me in PR. No sale!

Just venting a little steam today.

d

 

[Nunyas]

I ~think~ that's part of the point with ~some~ of these guys that charge that much for shipping. If they don't want to ship to an area, they'll charge so much for it that most people will move on to the next vendor. At least, that's my take on it.

 

[swift6]

I sent some rare little TR parts to a bloke in PR last summer. Sent them USPS just like it was another state. Nothing extra. Though I did have to explain that to the lady at the Mail Boxes Etc... that I shipped it from. (She didn't believe me until she called her supervisor.)

Maybe you can try explaining to them that if there are no customs forms to fill out, then its not considered a foreign country. Probably be like talking to brick walls though. Some people just figure that since its not one of the 'fifty states' then it is a foreign country. The concept of territories is just too much for them to handle.

Dale, have you checked shipping prices on UPS and FedEx. If they don't up-charge for PR, it could just be more ammo for you. That or spend some time with who you are ordering stuff from, explaining all the problems of the past. Let them choose to be the hero and then continue to request that person. I know that commercial accounts at Moss are assigned particular people so that sort of relationship can be built. Just some thoughts.

 

[tony barnhill]

PR is one of those places where the USPS seems lost - I've had that same argument with them....& I've had boxes returned from PR to me because I didn't do a customs form...I mean, they got on the boat - got to PR - got to the local post office in PR & were returned...once I added a customs form, they were delivered....go figure! Even the USPS in PR thinks a customs form is necessary!

 

[swift6]

I didn't have that problem.Maybe I got lucky. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

 

[budk1953]

Never forget when we moved to PR in 94. Shipped my 92 F150 from Florida for about $700.00 but when it got to PR I had to pay taxes on $28,000.00 as this was the value of a $14,000.00 truck in PR (pick-ups are worth their weight in gold on the island). Moving other stuff isn't that bad-when we left the island in 2001 we shipped the contents of a 3 bedroom house to NJ for under 3 grand.

PR can be a strange place.

d - you might want to contact La Rosa Del Monte Express in Toa Baja about having the chair delivered one of their stateside warehouses and picking it up in Toa Baja.

 

[Tinster]

Bud- Yeah they DO have some weird local taxes,
like cars as you point out.

Trucks and Jeeps are costly here. About 30% higher
than in the States.

So to save some dollars $$ when we retired here,
I bought Wendy a brand new Jeep and shipped it
along with my 5 year old Baretta GT that I simply
loved to drive. Cost about $1,800. total to ship
them both from NJ.

Saved us a bundle of $$cash? Right?

NOPE!! We had to pay 20% excise tax on the new Jeep
based upon it's selling price in Puerto Rico. That's
on top of the 7% tax we already paid in Maryland.
And my 5 year old dog? Valued at $18,000!! So we paid
more in excise tax for the GT than it was worth in the
States on a used car lot.

But we have the identical United States Postal Service
and same rates. Same UPS and same Fed-X. The drivers
for both companies call me by my first name.

When I send or receive stuff from UPS, Fed-X or USPS
the forms are the same. It costs a Stateside vendor
no more labor to type zip code 00945 that it costs
him to type zip code 21045. There is NO extra handling
expenses. But there IS needless profiteering.

Long story short: My Brit wife called the chair
factory direct. They have four vendors locally in
Puerto Rico. So the saleman in FL was an A-hole
who deserved to lose a valuable sale.

d

 

[Nunyas]

right-on! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif

 

[DNK]

Dale, the reason the furniture won't go to PR is because they don't own a truck that will drive on or get up enough speed to jump over water. All that stuff goes truck freight. Anything that goes to PR or even Hawaii is all by air. Much more Dinero.

 

[budk1953]

Lots of stuff is shipped to PR in containers (cars, construction materials,etc.).

 

[Tinster]

Come on now!!

Like, everyone on the east coast knows
the Miami to San Juan bridge/tunnel as been
open since 1999. Toll is $8.75

The brown UPS trucks are all over the island.
And none of them have wings that I can see.
They use the bridge/tunnel just like in the
Chesapeake bay.

d

 

[budk1953]

Do they have ezpass yet?

I miss driving in PR, doing 70mph in the right hand lane of the Autopista and having someone pass me on the shoulder doing about 90mph.

 

[Tinster]

Yeah, we got ezpass last year-works well.

Ouch! Yes, driving in PR is a bit like
driving in Rome, Italy. Wild & Crazy.

Year 2006 it became law a $250 fine
for driving on the shoulder. That has worked
VERY well but on the downside, it has created
even worse traffic jams now that one "lane"
of the expressway is no longer in use!

I observe many great car wrecks, weekly.

d

 

[70herald]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]We had to pay 20% excise tax on the new Jeep
based upon it's selling price in Puerto Rico.
[/QUOTE]

Hey Tinster Israel's taxes have you so far beat it isn't even funny. Asain car parts get hit with 140% tax! The US and EU have a tax agreement so they only get hit with 100% tax. New cars 95% tax. Of course on top of all of those taxes, there is VAT (value added tax) which was just lowered to 15.5%.

Fortunately, the tax thieves don't bother taxing small packages so only one out of the many packages which have been mailed to me has been hit with tax.

As for the cost of mailing overseas. Shipping from the US is MUCH cheaper than from the UK, so lately I have been ordering parts from the US rather than from the UK.

I think the worst shipping charge: $28 on a part I bought on E-bay for $3 (cast iron alternator mount)!!!!! That was the ACTUAL shipping charge. Still worked out cheaper than any other way to get the part.
Yisrael

 

[Tinster]

Case on Point:

I tried to order a $400 summer
beach top for my Jeep Wrangle.
(canvas, rolls into a small tube)

The vendor is in Philadelphia and 2nd
day UPS air-freights this top anywhere in
America or Canada for $31.

$80 additional special handling for Puerto
Rico for a total of $109. shipping.

d

 

[DNK]

there's a tunnel to PR???
How far is it to Fl.
Dale, sorry to hear about the trouble inPR during your holiday!!!

 

[Brosky]

The tunnel ends in Louisiana, somewhere in the bayou. Ask Bill or Dale exactly where the toll booth is.

 

[Tinster]

Actually it is very similar to the Chesapeake bay
bridge/tunnel. Just a few miles longer.

You leave out of Miami from exit No. 16 off Route A1A.
You hit a short stretch on PR-66 and pay your entrance
toll-$8.75.

Then you are traveling due east on the bridge portion
until you reach the continental shelf divide.

There PR-66 becomes a tunnel, down and under the
Puerto Rico trench basin until to come out on
another bridge portion just west of San Juan.

I think there are a few Howard Johnson rest areas
for food and fuel.

I think Paul got confused with the Galveston to
New Orleans Chunnel. It's pretty cool as well.

tinster