Superformance and shipping charges

Dude, you probably got hit with the import duty which was included in the shipping charges. These you never know until they are assessed by US Customs. I had the same experience, however it arrived in the form of an invoice from FedEx on behalf of the seller and US Customs.

 

Have you contacted them about it?

I've always found them to be a very accommodating group. If they've overcharged for shipping, they're bound to be willing to discuss it.

Also, you can always figure out the cost on the GB postal service site to see if they charged too much.

Was it Air Express? Slow boat? that makes a difference as well.

D

 

I have delt with this company for a long time. They have been nothing but great with me and my other Ferrari owning friends. Contact them.
This starting a thread to dirty there good name seems harsh to me. I have ordered goods from the US and the shipping costs to me in the UK seem way way more extortionate that the amount you mention. For example heres a simple bushing that costs $2.75, and yet shipping from the US to the UK $53.85!!!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ferrari-348-355-Bushing-for-Roof-Ferrari-63595400-/110566518578?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item19be472f32

 

That doesn't sound unreasonable. Yeah it's a lot, but everything coming from the UK is a lot. shipping has nearly doubled for me for small (MUCH smaller than pedals) pieces. About $20 for a box that weighs less than a lb.

 

I think it's a mistake to use the value of the package as a determiner of the appropriate postage. A brick costs less than $1, but would be expensive to mail internationally. You really need to specify weight, priority/express level, and customs value, as well as source/destination to determine what the costs should be versus what they charged you.

I just went to the USPS price calculator and asked for the shipping cost of a 4 lb package (I assumed 1 lb per aluminum pedal and 1 lb for packaging) with $200 value from the US to UK and USPS would charge you $35 to $85 depending on priority level.

 

$50 for international shipping sounds about right to me. Larini charged me $100 to ship my test pipes from the UK to the east coast.

 

This ^^^*

Also people almost ever praise a. Implant for great service they only speak up when it's bad in their eyes.
You must pay customs on items coming into the country plain and simple. And that's why your shipping was so high.

You also didn't say who it was shipped with. Post a photo of the postage.

 

+1

 

I agree that these shipping charges seem normal. I live in Spain but have to send packages back to the US often. It costs me ~55 euros ($75 USD) to FedEx a letter envelope from Spain to USA. That is for a piece of paper with no customs charges...

 

Well, if it went by courier, then the charges are quite reasonable. I live in Italy where shipping is REALLY expensive. Yesterday I mailed a package to the U.S. which weighed 2.5kg, was uninsured, had no customs duty, and went the slowest and least expensive way. Cost...... 48 Euros, about $62.50.

 

Not an unreasonable charge, Eurospares (UK) publish their shipping costs and you would pay £41.78 for a 0.5 kg package to the USA.

http://www.eurospares.co.uk/DHLTables/UPSExpress.htm

USA is country zone 7

Having said that, you would pay the same for up to 13kgs.

I'm in Australia and purchase most of my parts from the UK. I try and wait until I need a few parts then place my order. The parts generally arrive within a week.

 

Sounds out like that came out to everyone's satisfaction. Does not always happen. Will be happy to deal with SuperPerformance in the future.

 

Nice outcome and they sound like an accommodating outfit.

But this thread over fifty bucks?

 

It's possible to ship airmail to the US by Royal Mail for packages up to 2kg. Above that it's necessary to use a courier. Airmail can be sent by "International Signed For" insured up to £500 though so a rule based on order value below that isn't dictated by Royal Mail's service offering.

 

I have shipped quite a few car parts all over the world from the UK, all shapes, sizes and weights.

I always use Parcel2Go | UK Courier Services | Express Parcel Delivery Company and they are very competitive, so tap in your parcel etc and see what they come up with. The prices though do not include any duties your end, and a business would need to add the cost of packing materials and the time to do so, they are not charities at the end of the day

 

+1.

 

I think they went beyond merely stepping up and doing "the right thing". I would call this going the extra mile, above and beyond, etc. Glad to read about the happy resolution to the issue.

 

I agree with BBL. It was not necessarily "the right thing". Why should they have to eat shipping charges they had to pay? It is nice to see a company take their customer satisfaction seriously though.

I own a small, online based business in an unrelated industry. I ship to the UK and Europe. I always try and be clear on how much the shipping charges are before running a client's credit card. I don't profit from shipping. I would most likely refund a portion of the payment as well, if the client approached me in a reasonable manner (which I'm sure you have), but understand that shipping rates have increased obscenely in the last 5-10 years.

Box to Canada via USPS is $25. Same size box to Canada via UPS, $50+. Also, shipping to residential vs. commercial addresses is nearly 1.5 times, or more, with larger boxes.

There are a lot of factors that affect the price.

 

One of the reasons I buy most Ferrari stuff from Superformance is that (besides having good prices) they have the lowest shipping charges to Italy. I've found them to be a reliable company and easy to work with. I would hope that purchasing Ferrari parts here in Italy would be quick, easy, and cheap but, sad to say, it's none of those.

 

I buy a lot of spares from Superformance. I was based in Qatar in the Middle East for a long time and they always shipped promptly and at a reasonable cost. Occasionally I ordered or they sent the wrong parts but we always sorted this out with an email or a phone call.

Now I am back in the UK and Superformance are 20 minutes drive away. Sometimes I go and collect parts and believe me yo couldn't met a nicer set of people. Sometimes I need a part and can't get to them to collect it so I have them send it to me.

I buy a lot of items on-line and believe me when I say that Superformance are one of the very best.

 

Fair question, s&h do sting, but you can be prudent and do a few things to mitigate that.

SHARE COSTS
I have bought thousands of dollars overseas from Superformance, Dinoparts, Eurospares, and Maranello Concessionaires (when they were), etc. and I am very grateful to have this pool of suppliers that provide these products available for restoration or repairs. That being said, shipping has always been a killer. Several of us locals are in the same boat and we generally gather a group of purchases together and try to share s&h costs.

DELAY PURCHASES
I also don't make purchases at will but rather build a list over a period of time and only when necessary make a purchase. This helps to reduce the number of shipments and hence the total s&h costs.

RETURNS KILL YOUR BUDGET
Ask questions first, email them and wait until your questions are fully satisfied with an answer before buying.
Just wait until you need to return items; I've found I needed to return Dino suspension chassis U-Bolt, Stainless steel heat exchanger coolant hoses to DinoParts.de and others. Spending $100 or more for signature required return postage hurts.