Shipping Scooters Overseas: Cost & Comparisons

[JasonRox]

Does anyone have an idea how much it would cost to ship a scooter overseas from say England to Canada, or France to Canada, or Italy to Canada?

Scooters down there go for cheap sometimes! If the price isn't too bad, I can probably make money shipping scooters here and then selling them here!

Anyways, let me know.

Note: A big problem is that many sellers only accept pick-up which is completely different than over here. They'll ship anything you want over here.

 

[dontdisturbmycircles]

If you are talking about a motorized scooter I am thinking it would be quite expensive. I am guessing that the scooter would weigh quite a bit over 150lbs which means you would have to ship it as freight and vehicle shipping is probably quite a hastle because of the possibility of stolen vehicles getting out of the country and stuff. (I don't know about scooters, though, do they even have a VIN or anything?)

My advice would be to call FedEx at 1-800-GoFedEx and see what you can find out. (I think they are 24/7)

 

[JasonRox]

Yeah, I'll have to ship it as freight.

 

[dontdisturbmycircles]

I was playing around with the fedex calculator

http://www.fedex.com/ratefinder/standalone?method=destinationCountryChange

and getting the quote for a 150lb 100cm^3 crate from Paris to Alberta and it came out really pricey(So much so that I thought I was doing it wrong). Maybe there is another way to do it though, maybe if you buy in bulk or something? I dunno, I hope it works out for you.

 

[Astronuc]

Scooters down there go for cheap sometimes! If the price isn't too bad, I can probably make money shipping scooters here and then selling them here!

You'd have to contact an international freight forwarder (e.g. Maersk), and you'd have to check with Canadian customs. If you are purchasing products for reselling, then you'll have to comply with import laws as well as transportation laws (e.g. certification). Fedex, and likewise, will be too expensive per unit. Best to order a containers worth (20 footer) of scooters. See - http://www.removalgroup.com/shipping-containers.htm

http://www.mrbox.co.uk/gallery01-new20ft.html

It is one thing to import for one's personal use, but importing for commercial reasons is a different ballgame.

 

[JasonRox]

You'd have to contact an international freight forwarder (e.g. Maersk), and you'd have to check with Canadian customs. If you are purchasing products for reselling, then you'll have to comply with import laws as well as transportation laws (e.g. certification). Fedex, and likewise, will be too expensive per unit. Best to order a containers worth (20 footer) of scooters. See - http://www.removalgroup.com/shipping-containers.htm

http://www.mrbox.co.uk/gallery01-new20ft.html

It is one thing to import for one's personal use, but importing for commercial reasons is a different ballgame.

Yeah, I'm not sure if my house can handle a container full of scooters!

 

[Moonbear]

The cost of shipping itself is only one of the costs. You'll also have to pay an import tax in Canada if importing something of any commercial or resale value.

 

[JasonRox]

The cost of shipping itself is only one of the costs. You'll also have to pay an import tax in Canada if importing something of any commercial or resale value.

Well, scooters are so cheap overseas that as long as the average cost of the scooter to sell (includes shipping and taxes and etc...) is not over $600CDN each.

You can buy them for $300-400 each, and sell them for like $1500-1700 a piece. So, that's atleast a $500 profit for each one. Unfortunately, the profit is not large enough to take on the risk.

I'm looking into getting a bunch from Mexico. Maybe they'll be cheap over there.

 

[Moonbear]

I'm looking into getting a bunch from Mexico. Maybe they'll be cheap over there.

What about emissions standards? Are they the same in the two countries? Or any other issues that might explain the difference in price? You wouldn't want to import them only to find out they aren't street legal in Canada and will be more expensive to convert than if you bought locally. I don't know if this is at all an issue, but something to check before buying any type of vehicle from another country.

 

[JasonRox]

What about emissions standards? Are they the same in the two countries? Or any other issues that might explain the difference in price? You wouldn't want to import them only to find out they aren't street legal in Canada and will be more expensive to convert than if you bought locally. I don't know if this is at all an issue, but something to check before buying any type of vehicle from another country.

No, there aren't any emission standards for scooters. The scooters are ready to roll from France to Canada.

From the US to Canada, I'd have to change things to metric, but that's about it.

Note: Emission standards are tougher in Europe. Hence, obviously it will be good enough for here.

 

[almianc]

I have used Allince Air Freight several times to ship 200+ lb items & they have been fantastic in terms of pricing & in terms of service. They have a website www.allianceairfreight.com you can get freight quotes & see their services.