Shipments done by Travellers

Shipped with UTI from Rotterdam to Valparaiso. My bike arrived December 17th 2006. Should have arrived December 10th. UTI didn't notify me that my bike was actually put on another (the next) ship. I have all documents for the Cap Blanche arriving the 10th, but they changed it to the Cap Pasado and sent my bike from Antwerp instead of Rotterdam. Heard that when I called their local agent in Santiago on the 10th, because they still hadn't sent the bill of lading.
Price is including handling costs in both ports and pick up with a truck from my home. (The pick up was approx. $200). You'll have to add the costs for the actual crate. Mine was 2,6 cbm.
I finally got my bike December 20th, when the port agency opened and cleared the bike, although they first said it would be cleared the 19th.
Communication is terrible (or actually just not there!), they apologized by email (only after I complained) and blamed it on the absence of some people (at home being ill) and the huge amount of workpressure it put on the remaining persons.
Better find another company!
Luckily I was helped in Valparaiso by Enzo Tesser (owner of Hostel Villa Kunterbunt, Avenida Quebrada Verde 192, Valparaiso, email: vill...@yahoo.de). He did a great job, knowing exactly which papers (and how many copies of them) I needed and as well he knows the people in the aduana and the port. Thanks to him (and some small tips to the workers) my bike was the first thing to be unloaded out of all the containers waiting.
Besides that it was a great local experience thanks to him. For me absolutely worth the extra money.

I used Air Parcel Express (APX) through their website http://www.shipping-worldwide.com and http://www.freight-calculator.com to ship a motorcycle from Washington, D.C. USA to Madrid, Spain. I was told it takes 1 week for air shipping, which includes the time required to get the motorcycle cleared by USA customs. I was also required to pay around $150.00 beyond what I had been quoted by the website, for a "title fee" or something along those lines.

I dropped the motorcycle off on November 30th. I made my flight arrangements for 1 week later, arriving in Madrid on December 8th expecting to pick up the motorcycle and drive to Morocco. I am on a tight budget and have a schedule to keep as I am filming a documentary, and can really only afford to travel in Africa where I can get by on a few dollars a day (or less if camping).

I contacted APX on December 8th to find out what building to pick up my motorcycle at and was told that my motorcycle hadn't even left the USA yet. I was then told it would arrive on December 17th. This was 10 days more than I had budgeted for, and Spain is expensive. I asked for a discount to be applied to my account for this, to help offset my additional expenses from being stuck in Spain an extra 10 days. It should not take more than half a month to get something shipped by air. My request was ignored.

December 17th came and I was told that the motorcycle would not arrive until December 25th! That is nearly 1 month since I dropped the bike off, to have it shipped by air. Ocean shipping costs 1/2 as much and takes that long, but I shipped by air on APX's advice since it would only take a week and made all my travel arrangements based on the 1 week timetable that I was given. I asked for a discount two more times, and was ignored.

After delaying it from November 30 until December 23 they were going to ship it on December 23 and have it arrive around Christmas time (which would be a complete disaster, since the time from December 24 - January 1st it would never get through Spanish customs because of their holidays, etc. and I would be paying storage fees). So I said that was crazy and send it so it arrives on January 1st or 2nd.

I made this request on December 19th. They decided instead to send the bike so it arrives on January 6th, telling me this by email and not allowing me to make the decision when faced with such a later delivery than I had requested. I had told them I couldn't be in Madrid during Christmas to New Years because there was nowhere to stay (everywhere was booked), and had to leave Madrid for another city or be homeless during that time, but I would have taken homelessness if given the choice between that and a January 6th delivery.

After I was to wait 25 days they should have made the effort to get me the bike right after the New Year, even if it cost them a little of the profit they were making on me.

It will have been 37 days since I dropped off that motorcycle in the USA before I receive it in Spain. That is insane, and is four weeks more than I was told when I paid APX. They have cost me A MONTH of expenses living in Europe that I had not budgeted for and cannot afford, totalling nearly $1,000. I am living as cheap as possible day to day in hostels and still going broke. What it has cost me to live in Spain for a month could have gotten me about 2-3 months on the road in Africa, my intended destination.

Worst of all, I am on a tight filming schedule and they have cost me a month of filming time in Africa that I cannot get back or make up for. It has been a disaster for my film project, both in lost time and financially.

Air Parcel Express replies to my emails but always ignores my request for a discount to offset the month of expenses I have incurred because of their ridiculously slow air shipping and dishonest shipping time estimates.

I have never heard of any air shipment taking 4-5 weeks, and they refuse to make any effort to set things right by giving me a discount. And instead of even acknowledging it and apologizing, even if they refuse to give me a discount, they just always ignore my requests for a discount.

A discount would have been a wise business move on their part, cost them very little, and helped somewhat to set things right regarding my transaction with them. Even if they lose 1 customer from this and other postings I am making on the internet it has cost them several times that discount, and there is no doubt they will lose several customers a year over the years once those potential customers read these postings.

Not to mention all the customers they won't get when I don't recommend them to other motorcycle enthusiasts through my website and motorcycle message boards that I belong to. I have come to the conclusion that they care very little about their customers and will neither go the extra mile for you to get your shipment there on time, or do anything to set things right when they screw up. They ship your shipment whenever it is convenient or cheapest for them, regardless of any time estimates or promises given to the customer.

I would be very careful about using Air Parcel Express even if they give you a cheap quote on their website, because you will likely be asked to pay more once you start making the arrangements with them, and will certainly end up paying more in lost time and money when your shipment arrives weeks late.

Remember that every day that your shipment is sitting in a warehouse somewhere it is more likely to be lost or damaged.

Be aware that Air Parcel Express (APX) uses a variety of urls that all lead to the same website. Some of these are http://www.shipping-worldwide.com http://www.freight-calculator.com http://www.apx-air-cargo.com http://www.apx-air-courier.com and others.

In conclusion, don't use this company. They will delay your shipment weeks to a month or more and place your cargo at risk of loss or damage by having it floating around warehouses during that extra time. I'm not the first one to complain about Air Parcel Express (APX), and I surely won't be the last given their business practices.

I wish to thank several people for the excellent job they did.
In Canada - Roberto Martinez from ITN in Mississauga, ON
In Cuba - Brito, operations manager for Caribe Cargo at the Havana airport and his assistant Lionel who worked tirelessly to help me with custom clearance.
Antonio J. Aguilera Sanchez
-director of operations for Caribe Cargo in Havana who monitored the whole operation.

Importing a bike to Cuba is strictly limited by Cuban Customs to 30 day period, with a possible one extension of another 30 days. An extension must be applied for, a week before the end of the first 30 days period. My own trip was for 25 days only so I didn't opt for an extension.

The bike, KTM 950 was shipped on a open wooden skid (originally used for Moto Guzzi). I strapped the bike down with 6 straps.

Prior to shipping the bike, it had to be approved by a Dangerous Goods Consultant (DGC). The only requirement was that the gas in tank would be less than quarter full.Easy. That only took a few minutes and cost $85.-

The bike was shipped with Freight forwarder ITN, via Cubana Airlines from Toronto and handled in Havana by Caribe Cargo. BTW, Cubana is the only airline that can handle such shipments to Cuba out of Canada.

The clearance process in Havana was divided into two parts. 1) Custom clearance 2) transit police.
It took two days to clear customs, and another day to register the bike at the transit police.
Abundant patience is required from anyone attempting to bring a motorcycle into Cuba. All the officials are polite and friendly. The process however is lengthy and convoluted. Lionel from Caribe Cargo was instrumental in securing the clearance of the bike from customs. The registration of the bike at the transit police in Havana I had to do by myself without any assistance. That took another full day. The nice thing though is that I could get my bike out of customs and ride it to the police (with my ontario plate).
Again, patience is the name of the game.

Sea cargo container from Jakarta to Sydney

http://www.partireper.it/eng_2006chapt9.htm

Mr Mambang Priambodo has been really professional.

It took me 1 month to find him and after that only a week to arrange the shipment.

First of all we need to wash carefully the bike in order to let it be supervisored by the Australian quarantine.

After that the crate was built and fumigated. The certificate has been provided to me.

Ocean freight from Jakarta to Sydney per CBM: 50 USD

Handling document export: 50 USD

PEB EDI Fee: 25 USD

B/L Fee: 30 USD

Packing: 50 USD

Fumigation: 100 USD

Crate size: 2.8 CBM

It took 22 days from Jakarta to Singapore and stright down to Sydney.

It took me the very same time to reach Sydney overland by car so once the bike arrived i had to apply for compulsory documents i needed to import my motorcycle. The 2 weeks i needed to get thees paperworks get issued, cost me the beauty of hundreds dollars to pay.

Inspections, quarantine, warehouse costs and so on.

I STRONGLY RECOMMEND TO ALL THOSE WHO INTEND TO IMPORT IN AUSTRALIA, TO START ARRANGING THOSE PAPAERWORK BEFORE YOU ACUTALLY SHIP THE BIKE THERE.

a. Delivery order 428 AUD

b. Dotars permit 50 AUD

c. Custom clearences 150 AUD

d. Quarantine inspeciton 175 AUD

e. Steemed washing 250 AUD

f. Storaging 1300 AUD

I then told the custom i would have abandoned my good. So they made me
a big discount.

Here you have the money i have paid.

a. Delivery order 428 AUD

b. Dotars permit 50 AUD

c. Custom clearences 70 AUD

d. Quarantine inspection 175 AUD

e. Steemed washing 250 AUD

f. Storaging 450 AUD

So to import my motorcycle i spent in total:

885 Euros. I have bought my bike for 800!!!!!!!!

PS. i still had to get

registration 250 AUD

insurance 350 AUD

Really straight forward process, typical of process others listed. The only change was the price. They quoted $552 and forgot to mention the $100 dangerous good form. Total was $652. Note - they did check gas tank level and made us drain some gas. Getting the bikes out of Girag in Bogota was even easier.

Last comment, we checked on a boat - seemed really risky to us, but it's up to you.