Holey crap !! I've just been absolutely shafted..

Im in Kenya and have just paid £65 tax to import £45 worth of bike spares. DHL charged me £85 just to get it here too. 350gram package !

I would of used the local postal service but Chris here in Jungle Junction it would be a lottery when it arrived, IF it arrived.

I bought a tyre in Nairobi too. Metzeler Sahara 3... £165 !!!

I had no choice as I put a 3" tear in mine by hitting a massive rock in the road..

So, guys !! Head my warning. Bring your spares with you and don't ship to Nairobi !

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

Told you dh hell were sh!t. At the p/o you would have paid a lot less, if anything. Enjoy the rest of the trip. It's all easy from here south.
cheer
C

__________________

Brighty's website: TheBrightStuffDotCom

CURRENT RR WITH REGULAR UPDATES: The Wife Takes on Chlamydia: A South American Retrospective

Hello Ted,

so you made it half way thru East Africa, very good, as Chris said the other half down to Cape Town can be a lot easier.

I saw that you have posted more than 2000 times here on the HUBB, thank you for this. But I hope not all of your posts are like this.

Why do you use British pounds to tell how expensive things are? Pls use also Euros and USD, because not every traveller using the HUBB lives on the small island off the coast of Europe ;-)

What part did you order by DH hell ? I assume that you ride a bike that makes sense to ride thru Africa, so why couldnt you find the spare part locally? I know that there are quite some bike shops and Chris at JJ knows all of them - but maybe he never visits them. Maybe you wont find the perfect part, but you will find something that works until you get to Namibia or RSA.

Tyres. Paying this amount for a tyre is just encouraging the seller (and other locals) to take even more money from stupid tourists. Do you never think of the people that come after you??? .... even 165 Pounds ( 200 Euros, 250 USD ) is not a lot of money for you?

What a traveler would have done with prices like this: ask around for used tyres, you will find them for 10 - 20 USD. spend half a day looking around the shops and buy two used ones for maybe 40 USD. Look for a new one further down the road, lets say in Lilongwe or in Lusaka or in Livingstone.

If you pay this prices, it means that the prices are ok and the seller (or company) will charge more from the next customer. Please dont complain about them AND pay them. You grew up in a capitalistic society and you traveled a lot, so you should know this.

Enjoy your journey.

Mika

I know that if I wouldn't be near a good internet like at home I certainly wouldn't spend time converting all the prices into different currencies.
If you want it in something else, do it yourself.

Ted uses £ sterling as he is English and probably does not have the time to do an on-line exchange rate, I have seen many posts with prices quoted in USD or Euros only, and if I am interested to know the prices in £ I will check via Google for the exchange rate. It could well have cost the supplier a lot to stock the tyres, it is expensive but what you say about others following would be better applied to people paying over-the top-backhanders at border crossings.
And Ted, apart from that I hope your trip is going well.

__________________
'He who laughs last, was too slow to get the joke'
Never confuse the map with the journey.

I bought a tyre here as the one I had has a 3" gash in it from a blow out.. It would of lasted me much further south where i planned to buy a cheaper one.... I bought a 20 euro crap tyre in Ethiopia just to limp to Niarobi. I searched around extensively.. If you have been to Africa, you should know the score with tyres here.

The ONLY tyres you can get in North Africa are shit plastic tyres. It has been scary hell riding on the one I bought. It is deformed and cant handle the weight. Riding the one with the gash in would of been totally unthinkable.

There are no second hand tyres in Nairobi. I looked around. There are very worn tyres about but nothing I would consider using. They are expensive here due to the import tax. Its crazy !!

As per postage... I ordered the parts I needed a month ago while I was in Ethiopia. A front sprocket (I lost my spare), a gps power lead (mine broke) and some medication and other sundries that I lost, broke etc on the way..And No, they are definitely not available here....

My intention was to post them from the post office for cheap and let them arrive ahead of me. I asked about this on the hubb a while ago and it was always my intention.

Now, the C**K Sucking supplier took 25 days to deliver them to my address in the UK after promising 3 days !! I was already in Nairobi by then.

The thing is, It costs more to wait around, paying accommodation etc then it did to pay the extra to DHL. I asked Chris about postage options and he said local post could take 4 weeks and then i'd be lucky..... I cant afford to spend that time here and expect my travel partner to wait too. It would cost far more and be a major hold up.

I was very surprised about the tax. No one told me about it, even when booking the courier. Yeah, i should of looked it up but I didnt... They let me pay for the delivery, have it collected THEN call me in Nairobi and tell me the exorbitant price.

As to answer the question about the bike.. I brought the bike I thought I would need. !! But, its horses for courses isnt it !!!!! You cant plan for EVERY eventuality or you'd never leave your house !

My post was just intended as a warning to others who might be looking to send parts or buy tyres here. Jungle Junction and Nairobi is a half way point for many people...

Next time I'll try not and get a blow out or have anything break on my bike !! Silly me !! :confused1:



Ted


P.S. Sorry about the £££££, It just comes naturally.

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

(quote)I bought a tyre here as the one I had has a 3" gash in it from a blow out.. It would of lasted me much further south where i planned to buy a cheaper one.... I bought a 20 euro crap tyre in Ethiopia just to limp to Niarobi. I searched around extensively.. If you have been to Africa, you should know the score with tyres here.(quote)

Ted, why have you posted the price in € Euros, not everyone lives in the Eurozone

__________________
'He who laughs last, was too slow to get the joke'
Never confuse the map with the journey.

Where did you get the Sahara 3? Did they something offroad-biased like MT21, T63 etc?

If you use your carnet you can usually get around the tax-situation, let them write down the tyre-details on the backside of the entry-form.

Have a great trip! I know most people says it get easier further south, but if you choose the right route it doesn't have to be easy at all.

Hi Ted again,

thank you for the fast reply.

Yes, I know tyres are expensive in Nairobi. I did not know that you limped into Kenya with a cheap Chinese tyre, after this I would have maybe also spend the money to buy a Metzeler Enduro 3. If there is nothing else around and you need it badly, you have to pay for it.

Oh I also understand now that you needed the parts you ordered over DHell. But you learned your lesson about DHell now, they charge what ever they can get away with for custom clearance and they never show you what they had to pay to customs. At least you got what you needed.

Dont get me wrong, but sometimes I am sick and tired of people paying what ever price a local throws at them. And this is not good for other travellers or other locals trying to buy the same stuff.

I even remember a Kenyan custom officer telling me, that every motorcycle traveller pays to get his carnet stamped. And he was surprised I did not pay the 10 dollars he asked for, because he refused to give me a proper receipt. And he was fine with it and he stamped our carnets for free.

I should have followed your trip here on the Hubb before assuming you are one of this tourists.

Enjoy your trip and forget about my post.

Mika

Ian Duncan, The KTM dealer. Yes, he has MT21 too. I went for the longest lasting tyre. If I was going to pay that much for it, I want to get my miles worth at least... He ONLY had the 140 section and im meant to run a 120. It looks like a tractor tyre on my bike but I have used these tyres quite a bit and I rate them well.

yeah.. I'm not going to just blast south on the highways like many do. I've got a few off the track routes planned and Malawi should throw u some challenges, especially as theres only black market fuel there ATM...

I took absolutely no offense from your post and I meant you none in return !!

I'm guilty of making assumptions on the hubb probably more than many !

Thanks for the well wishes Ted chug

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

Ted, you possibly won't remember my post when you were planning your trip from the little island..

I flew out to Kenya to do a "Supply Drop" a few months before a 7 month Africa trip. I left new tyres, spares, clothing e.t.c with Chris and picked them up half way through my trip (life saver)

Now I think you see the logic, it hurts to have to spend so much money when you're on the road.

I paid around £400 / £415 euro / $608 / 104800 Malawi Kwacha / 670 Rand for the flight...

Hopefully that's the the last of the crazy spending for the rest of your trip.

I'm driving down from Malawi to Cape town in mid January so I'll possibly see you at some point on the road.

Alasdair.

Did you also have to pay duty on your spares when you brought them in ???

The problem I had is that my tyre would of lasted me much further south and the spares I needed could not of been forseen. !!

Well, keep in touch. Our schedules may just cross. chug

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

I was lucky, no duty in Kenya.
I even managed to get a new rear shock sent to Malawi with DHL and no duty to pay.
It's all down to luck and the person dealing with your paperwork on the day..

Although a cold coke, big smile and a lot of respect seems to work wonders!

As you've said, you can't prepare for everything so DHL becomes the only option.

Hi Ted,
Great to see you are on the road again.
you know the rules though...Buy cheap and buy local.
A crappy plastic tire should not affect YOUR riding skills
You need money for so be more careful...
Oh right, Ted be careful
Two feet of snow here in Canada, skiing is on for tomorrow, But
Wish I was there riding with you
Suerte Amigo, Peter&Carol

Ted,
Did you enjoy Robert's Camp, Hippos didn't keep you awake
for to long I hope.

Cheers
Paul

__________________
....rather Die Living.....than Live Dying !
www.globetrekkers.net.au