UPS or USPS ?Help!

[viking]

Hi! I'm about to buy a Egnater Rebel head from the US.Should i use USPS (Priority Intern.) or UPS ?Of course,USPS is much cheaper but i never used them before.They say it's 6-10 days delivery,insured &" trackable"..Is it safe?I'm not  really in a hurry but I don't want to wait 2-3 weeks wondering about it..UPS would be about 100 euros more !What do you think?

[Lew]

UPS will use ParcelFarce when it gets to the UK and in my experience they are $%&#ing dire.

guitar guitar in the UK are selling them for 569 quid with guaraneed next day delivery

http://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/amplification_detail.asp?stock=09022611355229

[viking]

I live in Belgium  :? When i tried to find one (Rebel)in Europe,it was'nt available before September!The USPS shipping is USPS Priority Mail International ,insured and trackable.

[viking]

Thanks for the link,Lew!I'll check that one! 8)

[Lew]

Thanks for the link,Lew!I'll check that one! 8)

It should work out faster and cheaper for you than getting one from the states 8)

[viking]

Thanks for the link,Lew!I'll check that one! 8)

It should work out faster and cheaper for you than getting one from the states 8)

  Faster,no doubt!But not cheaper as i found one second hand from US.. But it means i can rule out the UPS option ..If USPS is safe,the US second hand one is still interesting...Mmmmm... :?

[::fred::]

viking, I'm a professional amp reseller and I buy most of my amps from US. I would strongly advise you to use USPS Express instead of Priority. It has realtime tracking (opposed to just customs form tracking in Priority) and is handled by couriers locally. They should deliver it straight to your door and you won't have go to the post office to get your box.

Make sure the seller takes out the tubes, wraps each one of them in bubblewrap and stuffs them altogther (with more bubblewrap) inside the amp. Also, you might want to ask the seller to lower the customs value and insurance to avoid customs fees in your country.

Good luck!

[Copperhead]

I've shipped guitars from Arizona to Norway via USPS. No problem if the shipper packs it for nuclear war. It's all in the packaging.
(pics by request)

[viking]

Thanks guys! fred,i would also prefer USPS Express instead of Priority but isn't it about as expensive as FedEx,USP etc. ?

[Philly Q]

UPS will use ParcelFarce when it gets to the UK and in my experience they are $%&#ing dire.

Are you sure that's not USPS? 

I've ordered loads of stuff from Warmoth the last few months, shipped by UPS... they've all arrived in UPS vans, and I've paid the import charges to UPS Ltd. 

Whereas stuff sent by USPS (trackable) does transfer to ParcelForce once it's in the UK.

[Jonesy76]

+1 on that

USPS comes in via Parcelfarce
UPS comes in via UPS here in the UK.

If it comes in via USPS be prepared to lose all the money you saved in postage on Parcelfarces extortionate Import charges.  UPS is a lot more reasonable, whereas FedEx has the cheapest Import Charges.
Import charges vary from company to company as it's wha they like to charge you for waving it under the nose of a Customs man at Stansted somewhere.  Everything that comes in from outside the EU will incur VAT (currently 15%), but then the comanies charge their own fees on top of that.  Parcelfarces are an absolute disgrace, and to be honest should be looked into by some form of ombudsman.

I'd take the UPS option if those are the only 2 options available to you

[viking]

Don't forget i'm in Belgium  :) So,if it's USPS,it will be a Belgian Post handling it in Belgium...But,here,the VAT is at 22,5% !With UPS,the total custom fees+VAT is at about 30%!I don't think it's worth it,if i have to pay UPS kind of fees...If USPS Priority was safe,i would do it.If it's not,i'd better wait to buy it here with Thomann etc..

[WezV]

Parcelfarces are an absolute disgrace, and to be honest should be looked into by some form of ombudsman.

completly agree.

£8 admin charge for all parcels, £12 if it happens to have been sent with an express service (which is slowed down by at least 2 days by this whole process).  + customs and VAT

all payable before they even attempt to deliver it

i much prefer DHL sending me a bill at the end of the month with a £1.25 admin charge!!!  they focus on delivering it fast

[Antag]

If it was me, I'd choose UPS over USPS for any large, valuable or fragile item that I was interested in actually receiving.  UPS may be more expensive, but you'll soon forget the extra 60-odd quid once you have a shiny new toy to play with.

As others have pointed out, USPS hand the package off to another courier at this end (in my experience not always Parcel Force), so you don't get the continuity of service.  However, UPS handle the parcel door to door - IMHO it makes for better service that they have responsibility for the entire journey.

Since the advent of the internet I've bought many things from the US & UPS have always been absolutely fantastic.  The only packages I've ever had go missing or get damaged have been when shipping via USPS.

You get what you pay for...

[hunter]

I had lots of stuff shipped from the US with USPS priority, no issues whatsoever.

It used to be really bad organised in Belgium, I had to chase them and then drive a long stretch to the central customs thing (ABX). But nowadays, I get a paper and pick it up at the local post office, no chasing and no delays. They changed the system and I would recommend USPS. I have used UPS for shipping stuff and it's also good, but more expensive.

+1 on the packaging.

They will throw the parcel around, no matter which service you use. I worked at a private parcel delivery service when I was a student, I know what I'm talking about. Like mentioned before, everything must be packed to survive a drop from 1m (the height of the transport band in the dispatch station).

Calculate 25% extra for customs and VAT.