plasticman Posted July 14, 2008 Share #1 Posted July 14, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) Does anyone have any advice about the best way to courier a lens between countries in Europe. I'm buying a lens from someone in Barcelona, and UPS there told him that: 1. They take no responsibility for fragile items. 2. The price would be 75€ for three working day's delivery, or 95€ for same-day delivery. Number 2 I can sort of accept (at least the same-day anyway), although this price seems rather steep. But number 1 is very worrying. Does anyone have any other recommendations for couriers? Especially ones that you have personal experience of sending lenses or other equipment. Which courier does Leica recommend for sending to them? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted July 14, 2008 Posted July 14, 2008 Hi plasticman, Take a look here Advice plz: courier to send lens in Europe?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
k_g_wolf ✝ Posted July 14, 2008 Share #2 Posted July 14, 2008 Try D H L . They work in more than 200 countries and should know everything ... Just make sure to insure. I think, LEICA is also using them for shipments. Best Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasticman Posted July 14, 2008 Author Share #3 Posted July 14, 2008 Great - thanks for the advice! I'll pass this information along. When I went to various courier's sites I was really surprised to see that the conditions often don't include fragile item coverage - just loss in transit. This seems to me to be an admission of shoddy service - "we promise to deliver a box - we just don't care how we treat it on the way" Sad. Let's hope DHL take more care than that! Mani Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasticman Posted July 14, 2008 Author Share #4 Posted July 14, 2008 Interestingly, DHL seem to have the same policy. I just rang them, and their policy is that the package should withstand being dropped from 1.2 meters. No extra insurance is available from them. Incredible that this is the way that sensitive items are shipped around the world! I never knew this before. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted July 14, 2008 Share #5 Posted July 14, 2008 Fedex has always worked fine for me. But they are very expensive - I only use them because I can tax-deduct them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
spylaw4 Posted July 14, 2008 Share #6 Posted July 14, 2008 Why not pack it well and post it? I have never had any trouble (to date) doing it that way - recorded delivery and fully insured. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasticman Posted July 14, 2008 Author Share #7 Posted July 14, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) Thanks Jaap - I think it may be UPS that gets the dubious honor, as they seem to be the fastest (and I'm hoping to get the lens before my vacation). One thing about buying internationally - it opens your eyes again to the level of service we customers tolerate in Europe. For instance, if I electronically transfer money to the recipient's account, it is taken from my account instantly but only arrives in his account four days later (i know the venal reasons for this, but I don't think they are fair or reasonable). I also feel courier services should have enough faith in their own service to guarantee an object won't be smashed to pieces when it arrives. I looked at one courier that was supposed to specialize in fragile items, but their long list of exceptions included glass items 'or any object containing glass'. Basically the list of exceptions included pretty much everything that could be described as fragile... Oh well - I'll just hope for the best, I guess. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
k_g_wolf ✝ Posted July 14, 2008 Share #8 Posted July 14, 2008 >> Mani Pack it well and dropping it from 1.2 m should be NO problem at all. The parcel has to be big enough to incorporate enough material to pad the item properly. Even some s/h- newspapers will do ... A standard- insurance is sufficient, IMO. Cross border insurances are expensive as I also learned recently when I wanted to ship something from Italy to Germany. More annoying: getting money transfered from one bank to another is awfully expensive, even when shipping EUR in Euroland. It´s sometimes better to trust your local dealer ... Wish you good luck with your matter. Best Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasticman Posted July 14, 2008 Author Share #9 Posted July 14, 2008 Cross border insurances are expensive as I also learned recently when I wanted to ship something from Italy to Germany. More annoying: getting money transfered from one bank to another is awfully expensive, even when shipping EUR in Euroland. It´s sometimes better to trust your local dealer ... Yes - this is the first time I've bought anything from an individual online - but in this case a very nice person I must say. The reason is I'm after some rather more rare lenses now, that I haven't seen advertised in Sweden for quite a while. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
christer Posted July 14, 2008 Share #10 Posted July 14, 2008 Packing: inner box plus outer box and some shreded paper inbetween, or peanuts. Shipping in Europe: used the postal service, register and/or insure depending on country, select regular, fast or express service Payment within Europe: free with euro-zone if you have IBAN etc codes. I haved shipped or received dozens of parcel (including M7s and Leica lenses) and made/received payment as above throughout Europe in the last few years. Never a problem. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
VivaRiva Posted July 14, 2008 Share #11 Posted July 14, 2008 Since the package would travel within the EU, you could write the full value of the lens for insurance purposes on the Bill of L (i.e. outside the EU you would would have paid customs duty and fees if it was above $100). If it is packed with bubbles all around in the box, there should not be a problem. If there is any damage, the courier will reimburse you except there is a force majeure (act of God) type of event during transit since it is insured. I would recommend giving TNT a try in addition to other courier companies; UPS etc.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasticman Posted July 14, 2008 Author Share #12 Posted July 14, 2008 Thanks all for the advice - in the end UPS were fastest, so considering my need of receiving the camera before my vacation, this is what we chose. Interestingly, as I mentioned above, the longest time is taken electronically transferring money between two bank accounts. It would in fact be at least twice as fast to take the money from my account and drive with it all across Europe, and deliver it by hand. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted July 14, 2008 Share #13 Posted July 14, 2008 I use DHL exclusively and have sent lots of lenses to Solms. Never a problem and I think you should not think of a lens as "fragile" in their terms. A piece of Murano glass maybe but a lens, no. I expect Leica have a good laugh at some of the over-the-top packaging they receive. They pack quite simply with air bags and a modest cardboard carton. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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