Buying direct from Lee Valley and Freight Charges

[Indaba]

Hi all,

With our $ going well over recent months, some of the OS tools seem too good a bargain to pass up.

For example, a well known OZ company are selling the Veritas edge trimming block plane for around $380 yet to buy direct from manufacturer is 125.00(US) for the plane, plus 32.00(US) for freight so $157.00. Even if customs in OZ whacks you then it is still only $242.06 Aust to your door - a big saving..

I am looking at getting some of the new Veritas planes from Lee Valley and asked them to quote freight on a shoulder plane, 4 1/2 smoother, edge trimming block plane and their scraper plane. Total cost of freight was just over $100 US which seemed a little excessive for a 2-4 week delivery time. ( Although still cheaper than buying here at the moment.)

Has anyone else purchased overseas recently and had cheaper freight rates?

[Keystone]

Many US companies, Lee Valley included, charge for shipping and HANDLING . The handling charge is normally what runs the price up. I too find $100 way to high to ship from US to you......

[ubeaut]

That actually sounds pretty reasonable to me.

You would be looking at around 10kg which would cost round AU$130 to send to Canada or USA plus insurance, plus packaging add another $20 odd dollars

That's what it would cost to send from here. To send from Lee Valley that AU$150 would equate to CA$141 as their $ is on a par with ours and their shipment would more than likely be sent from Canada where they are based, rather than from USA.

Looking at it in that light it doesn't seem so bad. You are getting 5 units from them with a freight cost of $20 per unit. A small price to pay considering you would be paying well over double the price for the same goods in Australia.

Cheers - Neil

[Rocker]

I bought the Veritas #5 1/2W bench plane from Lee Valley, which is only US$10 more expensive than the 4 1/2; I am absolutely delighted with it. It is light-years ahead of a Record plane.

To get to your point about freight, I don't think it is excessive, as Neil has pointed out. But do be careful about customs and GST charges, which could easily amount to AUD 150 if you exceed the threshold below which these charges are waived. I would be wary of ordering goods worth more than about US$300 in any single consignment. You may pay more freight by splitting your order into two consignments, if you want goods worth more than US$300, but the saving on customs and CST will outweigh the extra freight. This topic has been discussed at some length in a previous thread on buying from overseas.

[Indaba]

Rocker,

I understand what you mean by customs getting hold of the gear first. I bought in some marine stuff a couple of years ago and paid 5 % import duty and 10% GST which made the price a bit steeper. What ever happened to free trade??? However, the Freight on the marine items was a lot cheaper via DHL and only 3 days as well.

I initially thought of buying individually but the individual charges for the freight were as follows; (all $US)

Shoulder plane $31.77

Edge trimming block plane $31.77

4 1/2 smoother $52.40

Scraping plane $44.58

For a total of $160.52 US (221.78 Aust)

Still, as Neil correctly points out, a lot cheaper than local suppliers. I wonder how the local suppliers fare as most of them would have left over stock from when the dollar was around 50 cents US and they obviously can't sell at a loss.

Cheers

Andrew

[mat]

I was lucky enough to be in Canada ealier this year and made the trip to Lee Valley in Ottawa. Well worth the time. Bought up big - no freight and even had the taxes refunded when I returned to Oz.
I had planned the purchases beforehand and even made some transport containers for specific items such as the Veritas Power Tool Guide. I made a case out of PVC stormwater pipe.