Thread: What's the best place in Sydney to buy Bessey K-Body Clamps?

I stand correct about the import rule..........I was obviously working off an old memory of the rules. http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=5549 Sweet!!

I hope Ideal Tools and others who stock the Bessey clamps will take note. Quite a saving if you can wait the time in the post.

Jefferson

Mirboo,
Big thankyou for this post. I missed some clamps on ebay recently at what I figured was a good price. Reading your post have since investigated buying from Lee Valley at the current exchange rate it makes sense even with the wait via surface mail. I have ordered some cabinet masters that I have been looking at for some time but couldn't justify the price . Have to feel sorry for the local retailers and exporters with the strengthening $ though.
Mike a happy chappy

Well, it turned out that $88 K125 K-Body clamps was to good to be true. After initially accepting my order and my request to have the order shipped via surface mail, I cranked up my PC today only to find the following e-mail from Lee Valley.

Thank you for your order. Unfortunately, these clamps can only be shipped by UPS Express due to their length. Shipping would cost $ 254.56 USD.
We apologize for any inconvenience. Please let us know how you wish to proceed at [email protected]

I responded with an e-mail expressing my dissappointment at this new information given the fact that my order had been accepted and I had been informed that my order could be shipped via surface mail. I came back to my PC tonight to find another message from Lee Valley.

We apologize for the delay in responding to your e-mail. We understand how frustrated you must feel. The representative who sent the original quote did not realize that both Surface Mail and Xpress Post have a length limit of 48". It was not our intention to send incorrect information.
You are correct that we should know the correct shipping options for each of our products. Unfortunately, we do succumb to human error on occasion.
Please let us know if you would like to cancel this order. We look forward to your reply at [email protected]

I have since cancelled my order.

The K125's have a 50" clamping capacity so they are too big for the 48" limit. If you were after some K100's or smaller then Lee Valley and surface shipping could still be a good option.

Even with shipping from Lee Valley via UPS the cost of the K125's with the current exchange rate would be around $100 to $105 per clamp This is still competitive with local prices.

I don't need the clamps right away, which is why I was prepared to wait for surface shipping, so I'm going to wait and see. Maybe someone locally will have another special.

Today I followed up on SilentButDeadly's lead and called the Australian importer of Bessey clamps, Hordern & Co. They wouldn't sell me anything unless I had an account with them. They told me to go through my nearest hardware store. I subsequently called into Bunnings and asked a bloke at the Bunnings special orders desk for a quote on the Bessey K125's but he hasn't got back to me yet. I'd be surprised if Bunnings were all that competitive but you never know. It was worth asking the question.

Just to clarify, I've recently ordered some twin screw vices from Lee Valley and before I did I actually rang the customs line that they give on the website, to make sure of the duty situation. I was told that the $AUD1000 limit applies to the cost of the goods only, and does not include freight. My order comes to over $AUD1000 including the shipping cost, but because the value of the goods alone is under $AUD1000 I was told that my order would not attract duty.

I can confirm the Carbatec pricing around the woodwork show in June - I bought some Bessey Duoclamps from them at that time. I would suggest that if you're not in a big hurry you could wait for the next woodwork show in your closest capital city, or call the Carbatec in the city nearest the next woodwork show and see if they'll ship to you for a reasonable cost.

so, who wants to organise another big bessey clamp buy?

I would be in for a bunch of them.

Originally Posted by Mirboo

Well, it turned out that $88 K125 K-Body clamps was to good to be true.

Me too, still ordered but the good price is now only OK. Oh well at least I will get them a lot quicker. Seems crazy to buy something and the freight costs as much as the goods

The bloke from the Bunnings special orders desk just got back to me. They will sell me 6 K125 Bessey K-body clamps for $120.73 per clamp.

The Bunnings price is similar to but slightly less than the usual price (i.e. before discounts or specials) of both Carba-Tec ($121.00) and Ideal Tools ($122.00).

Originally Posted by martrix

so, who wants to organise another big bessey clamp buy?

I would be in for a bunch of them.

I'd be in for a whole bunch of them too! Seems like it's about time for another go. Can chase up Colin if you like and see if he's interested.

Ta,

M.

Originally Posted by martink

I'd be in for a whole bunch of them too! Seems like it's about time for another go. Can chase up Colin if you like and see if he's interested.

I'm in too!

"Martink, Martink, Martink!"

Carbatec have claimed (to me) to be importing their own Bessey clamps now. I get the impression that Hordern Bros. are another Festool as far a retail pricing goes.

At least Canada post does 48" (1200mm) - US Post will only accept 39" (~1000mm) to ship to Oz.

Hi All, Seems that it is indeed time for another Bessy clamp order by the looks of it, I'll chase up Colin and see if he's interested. I'll start up another thread too as this thread probably isin't the place for it!

Ciao,

M.

P.S. Yep, it looks like I've volunteered to organise the clamp order

Hi Jeffersen and everyone else - I was having a look at this thread, but (with respect) I am not sure what you expect me to do about it.

Unfortunately we do buy from the Australian importer and all those import costs and taxes are applicable . So that's why anyone following the regular channels for bringing in goods to this country in commercial quantities will need to charge more than the cost of an individual buying them from NA and not paying import duty and taxes.

But like most retailers, we do have sales and that is the time to stock up maybe. As for our prices on Bessey K-Body clamps, we charge a little more than some retailers, but no more than the bigger guys and chain stores (see note below). We do offer free delivery on all orders over $250, which when it comes to a K-Body order is most of them. For some customers, this is no big deal, for others in remote locations it is a huge saving as K-body's are expensive to ship amount this vast country. So the final price vs. value depends on the individuals needs with regards to location and timing.

One thing to note. Even though importing from NA seems like a great idea sometimes, keep in mind that the local importer and retailers are the ones who are often turned to when something goes wrong or a spare part is required - not the NA dealer. Please don't put us local guys out of business, it's a bad outcome for all.

Interesting to note with peoples comparisons of the local prices, our price came up the highest of everyone else's . Although we are not a discount shop, I don't want it to be expensive either, and will adjust accordingly.

Cheers guys.