Menu

Stay in Touch
Sign up for ENews
Subscribe Now

Unlimited access >

Menu

Shipping a saddle from the UK to the USA - best courier service?

Off Course
#1

I found someone selling a saddle from the UK and they are hesitant to ship to the USA because “I’m unsure as to how I’d get it shipped to the USA, I don’t know how easy it’ll be?”

When I Google “shipping package from UK to USA” I get results for the opposite, probably because I’m Googling it from the USA.

I’m going to continue to look, but has anyone shipped from the UK to the USA and have a courier service (pref with insurance/tracking) they can suggest that won’t be too difficult? :tickled_pink:

Thank you in advance!!!

#2

Parcelforce is generally the best. I’ve used them for sending saddles within the UK, my husband used them recently for sending some work equipment to the US and it was fairly straightforward. He got a cheaper price using a comparison website called parcel monkey than was quoted direct by Parcelforce on their own website. Your potential seller can get large packing boxes from somewhere like Big Yellow self storage sturdy enough for a saddle to go in.

#3

FedEx and UPS have delivered saddles I’ve bought from the UK. I prefer FedEx.

#4

I recently ordered a saddle from an ebay seller in the UK, and she took the saddle to a Parcel2Go shop, and they shipped it via Parcelforce (which I believe is the Royal Mail’s overseas service?). It arrived at JFK and came to me via USPS priority. It left England on Monday or Tuesday and arrived at our post office on Thursday afternoon. Outstanding service. The tracking in the UK was very detailed, but I didn’t hear anything after it left there. I had to sign for it, and it was insured, and after I picked it up, the tracking number indicated it had been delivered.

#5

@Inclined @no.stirrups Do you remember the cost (and weight wise I assume it was an english saddle)? :slight_smile:

#6

Also, has anyone used the “Global Shipping Program” service on Ebay? I looked up similar saddles for sale (probably not anywhere near the town the saddle I’m interested in, but I figured it has to be at least within the ballpark if it is going overseas), and found shipping from the UK to the USA (my zip) for £53.79 / $69.43.

The seller lowered the price of the saddle (I saw it listed on a Facebook page) - and I thought that if shipping via the Ebay service was that cheap I’d try to get the seller to just list the saddle on Ebay and I’ll pay the Ebay fee.

I just did a price quote on Parcle2Go with the weight (24 lbs) and an estimated measure on a box (24" X 24" X 30"), and got quotes from $170 - $250 +/.

#7

i’ve bought saddles from europe and only one went astray. Fedex shipped it to a neighbor, who was honest. However I had to go to airport to pick it up when neighbor returned it. Insure everything. I forget the shipping price but it was not high. I prefer UPS but others use fedex in UK and Germany and France.
Ebay usually guarantees everything and is good to make up if there are mistakes by shippers. Love eBay!

#8

I had a Baines dressage saddle shipped from the UK to Kansas. This was several years ago, but the cost was less than $100, as I recall. It took about two weeks to arrive. Once it leaves the UK, you won’t be able to track it (and if you want tracking, I think Royal Mail charges quite a bit for that, so double-check).

I would not use FedEx. The Baines arrived with a broken tree that they admitted they caused - but because I was not the customer, they refused to reimburse me for the damage.

#9

The weight was roughly 13 lbs (6 kg) - it’s a Thorowgood cob GP saddle - and the shipping cost was 55 pounds (which at today’s exchange rate is $70.84). :slight_smile:

#10

I bought one a few years back and it cam DHL. They don’t ship from the U.S. near as I can tell but do deliver here.

Cost was about $80 U.S. as I recall.

G.

#11

About $125, which I paid the shipper, not FedEx directly, so probably that included an handling charge. Probably about 17 pounds.

#12

I asked a seller on Ebay about the “Global Shipping Program” since their listing quoted a price using the program, and the seller knew nothing about it. Not confidence inspiring.

I bought a saddle last fall and shipping was <$100 from the UK. Now I’m trying to buy another saddle and running into all sorts of problems–seller was going to use a box so big that I found some shippers wouldn’t take a package that big, now she claims there will be a duty or tax if the value is >$25 but when I Google I see there is no duty or tax if value is <$850 IIRC. And I don’t know what size saddle you’re buying, but that box is even bigger than my seller was going to use! I’ve shipped and received multiple saddles in a 18x18x24 box, and I think one was 22x22x22 or 23x23x23. It’s much easier to find a decent shipping rate when the box is not ridiculously big.

#13

Does anyone know how much it would cost to ship a saddle from Sydney, Australia to the north east United States?

#14

https://www.fedex.com/au/

probably easiest to get a quote from FedEx . get your weight and package measurement

#15

Please tell me what insurance risks are the financial (business) risk of the insured? What events are associated with? Can I apply to this insurance service https://www.total-insurance.co.uk/courier-insurance/ if everything okay with them? Leave a review about this company, how you worked with it and what impressions you have left.

Get your Digital Subscription here - only $21.95 / year

Subscribe here
See gift options

Sign up to our monthly newsletter!

By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.

Copyright © 2023 The Chronicle of the Horse