Frame from oversees

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Lee Legrand

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May 17, 2023, 3:05:08 PM5/17/23
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Has anyone purchase a frame outside of the United States? If so, what kind of foreign currency exchange website did you use to do this?

In kind regards

Peter Bense

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May 17, 2023, 3:14:10 PM5/17/23
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wise.com, if you trust the seller (transfer will go directly to their bank account.)

otherwise PayPal 

On Wed, May 17, 2023, 21:05 Lee Legrand <krm...@gmail.com> wrote:
Has anyone purchase a frame outside of the United States? If so, what kind of foreign currency exchange website did you use to do this?

In kind regards

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Lee Legrand

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May 17, 2023, 3:22:28 PM5/17/23
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Thanks for replying.

I was thinking of not using them due to the reviews of poor customer service.

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David Duncan

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May 17, 2023, 3:24:11 PM5/17/23
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I haven’t bought a frame but I’ve bought parts and accessories from France, UK and Hong Kong, and I’ve always used a credit card. The card company deals with currency issues.

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On May 17, 2023, at 3:05 PM, Lee Legrand <krm...@gmail.com> wrote:


Has anyone purchase a frame outside of the United States? If so, what kind of foreign currency exchange website did you use to do this?

In kind regards

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Lee Legrand

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May 17, 2023, 4:11:04 PM5/17/23
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Yes, I wish it was that simply. The company is small and located in the Cambridge within the UK. I think if they had a dealer within the US, I could go through local dealer because it is typical for us to used credit cards for purchases. They don't have that for online purchases so it you have to go this route sending it to their bank through for exchange route.

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Peter Bense

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May 17, 2023, 4:11:12 PM5/17/23
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Using a credit card?  That presumes the seller is a company and not a private party.  (I got the impression we were talking about a person-to-person transaction.)

In any case I've had firsthand experience with Wise.com and they are about the most cost effective solution for account-to-account bank transfers between different countries and currencies.

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Peter Bense

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May 17, 2023, 4:15:27 PM5/17/23
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Yes then Wise.com is about as good as you're going to get.

If you use the following invite-link they'll reduce or remove the fee on your first transfer: https://wise.com/invite/u/peterb525

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Lee Legrand

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May 17, 2023, 5:30:18 PM5/17/23
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Hi Peter, so you trust them? I have an account with them and this is a big purchase for a bicycle. The reviews I have saw were lack of CS but everything else, they said was good as you have said.

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Peter Bense

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May 17, 2023, 5:35:26 PM5/17/23
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I've used it to send money between the US and Sweden multiple times with only positive experiences.  (Also: hello from Sweden!)

It is also the de-facto solution for international remittances in the 'expat community'.  Lots and lots of people use this service on a regular basis.

It used to be called transferwise so you might find more reviews on it if you search under their prior name.

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Lee Legrand

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May 17, 2023, 5:41:42 PM5/17/23
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Thank you Peter for your response. This is a big purchase for me and I don't want to make a mistake and trying to be careful. I just don't want to loose my money.

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David Duncan

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May 17, 2023, 9:26:14 PM5/17/23
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You might want to look into an escrow service like escrow.com.

Sent from my phone

On May 17, 2023, at 5:41 PM, Lee Legrand <krm...@gmail.com> wrote:



Lee Legrand

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Jul 2, 2023, 11:06:57 AM7/2/23
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Bicycle should be coming in tomorrow.  Fed Ex held it up for 5 days then at the last minute, sends me an email in the late afternoon Thursday to fill out forms for importing goods from another country.  Gave me one business day to do it before they send it back to the country of origin.  Another thing about this which I think is wasteful but may have a purpose is, this bicycle was shipped from the UK and I am located on the east coast at a major port in the USA. It flew paste my state into the headquarters of Fed Ex, Memphis Tennessee, and I think they are driving it back here or flying it back to my state.  What a waste of energy, time and pollution to send something in a zig zag way.

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Peter White

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Jul 2, 2023, 5:40:38 PM7/2/23
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Actually, it's not a waste. Let's say you live in Boston, a minor port on the east coast. And let's say that Fedex has a plane just to fly goodies from London to Boston. Well then they'd have other planes to fly goodies from London to Cleveland, London to Albany, London to Burlington, London to Hartford, London to Baltimore, Washington, Buffalo, Newark, Norfolk, Charlotte, Miami, and on and on. They have a hub in Memphis because that saves them money, and fuel. It's more efficient.

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Lee Legrand

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Jul 2, 2023, 6:06:17 PM7/2/23
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Hi Peter,

Or, they can have a major hub along the east coast or boundaries that serve several states.  For example, let say you import from London to US and the major port of entry is Newark, NJ.  This would serve most of the east coast from Main to Georgia.  You dont need alot of hubs, since things can be routed  through trucks.  Tell me why I am wrong?

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Eric Daume

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Jul 2, 2023, 8:42:18 PM7/2/23
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Maybe you should write FedEx and explain your better system. I’m sure they’ve never thought of it.

Eric
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Lee Legrand

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Jul 2, 2023, 9:08:02 PM7/2/23
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Is that a reply that I should not question it and they know what they are doing?


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peter.l...@gmail.com

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Jul 2, 2023, 9:34:25 PM7/2/23
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If you want an explanation of why FedEx uses a hub system, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FedEx_Express#Early_history
FedEx no longer uses a single hub, of course; but as Peter said, using a hub and spokes system can generate better overall efficiency even though it will be less efficient for an individual delivery.

Lee Legrand

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Jul 2, 2023, 9:58:26 PM7/2/23
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Well, I am going to leave this alone.  I will say this though, looking at what you put up on the Wikipedia of Fed Ex, they have the Superhub and regional hub.  I am asking myself why not the regional hub?  One that is very close than going to the Superhub?  Maybe it is because it international orders must go to the superhub and pass down to the regional hub.  Who knows.



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Ray Varella

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Jul 2, 2023, 11:44:28 PM7/2/23
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It may have something to do with the way international shipments are handled. 
International freight requires customs documents. 
I didn’t see whether the OP mentioned whether it was Fedex ground or express that was the final mile agent. 
FedEx ground is handled by contractors who own multiple routes and the ground terminals operate independently from the parent company. 

The logistics involved in freight can easily be second guessed by an individual but freight companies are concerned with moving huge amounts of freight bills and as frustrating as it is for the end recipient, you aren’t their customer. The shipper is their customer. 

I work in freight and have worked for FedEx in the past. 

I personally would rather use DHL for international shipments. 
I know that doesn’t help with your frustration but it’s just the reality of freight.  

It’s actually quite amazing that so many shipments arrive at their final destination intact. 

I’ve seen the bowels of the operation and it’s not pretty. 

Ray

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Lee Legrand

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Jul 3, 2023, 3:46:10 PM7/3/23
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Thanks for the reply Ray. It does not say if it flight but I assume so. They gave me a time frame today on when it arrive and it has come and gone. Now waiting for the final leg where it says it should come before the latest time. I don't think it is happening today.😂

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Lee Legrand

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Jul 3, 2023, 5:00:29 PM7/3/23
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So next time, DHL.  It has not arrived and there are no updates as of when it will arrive. Assuming it will be here Wednesday when I am not home where they will leave a sticker for me to pick up at some distance place.

You got to love them right?

TheCapitolScouter

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Jul 4, 2023, 12:06:44 PM7/4/23
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If you are frustrated now, good luck with DHL.
Making frequent purchases from Europe, primarily for items not available in NA, many shippers only use DHL and my experience has been "less-than."
You will not be able to track reliably or accurately, you will typically get "delivered" messages 24hours or more after the fact and then shipments will take at least twice as long as UPS, FedEx or even the USPS.
For example, a 5x5x7" box left Germany on 26MAY and did not arrive until 15JUN. Notices were received when the package was scanned in, when in the bonded collection area and the loading system prior to takeoff (yay Germans!) Then it was crickets. By jumping through hoops it was possible to determine the package had landed, was in customs, and had cleared. After that, not even flaming hoops could determine what was going on until it was on my porch near DC.
A long-winded warning about the journey of a $450 package. 
Have fun with your windmills...

Lee Legrand

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Jul 4, 2023, 12:51:38 PM7/4/23
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That is depressing Tom.

Aren't private owned companies supposed to be the most efficient means for getting things done?

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peter.l...@gmail.com

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Jul 4, 2023, 1:14:30 PM7/4/23
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I've generally had good experiences with DHL, at least with small packages (I order my loose tea from murchies.com in Canada, and they use DHL). The only time I've had a problem was when US customs held up my package for a few days - and I was able to figure out what was going on from DHL's website.
FedEx, UPS, USPS, Amazon - they all "mostly work" but sometimes they have strange glitches, with varying levels of non-support (some of the best support has been fro USPS, to my surprise). As they say: YMMV.

Lee Legrand

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Jul 4, 2023, 1:50:55 PM7/4/23
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Hi Peter,

I generally had no problem with any of them and this is honestly the 1st time I had a problem with FedEx.  I think you are correct about the customs issue which I am likely to accept as a norm when ordering out of country items.  The issue is not that it is late, it is how they give time of delivery.  If they were honest about it for example, yesterday they said I would receive it during this time and it came, we would not be talking about this.  If they told me it would come at the end of the week and it did, although a long wait, I would be fine with it. It is not the expedient of the delivery but you as the recipient juggling around their time table or putting yourself to stay home or take time off from work to get an item that does not come.  It should not be hard to get it right the first time that delivery can be made at a certain time or changes to get it earlier or a little later. There is no communication until they get ready.  Even if it is a long delivery time at least you can trust them with time of delivery.

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TheCapitolScouter

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Jul 5, 2023, 5:57:27 AM7/5/23
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Apologize for sounding like a rant against DHL.
They self-admit that the US is not their primary market and that they rely on secondary carriers to complete a shipment here.
My not-very-well-made point is that shipping is generally a miracle today. On average I ship ten bikes/frames per month, at least two of them internationally.
The first international order I made was from a mimeographed "catalog" using a Telex machine, a wire transfer and waiting for it to come on a ship across the Atlantic.
For a seventeen-year-old it took forever! And yes, I'm old ;)
The wonder of placing an order online that FLIES to me and makes it in "only" twenty days is amazing; even if I may whine from my place of boomer-entitlement.
Just placed an order for Vespa wheels & tires that are unavailable in the US and will most likely take three weeks to receive, and are coming via DHL since they were half the cost of any other carrier (who could deliver in two.) 
YMMV and accepting the mileage I receive. 

Lee Legrand

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Jul 5, 2023, 9:39:16 PM7/5/23
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I finally got the bicycle and it came intact. The box looks a little rough up but they put enough cardboard around the case to keep case from being scratched.  Nice

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Peter J Leiss

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Jul 5, 2023, 9:56:58 PM7/5/23
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The saga ends

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On Jul 5, 2023, at 9:39 PM, Lee Legrand <krm...@gmail.com> wrote:



Lee Legrand

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Jul 5, 2023, 9:58:10 PM7/5/23
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No, the saga begins!

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Cyclismo

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Aug 18, 2023, 8:11:12 AM8/18/23
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I've bought a couple of bikes, from England and from Italy. Just used my credit card. If a business is big enough to build and market frames, and ship them internationally, they are likely to accept credit cards. 

RP 1974

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Oct 19, 2023, 1:42:32 PM10/19/23
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I am buying a bespoke frame from Marino Bikes in Peru, all transactions are in dollar, and via Paypal.

Lee Legrand

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Oct 19, 2023, 1:49:51 PM10/19/23
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That is an old post. Thanks for responding though.

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