The best shipping company, in the world, ever! (USA >> UK)
 

I have had great experiences with using ALADDIN FREIGHT of Oakland California.

They are very very well priced ($450 all inclusive to London), and have been very efficient every time I have used them.

They ship to various ports around Europe.

I cannot recommend them enough.

Contact Veronica or Kristine by email or phone
Kristine [at] aladdinfreight {dot} net
Veronica [at] aladdinfreight {dot} net
510-533-0400

Address is:
401 Lesser St Oakland California 94601

Maybe mention my name (Gabriel Bolton) so they know I've passed them some business. Or don't, no problem.

Hope this information helps someone out.

Hi
Do they do UK to USA ?

noooooo
 

Unfortunately not, and I've not found anyone that does good prices on this route.

'Charlotte Goose' did this shipping route with a company called 'Hartsmere Logistics', contact is Mike Dryden-Holt, and his email is;

mike[dot]hmlog{{at}}virgin(dot)net

They charged about a grand over all, including everything. Char's been extremely happy with their service and would recommend them. If anyone uses them, can they please say the Charlotte recommended them.
Char shipped from London area to Seattle. Took about 4 or 5 weeks I think.

:thumbup1:Wow sounds like a great deal Did you have to put it in a Crate

Try these guys. This is what I came up with when I was looking to take my bike to the States. They fly from various cities in the States to Frankfurt using Lufthansa. They're quite happy to do a reverse trip.

Warren Motorcycles On-Line

I used Warren a couple of years ago, and got good service even when my scheduling went a bit sour. I'd use him again from the States to Europe.

I've also used Stefan Knopf's container (once a year between Germany and Florida): cheaper, very good service on both ends, but slower and, of course, only once a year. Stefan will know of other options as well, and is worth talking to. He and Warren work together, as far as I know.

Shipping from the States changes almost hourly due to our hyperactive Homeland Security dudes and dudettes. Lots of people ship via Canada instead these days.

Hope that helps.

Mark

More info
 

When I've shipped from Oakland with Aladdin I've not needed to crate. In fact the whole process took about 6 minutes in all. Copy of vehicle title and passport, and see you later. Pay when the bike arrives in the UK if you want.

Charlotte didn't crate her bike, but this was included in the thousand (pounds) that she paid. They did a really professional job, took off the bars and front wheel, and built a really sturdy crate round it.

FlyingDoctor, out of interest, how much did you pay to fly the bike?

Markharf, how much was the Stephan Knopf's container ship?

I just felt that the $450 price with Aladdin was superb.
They ship hundreds of cars and large vehicles to Europe every week (I found it very interesting to wander around their warehouse seeing what was being exported), and always have wasted space in each container. So this space can be used to ship bikes for cheapcheapcheap.

Try contacting debbie[dot]latue@2wglobal[dot]com

She is a very helpful freight person who works for Walanius Wilhelmson, or however you spell it. Should be about £700.00 Southampton to Canada/US. Ride safe.

Baron, I didn't freight my bike in the end as at $2 to the £ it worked out OK to rent for my trip. This was 2 years ago and I can't remember what I was quoted, sorry. I just thought I'd throw their name in the hat. One downside was that you have to fly with Lufthansa too so it may not be the most competative price for getting you across the atlantic. I suppose you have to look at the whole deal.

The crucial bit here is that shipping quotes (and reliability) change a lot, at least where the States are concerned. It doesn't really matter what price I (or anyone) got a couple of years ago; what matters is what it costs right now. Google and check listed prices or ask for a quote.

I recently air freighted across the Darien Gap. If I'd relied on internet research I'd have thought boats could be had for a couple of hundred dollars including myself and bike. As it turns out, those were two year old prices....and boats had just quite making the trip, mostly, due to weather and lack of demand. I paid $600 for the bike, but most paid the other airline about a thousand.

FWIW, I didn't have to fly the same airline as my bike on either shipment.

enjoy,

Mark

(from Ushuaia, turning northwards)

All good useful information. Thank to everyone for the input.

I know Aladdin haven't changed their $450 price for 10 years.
(But maybe that means it's about to increase)

In response to the question about Stefan Knopf's rates (knopftours.com), last Spring I shipped with him from Florida to Heidelberg Germany for $1000 (includes all fees), sea freight. At that time this was the cheapest option I could find, others ranging from $1600 to $2500 from the somewhere on the East coast to somewhere in Western Europe.

Stefan's 2010 shipment just left from Florida a few days ago but he does also arrange on-demand air shipments.

He's a very honest and direct guy. Very easy to work with. If anyone is looking to ship, I highly recommend getting a quote from him.

- Jeff

Shipping the bike
 

Sorry to inform you guys, but the above address does not work. My email to them has been returned as the address has not been not valid.

We have found the same this Spring (2010). Stefan was very responsive to questions and up front about all costs. The price was less than most, although due to green card insurance rates going up the price is a couple of hundred more than last year. I didn't know about Aladdin at the time- their price sounds very low.

The boat is sailing right now. I assume the bike will arrive safely and things will go smoothly. I'll post again if my bike is a wreck when I pick it up in Germany- somehow I don't see that happening, though.


...............shu