Boomhauer

Hand held power tools, like: circular saws, grinders, jigsaw etc...
What freight/mail shipper has the best rates and service?

Items in question will be from Ebay UK sellers who do not want to ship international and in some cases do not want to ship at all, even within the UK. So Mail/Freight service will have to go collect at seller's house then ship it to me in the US.

Items usually under 5 Kilos.
Dimensions about 1.5 feet by 1 feet by 1 feet approximate.

Anyone know how much above item will cost?

Out of the big 3 FedEx,UPS,DHL, who would you go with?

civilservant

I have had a good experience with FedEx. Try Fast Lane International, they use FedEx but don't charge as much because of the number of packages they send with them. I shipped over £1000 of items with them recently. CityLink collected, sent package to fast lane, they used FedEx, was in the US and delivered in five days. £85.

Bob

They're all much of muchness.

Not much DHL options in the US though, so might be slower on this end.

Do you really want to be using UK power tools in the US though? Wouldn't it be better to buy stuff over here than worry about the motors naffing out on them etc.

TimNiceBut

Not to mention the hassle of running 240V power tools on 120V if they are mains powered.

Boomhauer

Is FastLane a 1 stop mail service? Do I have to contact CityLink or will Fastlane do everything, with me just telling them the address to collect the item at?

It was £85 total for all the items you recently sent? May I ask how heavy the stuff was?

---

Re. Voltage.
This is 110 volt stuff that is meant for the UK market, cause builders who work outside prefer the inherent safety of 110 v.

civilservant

Fast lane arrange everything. You simply enter collection and delivery address.

My package was 25Kg, £85 was the total cost.

Bob

50 or 60Hz though?

Boomhauer

Thanks for the quick response.
Would Fastlane also package the item? Packaging is nothing special, just toss into a thick cardboard box and fill with peanuts or bubblewrap.

That I don't know. I don't know if the big name tool manufacturers make a 110V 50Hz model for the UK or just sell their US version tools. I looked at the Ebay add and the Manufacturer's wesbite and the Hz is not mentioned.

Will be an issue if 50Hz; would still be able to run it but tool will run a bit slower.

civilservant

I dont know, but I doubt it - I packaged all items.