Good Guys/Bad Guys Forum

[universible]

OK then, how about a "sticky" of positive vendors...by type?

Ted

[Murray]

I would simply state that I have dealt with IAP and have been very satisfied with all aspects of their service except they insist on shipping UPS.I live in Canada and UPS charges userous rates for brokerage fees.Eg.$60 US to get a $ 125 US order across the border.Other vendors I use are willing to ship USPS and I end up paying only taxes and duties.I guess Canada is such an insignificant market to most vendors that they couldn't be bothered seeking alternative shipping companies or preassuring UPS to charge reasonable fees.

[Griffo]

without getting into the good guys bad guys debate, but given the number of postings asking for a mechanic in (fill in the balnk), why not a listing by City or state, I guess, of mechanics that we've used and would like to "nominate" by adding him (her?) to the list. I suspect that most folks would first "interview" the mechanic and visit the shop and they can make up their onw mind.

For personal experience I can name and would have no hesiatancy in recommending 1 each in New York City (where I live), Westchester County (New York, just north of the 'City), northern New Jersey and north western Connecticut, and by repuration, one in North Carolina.

via con alfa all

[silverspider]

I'll take the plunge: avoid Caribou; had the world's worst experience ever getting a canvas top from them. Clueless staff, repeatedly lied to me about delivery dates, etc.

[JoeCab]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Murray I would simply state that I have dealt with IAP and have been very satisfied with all aspects of their service except they insist on shipping UPS.I live in Canada and UPS charges userous rates for brokerage fees.

[Greg Gordon]

I agree Joe, I won't use the post office for over the boarder shipments. Last time I did that it took the post office so long to get it there I had to ship a second hose kit to my customer with another shipper. The one I sent with the post office did get there but I think it took about 6 weeks!

[GTV4EVR]

Since the UPS fees are often more than the cost of the part, I too, will not deal with a vendor who only ships UPS. Express post works well to Canada, as does the regular parcel post. In the many years that I've been receiving stuff that way, I've had a small parcel from England go missing, and 2 wheels from California get separated from the other two and take an extra couple of weeks to show up. 6 to 8 weeks is the expected time. As long as the customer (me) is willing to accept that, what's the problem?

[Roadtrip]

I've used the US Post Office to send several parcels to Germany. Takes about 7 days door to door via air. Never had the slightest problem. The Bundespost seems to forward the packages through with no problem at all. The cost is MUCH less than either UPS or FEDEX (like less than half the cost) and they've arrive more quickly than the minimum quoted by the USPS general guideline. The USPS website is excellent for getting a price quote and comparing the various shipping options.

For domestic, UPS Air and FEDEX Air have always been expensive. FEDEX Ground has much better rates than UPS Ground and quicker delivery for items up to 70lbs.

Internationally, both UPS and FEDEX are horrendouly expensive.

I don't know what the problem is shipping to Canada is, but I have a feeling it's not a problem getting the item to the border.

[116_Veloce]

Had the same problem with IAP, just wanted a T-Shirt and then UPS to Israel $89.00! cost 5 times more than the T-Shirt!!! Even got to the manager to rant - but they won't budge. Ended up ordering a bunch of things... No complaints on the merchandise however.

[dretceterini]

I've shipped thousands of packages internationally by the USPS over the years and have never really had any problems. The biggest problem is cost. It's about $8.00 to send a T-shirt by air mail and about $25.00 for most books. I don't have a solutions, as UPS and FedEx are double that!

[GTD]

I attempted Air Mail shipping of ONE package by USPS recently. $77 for 10kg/22lbs.-Air Mail to POLAND-insured for a minimal amount. No tracking capability; but hey!, we trust the USPS-right?
Expected transit time of 6-10 days. No delivery in three weeks, PO said package was sent-problem was on the "other side", just wait! Five weeks and no delivery-I went to another PO and had a friend check-package left New England but was never logged as leaving Kennedy Airport. STOLEN.
Trust the USPS? NOT!

[Roadtrip]

I've heard that JFK has a huge theft problem, and have had for years. In light of how important security is these days around the large aluminum tubes that you sit in flying at 500 mph, the interesting part of that is that some of these same thieves probably have unsupervised access to aircraft on the ramp, or at least the cargo in them.

Don't worry though. The airlines are in the process of outsourcing most ground functions to the lowest bidders hiring anybody who'll work for $7 an hour ($13k a year) in NYC, and probably pencil-whipped security checks.

It's the elephant sitting in the living room that nobody in Congress, the FAA, or the Port Authority wants to acknowledge.

[GTD]

It's not the elephant that worries me, it's the trail of dung it leaves behind.