How to best deliver a used kid's mountain bike from the US to Canada?
November 7, 2013 10:55 AM Subscribe
Our family of four will be flying to Vancouver, BC, soon to visit my brother and his family. One of the things we'd like to do, if it makes sense, is bring along our daughter's 20" mountain bike to give to his kids.
About the bike: It's a very nice bike that's seen little use as our daughter hit a growth spurt and outgrew it before she had much chance to ride it. We live in a hilly area and need bikes with good gears and good brakes, so seriously, it's a nice bike; I wouldn't bother with this if it were a typical, cheap kid's bike.
We're happy to pass it down to my nephews and niece to use in turn, but I'm not sure of the best way to proceed. On the one hand, we could box it, bring it with us, and pay the airline their oversized item/bike fee...but I'm not sure what to expect from the Canadian customs office, and don't want to create a huge hassle for us when we land. And I'm also not sure if we can fit this boxed bike into our rental car, through we could probably strap it to the roof or stick it out the truck for the short-ish ride from the airport to my brother's house. Alternatively, we could simply box it and ship it like any parcel, though, again, I've never shipped something like a bike across an international border and I'm not sure what sort of duty might need to be paid to do this, etc. The bike is used, but it's in very good shape, so it looks new/almost new.
Any thoughts on this? I'm not expecting to do this for free, I'm just trying to find the best way to deliver a bike from the US to Canada, some sweet spot of "least hassle without breaking the bank."
About the bike: It's a very nice bike that's seen little use as our daughter hit a growth spurt and outgrew it before she had much chance to ride it. We live in a hilly area and need bikes with good gears and good brakes, so seriously, it's a nice bike; I wouldn't bother with this if it were a typical, cheap kid's bike.
We're happy to pass it down to my nephews and niece to use in turn, but I'm not sure of the best way to proceed. On the one hand, we could box it, bring it with us, and pay the airline their oversized item/bike fee...but I'm not sure what to expect from the Canadian customs office, and don't want to create a huge hassle for us when we land. And I'm also not sure if we can fit this boxed bike into our rental car, through we could probably strap it to the roof or stick it out the truck for the short-ish ride from the airport to my brother's house. Alternatively, we could simply box it and ship it like any parcel, though, again, I've never shipped something like a bike across an international border and I'm not sure what sort of duty might need to be paid to do this, etc. The bike is used, but it's in very good shape, so it looks new/almost new.
Any thoughts on this? I'm not expecting to do this for free, I'm just trying to find the best way to deliver a bike from the US to Canada, some sweet spot of "least hassle without breaking the bank."
If you take the wheels and pedals off and turn the handlebars sideways, you can easily fit a 20" bike in a box that will qualify as a regular piece of luggage. You might not even have to take the pedals off.
Technically, you would have to pay duty and tax on the value of the bike as it is worth more than $60. This might take you a few extra minutes, but it won't be a huge deal. I would expect to pay roughly 20% of the value of the bike in taxes and dutuies. You may also not be charged if the customs people don't feel like it.
posted by ssg at 11:07 AM on November 7, 2013 [2 favorites]
Technically, you would have to pay duty and tax on the value of the bike as it is worth more than $60. This might take you a few extra minutes, but it won't be a huge deal. I would expect to pay roughly 20% of the value of the bike in taxes and dutuies. You may also not be charged if the customs people don't feel like it.
posted by ssg at 11:07 AM on November 7, 2013 [2 favorites]
I would just bring your kid's bike, for use during your family's trip, as your kid has a special preference for this bike. Right?
The OP specifically says his daughter outgrew it; this specific bike has no use to the OP or his daughter now.
posted by Tomorrowful at 11:46 AM on November 7, 2013
The OP specifically says his daughter outgrew it; this specific bike has no use to the OP or his daughter now.
posted by Tomorrowful at 11:46 AM on November 7, 2013
I think Chaussette means for the OP to say that at customs re why they're shipping the bike, as opposed to telling the customs officer that it's a gift or something. People check bikes for their own use all the time. Vancouver is a perfectly ordinary place to fly with a mountain bike for the purposes of use on a vacation. Explaining that it's a gift for a family member complicates matters unnecessarily.
As for the logistics of packaging, excess baggage fees, etc. you may want to look into the costs to ship the bike vs. the costs to check it as luggage. Then you don't have to deal with the part where you have to fit it into a car. No idea whether customs is easier if you ship, but people ship bikes to places they'll be traveling all the time. Again I would state that it's for personal use while in country as opposed to opening a "gift" can of worms.
One thing to consider with this whole project is your ability to break the bike down and package it properly, or whether it would be better to have a bike shop do the work (they may also have an appropriate box for it). Same on the other end -- if you're removing the back wheel on a bike with a derailleur, that might involve a visit to their local bike shop to reassemble unless you're good at working with bikes.
posted by Sara C. at 11:54 AM on November 7, 2013 [2 favorites]
As for the logistics of packaging, excess baggage fees, etc. you may want to look into the costs to ship the bike vs. the costs to check it as luggage. Then you don't have to deal with the part where you have to fit it into a car. No idea whether customs is easier if you ship, but people ship bikes to places they'll be traveling all the time. Again I would state that it's for personal use while in country as opposed to opening a "gift" can of worms.
One thing to consider with this whole project is your ability to break the bike down and package it properly, or whether it would be better to have a bike shop do the work (they may also have an appropriate box for it). Same on the other end -- if you're removing the back wheel on a bike with a derailleur, that might involve a visit to their local bike shop to reassemble unless you're good at working with bikes.
posted by Sara C. at 11:54 AM on November 7, 2013 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Easiest and likely the cheapest is to box it up in a standard bike box (available from any local bike shop) and ship it freight or UPS to your destination. As noted, remove the pedals, turn the bars sideways, and deflate the tires. You can get pipe insulation to pad the frame, and you may want protect the rear derailleur by removing it from the hanger and wrapping it. You may need to remove the wheels to fit it in the box. If so, another good idea is to attach a bar (like the quick-release rods) onto both drop-outs where the wheels attach to prevent the fork and rear triangle from possible compression and bending. Don't leave anything loose in the box- tape pieces together or join them with zip ties.
If this sounds like too much for you the bike shop may also agree to box the bike for a fee.
posted by TDIpod at 11:55 AM on November 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
If this sounds like too much for you the bike shop may also agree to box the bike for a fee.
posted by TDIpod at 11:55 AM on November 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
Honestly? It doesn't make sense. Just sell the bike locally and give them the money to buy a new bike for their kids.
posted by LuckySeven~ at 12:26 PM on November 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by LuckySeven~ at 12:26 PM on November 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: I appreciate the advice offered so far - thanks, all. I'm going to check w/ a local bike shop about getting a box, which I think I'll need in any event, then I can compare prices.
I don't mean to make this a debate about whether this is a good idea or not, but as I said in the OP, this is not your typical kid's bike. We live in a hilly area and needed a bike that was light weight, had great gearing, and also great brakes. The bike is an IBEX Alpine 320K. It's a seriously nice mountain bike, with a feature set you don't often see on 20" kid's bikes. If it were a typical kid's steel frame bike I wouldn't go to this sort of effort, but it isn't. I think my nephews and niece will enjoy this bike for years to come.
posted by mosk at 8:15 PM on November 7, 2013
I don't mean to make this a debate about whether this is a good idea or not, but as I said in the OP, this is not your typical kid's bike. We live in a hilly area and needed a bike that was light weight, had great gearing, and also great brakes. The bike is an IBEX Alpine 320K. It's a seriously nice mountain bike, with a feature set you don't often see on 20" kid's bikes. If it were a typical kid's steel frame bike I wouldn't go to this sort of effort, but it isn't. I think my nephews and niece will enjoy this bike for years to come.
posted by mosk at 8:15 PM on November 7, 2013
FWIW with most bikes -- "nice" or "typical" -- there's always the question about whether it's worth the trouble of shipping them somewhere. This is because it's expensive to ship a bike. Price it out. You'll see what we all mean.
Now, maybe you have the money to spend and it's more about the gesture, or, hey, maybe this is like a $500+ bike, in which case sure, yeah, probably cost effective to ship for hand me down purposes. Or maybe you work on bikes to the point where disassembling, packing, shipping, receiving, and re-assembling is no big deal for you, in which case that's like half the cost right there.
But the issue isn't that people are assuming this is a $49.99 Huffy. The issue is that you might end up spending $300 getting this bike to your Canadian niece, and if the bike is worth less than that, it might not be cost effective.
posted by Sara C. at 9:48 PM on November 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
Now, maybe you have the money to spend and it's more about the gesture, or, hey, maybe this is like a $500+ bike, in which case sure, yeah, probably cost effective to ship for hand me down purposes. Or maybe you work on bikes to the point where disassembling, packing, shipping, receiving, and re-assembling is no big deal for you, in which case that's like half the cost right there.
But the issue isn't that people are assuming this is a $49.99 Huffy. The issue is that you might end up spending $300 getting this bike to your Canadian niece, and if the bike is worth less than that, it might not be cost effective.
posted by Sara C. at 9:48 PM on November 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
Perhaps my comment would be more meaningful if you considered that there would be no tariff on an item intended to return with you.
Sort of like how you used to be able to go into restaurants here in BC, back when there was a rule that you had to have food if you were drinking, and maybe, after ordering your drinks, you couldn't find anything you wanted to eat on the menu. Ya know?
posted by Chaussette and the Pussy Cats at 10:35 PM on November 7, 2013
Sort of like how you used to be able to go into restaurants here in BC, back when there was a rule that you had to have food if you were drinking, and maybe, after ordering your drinks, you couldn't find anything you wanted to eat on the menu. Ya know?
posted by Chaussette and the Pussy Cats at 10:35 PM on November 7, 2013
Have you tried the web-site Uship.com
That site will ship ANYTHING. The reality show "Shipping Wars" is based on it.
I have a lot of odd shipping needs, and we use that site a lot.
List your item to be shipped, and various shippers bid on it.
You pick the shipper you like. It is easy to use.
posted by Flood at 7:26 AM on November 8, 2013
That site will ship ANYTHING. The reality show "Shipping Wars" is based on it.
I have a lot of odd shipping needs, and we use that site a lot.
List your item to be shipped, and various shippers bid on it.
You pick the shipper you like. It is easy to use.
posted by Flood at 7:26 AM on November 8, 2013
Response by poster: Update: we checked, and our airline (United) tells us we can bring the bike for an additional $25 if it can fit in a box that is no larger than 62 linear inches (H x W x D), otherwise, it would be an additional $225. I think that's impossible, and I think that puts the "bring it with us" proposition to rest.
However, it turns out my brother has a mailing address in Blaine, WA, so we can ship it there and he can deal with bringing it across the border himself. Win-win.
Thanks for your help!
posted by mosk at 11:12 PM on November 11, 2013
However, it turns out my brother has a mailing address in Blaine, WA, so we can ship it there and he can deal with bringing it across the border himself. Win-win.
Thanks for your help!
posted by mosk at 11:12 PM on November 11, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Chaussette and the Pussy Cats at 11:06 AM on November 7, 2013