Not sure if this is the right place to post this, so please feel free to move it to another group.
I am building a Kal clone. I received a bonus from work and my wife literally made me buy home-brew equipment because she couldn't stand me pining over all the cool gadgets I wanted any longer.
I decided that the best strategy would be to buy everything from as few places as possible to cut down on the hassle of chasing down parts. I found the vast majority of my parts I could get off Amazon.com. I got the DIY panel from Kal's website theelectricbrewery.com and then a keezer setup from keg connection.com. I also went through auberins.com, brewhardware.com, stainlessbrewing.com, monstermill.com, and utahbiodieselsupply.com.
On the advice of Kal's website I used shipitto.com as my freight forwarder. Below are the packages I sent, all figures are in CDN.
Package 1
36"x17"x17" 106lb
Carrier: DHL
Shipping $292
Customs $222
Package 2
36"x17"x17" 69lb
Carrier: Fed-Ex
Shipping $280
Customs $66
Package 3
36"x17"x17" 56lb
Carrier: Fed-Ex
Shipping $240
Customs $66
Package 4
18"17"11" 48lb
Carrier: DHL
Shipping $216 (includes shipping to freight forwarder)
Customs $211
So what does this all mean to the Canadian or home brewers outside the US? Well it means that you can take advantage of the free shipping deals that a lot of suppliers have. There are a number of tips and things to watch out for that I would like to pass on.
1) shipito.com worked well, and solved any problems I had, but they nickel and dime you for a number of things, and if you choose an option or service it is your baby, they aren't there to fix your mistakes, so use their live chat help before you start.
2) if you can buy it in Canada do it. I bought everything on line from the cam lock fittings to the soldering iron you name it. I live in a rural area, and I just wanted to get it all here. The upside to my strategy is that the online shopping carts are a great organizational tool. The downside is two part. We are now in a time of 14% exchange, so add that to your price, and then also add up to 10% to the US price for customs. All of a sudden, that $15 dollars you save on a drill is gone, plus you need to pay shipping yet. A large and unexpected part of my budget was eaten up by these fees.
3) If the supplier will ship to Canada, take it. I know it will be tempting to send it to the forwarder for $5 or free and then to you with other things, but it isn't worth it in the end
4) DHL has cheap rates, but their customs fees are quite high. Also, DHL won't ship liquids, or anything out of the ordinary like empty CO2 tanks. Save yourself the trouble and use Fed-Ex, the service was better, they ship everything and the small extra cost was worth it.
5) Fill out your customs declaration truthfully. Don't risk seizure of your goods through tiny white lies that really don't get you that far ahead
6) Lastly, it will be tempting to start sending things to you as soon as they get to the warehouse, but patience is a virtue. Not only do you save by cramming the repackaged box as full as possible, but if you send 4 packages with Fed-Ex at one time there are further savings that I wish I had captured over sending the 4 packages as individual pick ups. The warehouse gives you 180 days to get your package out so take your time
I hope this answers some of your questions about freight forwarders, and purchasing supplies out of the USA.
I am building a Kal clone. I received a bonus from work and my wife literally made me buy home-brew equipment because she couldn't stand me pining over all the cool gadgets I wanted any longer.
I decided that the best strategy would be to buy everything from as few places as possible to cut down on the hassle of chasing down parts. I found the vast majority of my parts I could get off Amazon.com. I got the DIY panel from Kal's website theelectricbrewery.com and then a keezer setup from keg connection.com. I also went through auberins.com, brewhardware.com, stainlessbrewing.com, monstermill.com, and utahbiodieselsupply.com.
On the advice of Kal's website I used shipitto.com as my freight forwarder. Below are the packages I sent, all figures are in CDN.
Package 1
36"x17"x17" 106lb
Carrier: DHL
Shipping $292
Customs $222
Package 2
36"x17"x17" 69lb
Carrier: Fed-Ex
Shipping $280
Customs $66
Package 3
36"x17"x17" 56lb
Carrier: Fed-Ex
Shipping $240
Customs $66
Package 4
18"17"11" 48lb
Carrier: DHL
Shipping $216 (includes shipping to freight forwarder)
Customs $211
So what does this all mean to the Canadian or home brewers outside the US? Well it means that you can take advantage of the free shipping deals that a lot of suppliers have. There are a number of tips and things to watch out for that I would like to pass on.
1) shipito.com worked well, and solved any problems I had, but they nickel and dime you for a number of things, and if you choose an option or service it is your baby, they aren't there to fix your mistakes, so use their live chat help before you start.
2) if you can buy it in Canada do it. I bought everything on line from the cam lock fittings to the soldering iron you name it. I live in a rural area, and I just wanted to get it all here. The upside to my strategy is that the online shopping carts are a great organizational tool. The downside is two part. We are now in a time of 14% exchange, so add that to your price, and then also add up to 10% to the US price for customs. All of a sudden, that $15 dollars you save on a drill is gone, plus you need to pay shipping yet. A large and unexpected part of my budget was eaten up by these fees.
3) If the supplier will ship to Canada, take it. I know it will be tempting to send it to the forwarder for $5 or free and then to you with other things, but it isn't worth it in the end
4) DHL has cheap rates, but their customs fees are quite high. Also, DHL won't ship liquids, or anything out of the ordinary like empty CO2 tanks. Save yourself the trouble and use Fed-Ex, the service was better, they ship everything and the small extra cost was worth it.
5) Fill out your customs declaration truthfully. Don't risk seizure of your goods through tiny white lies that really don't get you that far ahead
6) Lastly, it will be tempting to start sending things to you as soon as they get to the warehouse, but patience is a virtue. Not only do you save by cramming the repackaged box as full as possible, but if you send 4 packages with Fed-Ex at one time there are further savings that I wish I had captured over sending the 4 packages as individual pick ups. The warehouse gives you 180 days to get your package out so take your time
I hope this answers some of your questions about freight forwarders, and purchasing supplies out of the USA.
