Shipping skis to Europe

[sfotex]

What's the deal with shipping skis to Europe? I've ordered skis from Europe and the shipping was $40, but when I go to UPS, DHL, etc. to get an estimate to ship from the states across the pond it's like $140....
Searched on shipping europe, but no solid answers.

This has come up alot, I wanted to get the whole story, and then I was going to post the info into the BEFORE YOU SELL - READ THIS thread.

[schindlerpiste]

You can always ship FedEx, UPS or DHL, but this can be very expensive (approx. $125-150). Sometimes, USPS is an option; however, different country's postal services accept different sized packages. Some european postal services only accept packages that do not exceed 60" in length. Others, go up to 72", with total length, width, height, not to exceed 108". USPS is always cheaper than FedEX, etc.
Duty is another story.

[davep]

You could try emailing telemark pyrenees and asking how they ship? whatever method they use is obviously EU->USA, but maybe you could figure out how to use the same carriers for USA->EU.

[cj001f]

You could try emailing telemark pyrenees and asking how they ship?

UPS. And they charge ~$60 a pair, ~$70 w/binders

[davep]

UPS. And they charge ~$60 a pair, ~$70 w/binders

That's less than half what sfotex said UPS would charge - does TP get a corporate rate that regular folks can't get?

[schindlerpiste]

THey must get a group/business discount. WHen I plug the #s in at UPS, I get about to ship skis from USA-Germany and $160 for skis/bindings. THey have a feature where you can calculate time/cost.

[shasti]

Bumping this thread because it does not seem like anything was every resolved. I am about to go to France for a while, and I dont need my skis ( plus unmounted binders, avy beacon, probe, shovel, helmet ) to arrive until the 20th of Feb. I want to get them there the cheapest that I can. Is it best to put all that stuff in a big ski bag n bring it with me on my British Airways NYC-Heathrow-Paris flight ? Or would it be cheaper to send it ? Any thoughts are appreciated. i will be skiing in Switzerland so thats where the skis would be shipped to if I took that route.

[GBB]

Why not just bring it with you now? Even if you have to check an extra bag, it will be cheaper than paying postage twice.

[shasti]

this might be the best idea because of cost do you know how much airlines usually charge for oversize bags ? I'd rather not have the bag until the 20th of feb when I will have the chance to ski but if doing so will save me ~$100 I would be glad to bring it on the flight

[powdherb]

I'm going to europe for the winter too. Last year I brought my skis in bags... two skis one pair of bindings and didn't get raped.

[shasti]

you carried them on the flight ? and how much did it cost each way ?

[GBB]

AFAIK as long as you're under the 50# limit you shouldn't be charged anything. At least that has been my experience in the past.

I'm going to EU for the season too, and I am going to bring both pairs of skis in the ski bag.

[dom_1080]

Just buying a pair of Surface LL2s of a newschooler, so i would be very interested aswell!
http://www.ipsparcel.com/ is the best ive found so far

[scotia]

I have flown BA a handful of times in the past few years with various sports equipment and never been charged excess, maybe I have just been lucky. Never even been weighed. In my experience, as long as your suitcase is under the 32 they don't seem to be all that fussed about charging you.

[Mr. Toad]

Another bump. Anybody ship skis to Europe? Specifically Germany?