Who's my importer around here?

I'm looking at buying something I don't really feel like building. Basically it's a big steel lift.
Anyways, Wong is quoting around 6,500k for the machine and roughly 2grand in shipping. As a private individual, how much more can I expect to get screwed importing this into the US. I'm sure a few more people will have their hand out before this is finished! I just haven't been down this road yet and wanna have my bases covered. And no I will not be reselling it.

Thanks for any advice! If it's too insane, I'll just build the damn thing, but time is money and I'm not getting any younger. It would make for a pretty epic project

 

You need an import agent to get the paperwork straight...like certificates that the wood crate and pallet was fumigated.

 

Really? They are worried about BUGS? What's an import agent cost?

 

No idea, a local guy who did a lot of import export told me it wasn't worth the hassle of endless paperwork from customs workers looking to cause grief. I was going to import crucibles if I ever found a good brand to buy.

 

And I remember when I could ship a sea can across the pond for 5grand. WTF happened to the world I once knew.

 

Could be the same thing that happened to me, you got old..

 

As someone who battles various invasive species, plant and animal alike, I can sympatize with the hassles, but without them we get the place we have now and the problems it brought.
Japanese silt-grass, leafy spurge, emerald ash-borer, zebra mussel, these are but a few of the ones introduced via shippping; the list is long as is the list of things we're going to lose because of them.

I watched stilt-grass take over the whole county in just a few years, dominating the woodlands and choking out everything else, it was an endless battle just pushing it back to the property lines. Right now I'm watching Common Teasel expand rapidly; when I moved here I had to drive 30+ miles toward the city to see it, 6 years later it's maybe 10-15 miles off and I expect to start waging war on it any day now. It's a losing battle as most everyone is ignorant of the problem so the stuff gets a foothold and spreads rapidly to new areas. The average person just sees bugs and plants without realizing what's going on until they notice they haven't seen the things they remember from their youth in a long time, at which point it's too late.

All the "build it here" stuff goes out the window when the money comes out; not criticising as I'm as much to blame as the next guy, just the reality of the modern world.

 

I could go on for a week why building it here is the better solution or how I like native plants.
The question still remains, how bad am I going to get screwed importing a lift from china? US steel prices have gone through the roof. But if fees and other BS is going to chew up my hard earned money, I'll just build this myself.

 

After pushing the company a little harder on surprise fees, I got this back from them today.
CMB is for cubic meters of shipment, BL is bill of lading.

The local charge in Houston port is:
1. AGENT H/C：$75/BILL
2. PIER PASS：$4/CBM
3. CLEAN TRUCK FEE：$2/CBM
4. CHASSIS FEE：$4/CBM MIN$10（ETD：2018/7/1 update）
5. W/H SECURITY DOC：$30/BL
6. STRIPPING CHARGE: $12.5/CBM MIN$50
7. CHASSIS SPLIT FEE：$3/CBM MIN $10
8. IT CHARGE：$25/BL
?
Not hateful, but what else could lurk in the shadows????? Tariffs?? Taxes??? anyone?

 

If that were Australia that would be stage one of a multi stage process designed to drive you out of your mind, never quite achieving your goal but always revealing the each stage without letting you know there's more.

 

Well Now I know why scrap prices have not went up, While material prices are going nuts,

Here is the Math on a 40Ft container 67CBM

The local charge in Houston port is:
1. AGENT H/C：$75/BILL
2. PIER PASS：$4/CBM $ 268
3. CLEAN TRUCK FEE：$2/CBM $134
4. CHASSIS FEE：$4/CBM MIN$10（ETD：2018/7/1 update）$268
5. W/H SECURITY DOC：$30/BL
6. STRIPPING CHARGE: $12.5/CBM MIN$50 $ 837.50
7. CHASSIS SPLIT FEE：$3/CBM MIN $10 $201
8. IT CHARGE：$25/BL

I got $ 1637.50 feel free to check my math


V/r HT1

P.S. for those of you that dont remember I used to run scrap yards after my military career ended , so shipping was a huge part of the job. I know 6 yhears ago, the Chassis fee in JAX was $50, and pier access was a free WTF

 

On a good note, I am learning about the Harmonized Tariff schedule... According to 8428.90.019 and 8425.41.0000 there is no tariff fee.
That being the case, the deal the chinese are pitching to me is almost sounding too good to be true.

This sucker is over 3000kg and the main beams are 10x4 .250 thick !!! I priced out just those 4 beams and had heart failure!
They want $8400 for this delivered to houston. I think I better pay them before they attempt to grow a brain!

 

Will they make me pay for the entire can? This thing ships with the top NOT INSTALLED and I either get to bolt or weld the verticals for the upper deck.

 

Heh...join your local Lamborghini-Bitcoin appreciation society and take orders for another three to fill the container and offset your fees.

 

I gotta ask...what's it for?

 

Double decker car lift.

 

In typical chinese fashion, things changed after the deposit was made. Suddenly now they claimed the upper deck can't support the weight of a car. I called them out on their bullshit
and we came to an agreement. Instead of 4mm diamond plate on bottom and top, they will use 5mm diamond plate, beef up the top to actually support 1800kgs, extend the width, extend the length and the distance between top and bottom decks.
700buck upcharge. I can live with that. They also kindly told me 240vt single phase is now not an option. So here comes yet ANOTHER damn VFD. This will make #4 in my garage. Still better than listening to the noise of a rotary.

This thing is in motion. I hope I didn't finally bite off more than I can chew. lmao.
That reminds me, I better get that differential back in my car. Dammit!

 

Make you wonder how many of these have actually been made by this company and if they were using someone else's photos for the finished product.

 

You need a pit to put this in to get a car onto the top deck or am I missing something?

 

Unless your garage already has a basement, installing something like that seems like an inordinate amount of work, digging a pit and all, could you not have made something like this work? They're available in various sizes and capacities, smaller one is $5070, the double wide is $9770, those prices include shipping, and the supplier has locations in Alabama and California.