Air Freight a little less expensive than Sea Freight if using the two savings listed below….
So at last maybe a less expensive way of shipping internationally, it is called Dynamic Pricing, let me attempt to explain….
As in the first blog relating to freight all the bits still apply, ie:- as you are outside the UK the software on the site will when you click buy remove the VAT which is currently 20% so on an expensive item very much a decent saving so goes some way towards the freight charges….other than not sticking anything on for the packing etc and charging only the cost price this has been as much as we’ve been able to do to date….
Over time the difference in price between Sea and Air freight has become less although it is still marginally less to go Sea freight, with this in mind what I am about to explain applies to Air Freight only.
Ok here we go, we use an agent when shipping abroad it allows us to offer door to door and also allows us to get the best price on the day, you can of course deal directly with companies who have their own planes and fly daily, FedEx as an example but invariably the agents can always get the best prices, so often just like trains and the like a plane will fly with empty space that could be filled if the goods to fill it were available and not tied into a set flight elsewhere, so the invention if you like of Dynamic Pricing…….
FedEx, Ups have a ‘last minute’ pricing option, that runs on a daily, hour by hour basis. It CAN save up to as much as 50% off airfreight costs providing there is ‘flexibility’ with delivery.
So what would happen is our logistics company would come and pick your crate up, and in effect hold it in their warehouse – they would then continuously check to see what shipping ‘deals’ are going though. With it being already at the warehouse they are able to take advantage of the last minute shipping deals and get the shipment put forward. So Ups and FedEx will look at what they have going cargo wise for the day and basically if there is space to fill they will do it at discounted prices, but its a quick turnaround, which is why the crate needs to be in the logistics company warehouse.
They are telling me that whilst they can’t guarantee it, something is usually viable within a few days and it’s certainly worth it in terms of saving some money for you. I would not know how much it is going to save or what the price will be, until they click the button, but its certainly not going to be any more than you would have been quoted at standard rate….discounts can range from 10% up to 50% but on average it is around 30% less.
So in further good news we do as you know have to pack goods in an ispm-15 heat treated crate, you can see one pictured above, they are expensive as with anything that is essential, they do after all have you over a barrel, however this started as a Covid thing, and as time has gone on the rule has lessened in some ways, we can now pack some (not all) items on a pallet, a more expensive than standard pallet, it is in fact an ispm-15 heat treated pallet however a massive saving all the same, as much as 70%
Adding the two savings together along with the removal of the VAT really will go a long way towards total cost as opposed to some way!
The only other thing we could possibly do is to start manufacturing flat pack which some other companies offer, but we are not ever going to do that, it is restrictive as to what you can produce and it does eventually become unstable, so a huge no from us! Sorry!
Thanks for reading, Sara & Anthony….