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Cheapest Way to Send a Bike! Post a Bike to Europe

Cheapest Way to Send a Bike! Post a Bike to Europe

How to send a bike in the UK & How to send a bike to europe!
Cheap Bike Delivery!

Post your bike to UK for under £30 or European Destinations for under £35.
If you are selling a bike or frame on Ebay, it’s best to offer delivery if you want top dollar for your item. Loads more buyers will be interested if they can get it delivered to them, rather than having to drive a few hundred miles at the weekend to pick up.

You can also potentially ship to Europe and open up buyers in super rich, mountain bike loving countries such as Germany, France, Switzerland and Austria. If the parts are right, buyers in these countries WILL pay a premium for the right kit, especially now the £GBP has dropped against the €Euro. How to Send a bike to UK or Europe for less than £35!

Summary of the cost of posting a bike to both the UK and Germany.

These prices update and change regularly so please check on the respective website to get the updated price and T&C.
Prices shown are with shipping agents – these sites have contracts with the large courier firms (DPD, UPS, DHL etc…) they resell courier services direct to the public for highly reduced rates. It is 99% of the time cheaper to book via one of these shipping resellers than direct through the courier itself.
Once you have booked and paid for your delivery, the shipping agent will provide the address slip you will need to fix to the parcel. Then the respective courier will collect the parcel at the agreed date. You are responsible for correctly stating the parcel dimensions are weight, securely packaging and making sure you are in when the courier comes to deliver.
All shipping agents offer insurance for loss or damage (above the standard £50 or £100). I personally wouldn’t bother, as long as your bike box is properly packaged up with loads of bubble wrap etc… then UPS and DPD especially are always reliable, but if that’s going to play on your mind then delivery insurance normally costs between 5 to 10% of the insured value. Most couriers have excellent tracking services. (Top tip, stick your weigh label on twice on opposite sides of the parcel + leave one inside the parcel + write the to or return address on the actual box in pen – leaving almost no room for mixups, loss or error)

Where to get a Bike Box?
Quite a few bike boxes are available to buy on ebay – or its worth looking on your local facebook marketplace or swap page if anyone local to you is trying to get rid of one.
Also worth asking nicely in your local bike shop if they have any they are getting rid of!

Best couriers to use?
Generally everyone has a horror story to tell about every firm. I would say try to stick with the delivery firms that employ full time drivers with liveried vans and uniforms rather than using casual and part time couriers.
UPS, DPD, FedEX, TNT, Parcelforce/GNS to name the majority

Best way to pack!
Loads of bubble wrap!
Full size bike boxes will fit a bike with the forks and rear wheel attached (front wheel removed).
Smaller size bike boxes will require the removal of the front forks and possibly also the rear wheel.

In both cases the handlebars should be removed and you can zip tie these securely to the frame with the brake and gear cables still atatched to the bars.
Pedals will have to come off, but cranks and mech should stay on (for safety it might be worth boxing these off with additional cardboard and bubble wrap!)
WARNING!!! If you are sending via air freight (e.g to USA) PLEASE PLEASE remember to let the air out of your tyres and most importantly out of your shocks – so many stories of forks and rear shocks seals being destroyed during air travel.

WARNING Number Two!!! ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS post to the registered address that came with the PayPal payment (presuming you used PayPal as payment provider). Scam numero uno is for the thief to pay via a legit PayPal account and then ask you to change the shipping address to something else. This means that even with your proof of delivery – the thief can claim their money back with PayPal and claim the bike wasn’t delivered to them.
ALWAYS POST TO THE ADDRESS REGISTERED WITH THE PAYPAL PAYMENT TO GET SELLER SECURITY!
Should the buyer wish to change the address and you feel its a legitimate reason – cancel the payment and get them to issue payment again with the updated address.
Thanks for listening and happy selling and posting!!!

Quoted bike box is a FULL SIZE BIKE BOX – size is 136cm x 75cm x 20cm (Weight 15kg)




Parcel Compare offer delivery with the global leaders such as TNT, FedEx and UPS.

Uk Bike Delivery in a full size bike box
From £42

International Delivery in a full size bike box
To Germany
From £102







Worldwide Parcel Services offer a a massive list of delivery countries and an almost unlimited parcel size.
They are best as international deliveries although do offer domestic services as well.

International Delivery to Germany in a full size (137cm) Bike Box
From £121

International Delivery to Germany in a (120cm long) Bike Box
From £34






ParcelHero
Offers delivery with TNT, DPD, Hermes and Parcel Force. Great for Bulky items!!!

UK Bike Delivery
Full Size Bike Box
From £31

International Bike Delivery
with a full size Bike Box
From £102





IPostParcels

IPostParcels is an affiliate of DHL in the UK.

UK Bike Delivery
The maximum size parcel the handle is 70x70x70 and 25kg.
Not great for a bike box – but could work well for posting a set of wheels or a bike frame.
From £21

International Delivery
They handle up to 120cm long for international deliveries! So depending on the size of your bike box this might be perfect!
They offer 2 to 3 day delivery to Germany
From £27


 

send a bike

Ship your bike anywhere in the UK for under £10.00 – Great for EBay sellers

Ship your bike anywhere in the UK for under £10.00 – Great for EBay sellers

Selling a bike or frame on ebay? Having a ‘pick up only’ option on your listing really puts off a lot of buyers and means you possibly wont be getting top dollar for your bike!

As any ebayer knows there are always loads of buyers looking for deals on the UK site, many of you will have received mails asking if you will ship to far flung UK destinations – a Pick-Up only option really puts a lot of buyers off.

Absolute deal of the century is with Fastlane International who are offering to ship a 20kg bike-box with the dimensions 130cm x 80cm x 21cm to any UK destination for only £9.97 plus vat.
The service is next day and includes pick-up and tracked delivery.

 

Get yourself down to your Local bike shop and kindly ask if they have any old bike boxes available. Most bike shops will happily oblige as these normally get chucked out in the trade waste bin.

So if your selling your bike or frame definitely have a further look at this service!

Check out the site here!
Bikes delivered to UK for only £9.97
Fastlane International
…..

Dirt Mtb

Here is the guide from Fastlane!
Fastlane International: How to Send a Bike
Your bike may be a smooth ride but that doesn’t make it the easiest thing to package up and send. With the fetish for new bikes, more and more bikes are being sold second-hand on eBay.

As well as selling your bike, you could be moving house or going on holiday. Now that airlines are so draconian with luggage charges, many cycle enthusiast send their bikes on ahead to their hotel or holiday accommodation.

If you are sending a bike, here are some tips to reduce the cost of your delivery and ensure your bike arrives in the condition you sent it. We have deliberately not recommended a wholesale deconstruction of the bike.

It may not be a bike engineer who is putting it all back together

1. Remove the bike’s handlebar, pedals, seat post and front wheel. Most of these parts can be removed by hand, although you may need to employ a small wrench in order to remove the pedals. If you aren’t able to remove the handlebar, turn the handles 90degrees when you pack it in the box.

2. Rotate the fork and stem so they are facing backwards.

3. Shift the bicycle chain onto the small chain ring, and the largest rear cog, before attempting to remove the pedals.

4. Secure the wrapped handlebar and other loose parts to the frame using tape and/or plastic ties. Foam tubing is even better to protect your frame.

5. Turn the right pedal counter-clockwise, and the left pedal clockwise, to unthread.

6. Loosen and remove the seat post and seat as a unit. Once removed, retighten the seat post bolt so the seat does not fall out.

7. Remove racks, drinks bottle holders, bike lights and mudguards. Wrap separately. If you are including any accessories that have batteries eg: bike lights, remove the batteries. Usually it is only ok to send batteries in their original sealed packaging. If you are sending batteries, wrap the packet separately in bubble wrap.

8. Collect all the bolts, screws etc and package together. A small cardboard box is a good idea.

9. You will need a rigid box with flaps intact. If you are lucky, your local bike shop or stores like Halfords should have bike-specific boxes they can give you. If you are using a non-bike specific box, see For further info on box strength guidelines check out our website. Fastlane International

10. Use the maximum amount of packaging or cushioning materials possible. We recommend packing chips and bubble wrap. If the bike is an expensive one and you don’t want any possibility of scratches, wrap as much of the frame as possible. For more info on packaging: Fastlane International

11. Make sure none of the bike parts are touching the box walls. This will help avoid any damage.

12. Seal your box with strong tape designed for shipping. Especially if you are sending the bike abroad as it will pass through a greater number of handling stages. Make sure the joins have enough tape to hold them securely closed, and run tape in both directions across the box and joints.

13. Make sure you label your package correctly. After all that hard work, you want to make sure it arrives where you send it. ParcelHero recommends:
Remove all existing labels and cover any old barcodes ( you may be using a second hand box)
Use a single address label with delivery and return information.
Place a duplicate address label inside the package.

14. Send your bike with Fastlane International. After all that packing you want to be sure you have a quality courier, especially if you are selling the bike.

 

Wiggle have a good guide on packing your bike up and also offer some great bike boxes/bags. Check it out here…

Ship your bike anywhere in Europe for just £19

Ship your bike anywhere in Europe for just £19






Unfortunately the original deal has now expired.
*UPDATE August 2014*
Please check out the following list of cheap couriers for some really good deals for international delivery or large parcels up to 35kg. Prices do change weekly so please find the latest and best prices on each site (they can vary a lot!!)



































Fastlane Couriers – At the time of writing are offering some fantastic deals including Delivery to western europe (germany etc…) for around £15 up to 35kg with DPD on a 2/3 day service.




                                           

Worldwide Parcel Services  offer some good rates for cheap international delivery (Western Europe from £15).
With most couriers the problem with shipping bikes is the size of the bike box rather than the weight (as most bike can be shipped under 20kg). Option 1 is pack the bike as small as possible by removing the forks and wheels etc… Option 2 is to ship your bike in 2 packages, wheels in one, frame etc… in the other. Worldwide Parcel Servies offer good rates on Worldwide shipping with DHL, DPD and UPS so check out there website for more details on specific costs.




















iPostParcels offer delivery with big name couriers including DPD UPS and Parcel Force/GLS

Parcel Hero – ultra fast service with good deals on USA deliveries.

Selling a bike or frame on ebay? Having a ‘pick up only’ option on your listing really puts off a lot of buyers and means you possibly wont be getting top dollar for your steed!
As any ebayer knows there are always loads of European buyers looking for deals on the UK site, many of you will have received mails asking if you will ship to Portugal etc…

Royal mail, parcel force and other delivery firms are currently charging about £140 to ship a bicycle to European destinations.

Absolute deal of the century is these guys are offering to ship a 20kg box with the dimensions 173cm x 113cm x 21cm for only £19 plus vat. DHL are the courier dealing with it and its on a Express European service which takes about 3 days for delivery.

I recently bought a bike from a bike shop in the UK and was quoted £80 by the store for delivery to myself in France. So instead I took them up on their offer of free UK delivery, had the bike sent to a relative in the UK and then shipped it over with this service. An absolutely huge bike box arrived on my french door step perfectly, 3 days later!

This is an absolutely great deal for anyone needing to get there bike to Europe on the cheap or selling it to a European based buyer. At £19 its cheaper than taking it on as excess baggage on Easyjet – so this would make a perfect option for someone looking to fly off on a riding holiday to the alps. – Why not just get your bike delivered to the hotel / riding hostel a few days beforehand – then its there waiting for you when you fly in!

Delivery’s are tracked and require a signature – they come with £50 worth of insurance as standard and you can insure further for 5% of the total cost. Its picked up from your door step on your chosen date and delivered by DHL express a few days later.

So if your selling or going off on your riding holidays definitely have a further look at this service!
Check out the site here!
Bikes delivered to Europe for only £19 …..

Unfortunately the original deal has now expired.

Please check Worldwide Parcel Services for cheap international delivery (Western Europe from £15).
With most couriers the problem with shipping bikes is the size of the bike box rather than the weight (as most bike can be shipped under 20kg). Option 1 is pack the bike as small as possible by removing the forks and wheels etc… Option 2 is to ship your bike in 2 packages, wheels in one, frame etc… in the other. Worldwide Parcel Servies offer good rates on Worldwide shipping with DHL, DPD and UPS so check out there website for more details on specific costs.


Dirt Mtb