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Marco Specialities Shipping

Solar Sailer

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Joined
Jun 22, 2018
Messages
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Location
Basingstoke
Anyone have a work around until with do a trade deal with the US? I want a few bits but currently they want £91 shipping plus customs.
Kinda daylight robbery to be honest.
 
I'm heading out to Texas at the end of next month... depending on what it is I can bring it back.
 
Thanks Neil. I'll drop you a PM for your consideration. I had an enjoyable time in Texas a few years back. Got to Amarillo, and went storm chasing for a while. Ended up in Denver!
 
Ooh, I need some bits from marco as well to get shrek up and running. Any chance you could squeeze some bits in your suitcase for me as well?
 
Yeah I’ll let you know closer to the time the process!


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Hiya Neil - Any chance you could pick up a machine for me and stick it in your hand luggage...... ;)

Seriously though - Kudos to ya :thumbs:
 
There is no way round it I bought some bits last week and had to suck up the shipping costs ordered Saturday with me Wednesday so pretty good really
 
Anyone have a work around until with do a trade deal with the US? I want a few bits but currently they want £91 shipping plus customs.
Kinda daylight robbery to be honest.
Marco are robbing bastards when it comes to shipping. They wanted £59 to "ship" 2 sets of drop target decals that could have gone in an envelope. I made friends with a guy in Texas through a US pinball site and get stuff shipped to him and he sends it on. I do the same for him with stuff he wants from Europe. We both agreed to send stuff normal parcel Air Mail (untracked) and after about 7 or 8 shipments either way, not one has gone missing! We both make customs declarations under £15 into the UK and $25 to USA and there are no charges The shipping of the decals eventually cost $2.85. Can I suggest you make friends with someone on the US pin sites and come to an arrangement
 
The problem will have been that someone would have ordered something they ship it and then customer said I haven’t received that even though he has so what most companies do in the states now send it premium with insurance and tracking and this costs sad really so you have to suck up the cost or no parts
 
The problem will have been that someone would have ordered something they ship it and then customer said I haven’t received that even though he has so what most companies do in the states now send it premium with insurance and tracking and this costs sad really so you have to suck up the cost or no parts
As usual the odd f-ckwit spoils it for everyone. I do try to get most of my stuff from Germany or France They do most stuff but nothing EM
 
Marco are robbing bastards when it comes to shipping. They wanted £59 to "ship" 2 sets of drop target decals that could have gone in an envelope. I made friends with a guy in Texas through a US pinball site and get stuff shipped to him and he sends it on. I do the same for him with stuff he wants from Europe. We both agreed to send stuff normal parcel Air Mail (untracked) and after about 7 or 8 shipments either way, not one has gone missing! We both make customs declarations under £15 into the UK and $25 to USA and there are no charges The shipping of the decals eventually cost $2.85. Can I suggest you make friends with someone on the US pin sites and come to an arrangement

unfortunately they do go missing also.
 
They do so if you have paid the higher price both parties are covered
I saw it just the other day a guy opened a dispute on e bay I haven’t received my item when I was at ph when Phil looked in to it I had been collected from the post office on so and so date and he had the evidence then surprise surprise case closed and that was for a £15 rubber set for a bop sadly this is what retailers are up against on a regular basis
 
Yeah never sell anything thru eBay unless it’s collect in person now. Just not worth the agro.


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Pay the duty - no way around it. You even get stung on bigger chinese shipments now.

I spent about $260 with PPS and got charged £40 import duty/vat etc. The PPS shipping was more than the parts totalled in the end.

May be worth doing a group order to save on shipping but you will not avoid the customs charges.

ALSO - what makes you think we will have a trade deal with the USA ?!?
 
Well I ordered a whole load of parts from PU Parts Germany on Monday it was all stuff I could not get In the UK Bumper brackets and ramps etc. Ordered on Monday Paid vias PayPal with 17 euro shipping. Arrived here in Banstead Surrey at 12.10 today Marco can "Foxtot Oscar" and if I have to order from them or the dreaded Steve Young I will get it sent to my friend Ken in Texas and he will send it on normal post with a low customs declaration
 
I tried to order some small decals for CV from them a few years back and got asked to play £40+ in shipping. I emailed them and said how stupid that is when it can be sent in an envelope and they ended up charging me £16... Still crazy but it is what it is sadly. I avoid them at all costs simply because of their shipping prices but other than that I've never had a problem with them
 
I tried to order some small decals for CV from them a few years back and got asked to play £40+ in shipping. I emailed them and said how stupid that is when it can be sent in an envelope and they ended up charging me £16... Still crazy but it is what it is sadly. I avoid them at all costs simply because of their shipping prices but other than that I've never had a problem with them
They want £59 to send a packet with decal in. I enquired why an suggested they send a letter with them in but did not want to know!
Marco do need some more sensible international postage options for smaller/cheaper items.
When I asked them they said they did not have any alternative small order shipping system but were considering one
 
They want £59 to send a packet with decal in. I enquired why an suggested they send a letter with them in but did not want to know!

When I asked them they said they did not have any alternative small order shipping system but were considering one
I remember reading somewhere on pinside a while back that their international shipping is now handled by a totally separate company somehow so they don't get any say in the price anymore. Can't quite remember what the deal was but I'm sure you could find the reasoning somewhere on pinside
 
Last order I was putting together at Marco I think I added all stuff to basket and when I saw the shipping + duty I said balls to that. I don't know what has changed there but when getting it to the UK turns out to be that expensive I'd rather shop elsewhere ( whittle it out of scrap / live with what I have / bodge / do without ).

Shame because they used to be my 1st port of call. Now they're the last.
 
I remember reading somewhere on pinside a while back that their international shipping is now handled by a totally separate company somehow so they don't get any say in the price anymore. Can't quite remember what the deal was but I'm sure you could find the reasoning somewhere on pinside

they outsource the whole lot.
 
international is just a distraction for them.
It Shouldn't be though. I run a business and I welcome sales from anywhere in the world. I buy stuff from Lee at Pinball Rescue in Australia and the shipping from there is reasonable not the extortion Marco want. You often see stuff on ebay One bloke wanted £70 shipping for an S10 coin mech!
 
From our point of view I agree but from their POV Marcos market in just the US and Canada is huge.

International sales is likely less than 1% of their business. So do they spend more time and money optimising sales for the 99% or the 1% ?

I’ve had loads of stuff delivered to me from Marcos in the US and their service is epic, I’ll often email them from Heathrow and say I need this order on day X at my hotel in the US and they have never failed to get it there in time. They even got a part shipped direct from stern to me in LA.

At pinball shows Marcos must flog about 30/40 NIB games that people drive away with from the show. So them worrying about the UK market which for them is probably £10K a year tops isn’t so surprising that they don’t overly focus on it.

Cheers,
Neil.


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The problem will have been that someone would have ordered something they ship it and then customer said I haven’t received that even though he has so what most companies do in the states now send it premium with insurance and tracking and this costs sad really so you have to suck up the cost or no parts

Yep. They used to offer cheap postage. I ordered some Addams magnet fuses from them and they genuinely never arrived. Marco were great about it but you can imagine they've had their fingers burnt one too many times with iffy post/dishonest buyers.
 
The bottom line is they do not really want the business. Lee in Pinball rescue Australia can get stuff reliably here in a week I asked DHL how much to ship a tracked 8oz parcel to Texas from London. Total cost was £22 for priority service about half what Marco want for the same parcel weight.
 
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