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You may have typed my email incorrect. richie.lasalsa@gmail please.. Thanks..
Rhino 4x4 bumper group buy is happening
- Thread starter mulebarn
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You may have typed my email incorrect. richie.lasalsa@gmail please.. Thanks..
FYI...
I did a shipping estimate on FedEx from LA to Denver using the weight and dimensions of the box and got an estimate just shy of $200. That wasn't a freight estimate however so I'm budgeting for a bigger number given the pallet and need for a lift gate at my residential address.
EDIT: Hopefully I can pick up from my local FedEx freight terminal to save some $$$.
I've tried a number of online customs/duty fee estimators. All are saying a bumper is duty free but that seems suspect. One calculator stated there would be a "merchandise processing fee" that was nearly $700
I may have to bite the bullet and call a broker to get a better sense for what fees we might be looking at. I'm sure that will be free
I did a shipping estimate on FedEx from LA to Denver using the weight and dimensions of the box and got an estimate just shy of $200. That wasn't a freight estimate however so I'm budgeting for a bigger number given the pallet and need for a lift gate at my residential address.
EDIT: Hopefully I can pick up from my local FedEx freight terminal to save some $$$.
I've tried a number of online customs/duty fee estimators. All are saying a bumper is duty free but that seems suspect. One calculator stated there would be a "merchandise processing fee" that was nearly $700
I may have to bite the bullet and call a broker to get a better sense for what fees we might be looking at. I'm sure that will be free
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The Google sheet has the that address but I tried to resend it.
- Joined
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- Rabun County, GA.
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- www.automotivematchmakers.com
Updated!
I do not want to add any confusion to this already complex endeavor. A couple statements/questions:
1. Do we know if the duties/fees/etc once handed off to FedEx are a group charge for all the bumpers together or will duties/fees/etc. be subject to the individuals separately? Apologies if this is clearly stated already.
2. Dangcat, if a number of buyers on the east coast wanted to have you be the SECOND HUB stop I would have no problem sharing the expense to have multiple bumpers sent to your warehouse, as I am close enough to drive up there to personally grab mine. Not sure if that is worth it for everyone else on this side as it looks as they would then incur a third shipping expense being located in GA/VA/FL. What are yall's thoughts? Can this even be done?
Thanks to you guys for taking on the added stress and time needed to pull something like this off. We all have daily obligations and responsibilities and having never done this before you guys are certainly "inventing the wheel". We all appreciate it.
1. Do we know if the duties/fees/etc once handed off to FedEx are a group charge for all the bumpers together or will duties/fees/etc. be subject to the individuals separately? Apologies if this is clearly stated already.
2. Dangcat, if a number of buyers on the east coast wanted to have you be the SECOND HUB stop I would have no problem sharing the expense to have multiple bumpers sent to your warehouse, as I am close enough to drive up there to personally grab mine. Not sure if that is worth it for everyone else on this side as it looks as they would then incur a third shipping expense being located in GA/VA/FL. What are yall's thoughts? Can this even be done?
Thanks to you guys for taking on the added stress and time needed to pull something like this off. We all have daily obligations and responsibilities and having never done this before you guys are certainly "inventing the wheel". We all appreciate it.
I would imagine it will be treated as one big shipment coming into the US that will be shared by everyone getting a bumper. The amount of paperwork required to treat it as a bunch of individual shipments would be a too much.
If you are local to my area, you are more than welcome to stop by and pick it up yourself!
I am not sure what is the most efficient way for the west coast people, it may be that they need to arrange their own shipping and handling. If that is not an option then i can ship it from NC to them and handle it myself, but i have a hard time picturing that being cost-efficient for the West Coast/Mountain folks. There are only a few West Coast buyers, so i think we just need someone to step up on the West Coast that is willing to take care of the handling/loading it onto pallets for a few folks. I will crunch the West Coast numbers regardless and report in.
As far as the East Coast people, i have this idea that might work but i won't know until we crunch some numbers. The idea is that i would load up the 10 or so bumpers on a trailer/uhaul and make a round trip around the east coast (up to chicago, down to FL, then back to Raleigh) and drop off each one myself. This is only ideal if the cost of my trip is much less than the cost of everyone's individual shipping combined, and we won't know til i run some estimates. If i can save each person about 25-50% of shipping cost after my gas and time is considered, then it may be worth it. The more people that gets on board, the more viable this option becomes/the more people split the cost of my trip/the less everyone involved pays.
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For anyone who might be a bit hesitant, a friend of mine bought direct from them for his 2016. I've got a 2013 and 2017, adding to the 2013 for now, will add to 2017 when my wife lets me start building it 
That said, this is top of the list favorite bumper. I think Viper and Rival have a great looking one as well, but all in all I think you're gonna love the look and quality of this bumper and our pricing is offsetting a good bit of freight my friend paid. He paid full list and also had to wait several weeks longer for delivery. Thanks to all who've been involved to get this going/done. Ditto CruiseFan88!
That said, this is top of the list favorite bumper. I think Viper and Rival have a great looking one as well, but all in all I think you're gonna love the look and quality of this bumper and our pricing is offsetting a good bit of freight my friend paid. He paid full list and also had to wait several weeks longer for delivery. Thanks to all who've been involved to get this going/done. Ditto CruiseFan88!Also, this is a pleasure and a good learning opportunity for me. I come from a wholesale background dealing with nail supplies, but i have a much deeper passion for cars/car mods. This is the exactly kind of thing that will eventually set me up to be successful while having a job i am actually passionate about. It is rare to get an opportunity like this without putting up the money myself, and this is a great way to get my foot in the door if my goal in the long run is to become a dealer.
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Map has been updated. It's looking like a Mudship trip by me is looking really viable for the Eastern folks who want to save some money.
If we had more dots to connect, i could expand the area that the trip covers. I don't think adding the Florida guy to the route will be cost efficient but we will run the numbers when i get a chance and see. As it stands right now, for the 8 people who are on the current route, the total cost of my trip will be about $600 @ 15 bucks per hour, and about $1200 in gas at 15mpg and $3 per gallon @ 40 gallons. Might need to add cost of renting a boxed trailer/u haul. If the cost is split along 8 then it’s not much For each.
If we had more dots to connect, i could expand the area that the trip covers. I don't think adding the Florida guy to the route will be cost efficient but we will run the numbers when i get a chance and see. As it stands right now, for the 8 people who are on the current route, the total cost of my trip will be about $600 @ 15 bucks per hour, and about $1200 in gas at 15mpg and $3 per gallon @ 40 gallons. Might need to add cost of renting a boxed trailer/u haul. If the cost is split along 8 then it’s not much For each.
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I don't know and can't even begin to speculate. When I asked in multiple ways about these things the Rhino rep's response was:
"local duties/taxes may vary but that's not handled by us"
"will just depend on local taxes what each individual person will have to pay"
"each bar will be shipped on an individual pallet to each location, in regards to the local taxes etc, it might be best to contact FedEx, we will ship via TNT who will hand to FedEx in USA"
I'm doing my best to get information from FedEx but it's proving difficult. I would guess that some of this stuff is built into the $500 flat freight fee we're paying to Rhino as suggested by @Dangcat
I think there is some misunderstanding going on here. No need to crunch numbers for those of us west of the Mississippi. The bumpers will be delivered to each of us by FedEx, whether it's to our front door step, a business with a loading dock or picking it up from the local FedEx freight center. The way I'm reading things from Rhino is that once our order is submitted, paid, shipped and landed in the US, we will each be contacted by FedEx to make further delivery arrangements. Basically, pay additional fees, especially if being delivered to a residential address where a lift gate is needed, etc. I expect nothing special needed by anyone outside of paying FedEx some additional fees, certainly no handling/loading onto pallets. Investigating what I can, TNT is an international shipper that gets them here and then FedEx takes over by collecting from customs and distributing. See here:
TNT is becoming FedEx | TNT US | TNT United States
TNT now operates as FedEx in the US. Learn more about this transition, what this means for you and why we’re bigger and better than ever before.
www.tnt.com
FedEx handles the brokering. See here:
International shipping and customs broker options | FedEx
FedEx can help get your shipment through customs by being your broker or you can choose to use your own broker.
If you East Coasters want to try to save more have at it. I only ask that it be organized ASAP so that I can submit the order with an accurate shipping address and contact info.
@Dangcat, good on you for trying to help out and offering a delivery service
I don't know and can't even begin to speculate. When I asked in multiple ways about these things the Rhino rep's response was:
"local duties/taxes may vary but that's not handled by us"
"will just depend on local taxes what each individual person will have to pay"
"each bar will be shipped on an individual pallet to each location, in regards to the local taxes etc, it might be best to contact FedEx, we will ship via TNT who will hand to FedEx in USA"
I'm doing my best to get information from FedEx but it's proving difficult. I would guess that some of this stuff is built into the $500 flat freight fee we're paying to Rhino as suggested by @Dangcat
I think there is some misunderstanding going on here. No need to crunch numbers for those of us west of the Mississippi. The bumpers will be delivered to each of us by FedEx, whether it's to our front door step, a business with a loading dock or picking it up from the local FedEx freight center. The way I'm reading things from Rhino is that once our order is submitted, paid, shipped and landed in the US, we will each be contacted by FedEx to make further delivery arrangements. Basically, pay additional fees, especially if being delivered to a residential address where a lift gate is needed, etc. I expect nothing special needed by anyone outside of paying FedEx some additional fees, certainly no handling/loading onto pallets. Investigating what I can, TNT is an international shipper that gets them here and then FedEx takes over by collecting from customs and distributing. See here:
TNT is becoming FedEx | TNT US | TNT United States
TNT now operates as FedEx in the US. Learn more about this transition, what this means for you and why we’re bigger and better than ever before.
FedEx handles the brokering. See here:
International shipping and customs broker options | FedEx
FedEx can help get your shipment through customs by being your broker or you can choose to use your own broker.www.fedex.com
If you East Coasters want to try to save more have at it. I only ask that it be organized ASAP so that I can submit the order with an accurate shipping address and contact info.
@Dangcat, good on you for trying to help out and offering a delivery service
So does the $500 from Rhino cover the shipping to and across the US as well, or just shipping to US? And everyone just pays extra to Fedex if they 1) need a liftgate or 2) want it shipped to a residential address? Or is it everyone pays extra to Fedex for liftgate/residential, plus cost of transporting across US? Not counting customs, if someone did not need a liftgate and had a business address, do they need to pay anything extra to get the bumper straight to their house, with the way things are currently setup? Sorry i am a little confused as to whether or not the current $500 shipping fee covers getting it to the final destination, or just getting it to the Fedex location on the west coast.
If it does not already cover everything but liftgate/residential charges, then it will be cheaper for those 8 who are near Raleigh to just split the cost of me delivering them myself after sharing the cost of sending them as one big shipment to NC.
To help keep things simple:
Not counting Custom Duty fees/taxes, IF the cost of individually shipping all 8 to residential addresses and with liftgate requirements (on the route i shared), is more than $1800 plus cost of 1 big shipment, like a decent amount more, then it's better for me to deliver them myself if those 8 are interested (comes out to about $225 each, depending on location (closer folks will pay less while further folks like the Chicago guy will pay a little more, but not much more as the total amount won't change), plus your share of shipping everything from West to East coast, for me to drop it off at your house). If the cost of individually shipping all 8 straight from Fedex to each person is close to $1800 + 1 shipment to East coast or less, then the easiest way hands down will be to let Fedex handle it.
So key information we need is 1) Did the $500 shipping cost from Rhino include getting to Fedex location + from there ship to final destination, or does it just include getting it to the Fedex location on the West Coast? and 2) Does Fedex allow this to go via Fedex Ground as opposed to Freight? There is a decent amount of cost difference between ground and freight. If ground then we do not need to have this conversation as you can ship it across the entire country for like $200 bucks. If freight then that is another story.
Let me know if i should even bother crunching the freight shipping numbers, meaning let me know if Fedex Freight to final destination is not already included in the $500. Btw, we use Kuebix and Worldwide Express to compare freight shipping rates. I ran a test quote with our company account (which is discounted), and it was $150 to ship a bumper from LA to Raleigh, to a commercial address with loading dock, and $260 to ship it to residential with liftgate requirement for same shipment. Keep in mind that is a discounted price using our Nail Supplies account, so if you do not have a business account with them it will likely be a decent amount higher, but it still gives you a good point of reference for comparing to Fedex prices.
We also work a ton with Fedex (we see them least once per day, usually around 6pm), so i will see if i can have better luck getting ahold of a rep to answer some questions. Again, will keep everyone posted.
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When i spoke to TNT over the phone, they told me that the $500 price is most likely inclusive of delivery all the way to the destination, but they also said that only FedEx USA will know for sure. I'm going to give them a call and see if i can find out. If the $500 includes getting the bumper all the way to your house, even for east coast folks, then that is a very good shipping rate. I'll also ask about customs/duty fees while i'm on the phone with them and see if i can find out more.
Man, @Dangcat, you are fantastic. Maybe all of us on the group buy should split the cost to get you one of these bad boys. Well done!
I searched on the FedEx website forever today and found little helpful information. I tried calling and that was a nightmare.
Looking back at some of the posts from others who were getting quotes in the thread that started this whole thing...
forum.ih8mud.com
...it looks like quotes were all over the place, from $6600 with a winch to $2900 with a winch to $3800, all inclusive of shipping. Tough to piece together whether the posters were talking AUD or USD but the more I read critically the more I think the $500 is mostly all in, perhaps with some nominal fees but I can't say for certain so don't want to make promises.
Rhino rep:
"Anywhere in mainland USA will be the same price, the local duties/taxes may vary but that is not handled by us."
I searched on the FedEx website forever today and found little helpful information. I tried calling and that was a nightmare.
Looking back at some of the posts from others who were getting quotes in the thread that started this whole thing...
Rhino 4x4 Front Bumper
Does anyone here have experience with Rhino 4x4 front bumpers here in the US? I was a bad influence on my buddy and convinced him to buy a 200, and now he's being a bad influence right back sending me links to stuff I want to buy for mine :hillbilly: The Rhino 3D Evolution bumper is my...
forum.ih8mud.com
Rhino rep:
"Anywhere in mainland USA will be the same price, the local duties/taxes may vary but that is not handled by us."
Man, @Dangcat, you are fantastic. Maybe all of us on the group buy should split the cost to get you one of these bad boys. Well done!
I searched on the FedEx website forever today and found little helpful information. I tried calling and that was a nightmare.
Looking back at some of the posts from others who were getting quotes in the thread that started this whole thing...
...it looks like quotes were all over the place, from $6600 with a winch to $2900 with a winch to $3800, all inclusive of shipping. Tough to piece together whether the posters were talking AUD or USD but the more I read critically the more I think the $500 is mostly all in, perhaps with some nominal fees but I can't say for certain so don't want to make promises.Rhino 4x4 Front Bumper
Does anyone here have experience with Rhino 4x4 front bumpers here in the US? I was a bad influence on my buddy and convinced him to buy a 200, and now he's being a bad influence right back sending me links to stuff I want to buy for mine :hillbilly: The Rhino 3D Evolution bumper is my...
Rhino rep:
"Anywhere in mainland USA will be the same price, the local duties/taxes may vary but that is not handled by us."
So i got good news, the Fedex rep confirmed that the $500 is inclusive of getting it to the final destination, and the ONLY possible additional fees would be for liftgate/residential (which is my guess 40-100 bucks for both), as well as *possible* custom/duty fees. Sometimes customs charges, and sometimes they don't; Fedex recommended i call US customs to find out.
I did run a quick customs quote through the borderbuddies app, and got around $300 duty taxes per bumper (at $2000 value per bumper). Keep in mind that until i talk to customs, that this is not a guaranteed cost.
And @jfrench i really appreciate the kind words and the notion, and that alone makes this worth it tbh. I'm just glad you don't think i'm adding to the headache/making things harder while trying to learn/help.
This is stuff i want to figure out in the long run, as i would love to become a dealer for Rhino and a few other oversea companies like King Shocks, and things like this is perfect for establishing the foundation of knowledge/skills i will need to be successful later down the road. There are a lot of really good quality products for the LC crowd in Australia, so this helps opens a lot of doors regarding that.
Thanks for letting me be a part of this even though i don't have the money or knowledge to fit one of these on my LX yet, but that doesn't matter when you consider that the biggest thing for me is just to get my foot into the door. One day i will give Rhino a call and inquire about becoming an official dealer, and you guys are doing wonders for me in terms of giving me a leg to stand on when i make that call. Thank you to everyone as well, as you are all helping me more than you may realize. God bless!
Also, for the record, congrats to everyone for being well on their way to owning, hands down, the best looking bumper for the 200 series, IMHO.
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Dude your not even getting one? Wtf man. Props for being self motivated and driven. From what I can tell you got what it takes to be successful. Most people I run into our age are lazy and spoiled. Thanks for all your hard work on this!
- Joined
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Sometimes, that's what it takes at first to build a successful business. I've done lots of stuff for FREE, just to gain experience in the Automotive Industry. Thanks for setting logistics up for us in the E Coast Dangcat.
God bless for the kind words, brother; it is greatly appreciated. The way i look at it is that i will be taken care of in the long run, i have no worries about that. First, i want to help make sure you guys are taken care of.
To help give you some perspective as to where i am coming from, which will help you understand why i do the things i do, as well as understand what i get out of it:
My observation is that as a community we do a lot of purchasing, yet as a community we tend to pay close to retail unless we are doing group buys like this. Even the group buys, we are getting close to retail (10% off, in most cases, is not representative of the kind of discounts a community should get when they are purchasing in the amounts that i have seen on Mud). We are paying a ton more as a community for the simple reason that we are not working together. It's been mostly every man, every group buy for themselves, according to my observations.
My guess is after this group buy, we leave nearly nothing behind for future group buys to benefit off of. We may leave behind instructions and information that will help the next group complete the task, but we are not leaving behind a better price for them or a better relationship with the manufacturer. Next mud member that calls will be treated like a new customer, and they have to work their way up and build a new relationship from scratch.
Relationships with manufacturers are key, and maintaining a good relationship will almost always have a direct correlation to better prices/better service and etc.
My vision, my goal, is to get more involved with organizing group buys/hopefully take the lead, and in the process i will try to become an official dealer as well. This way, as a community, we only have to do each thing once. If i were to call Rhino today and they tell me that i need to buy $50k worth of bumpers to qualify for recognition as a dealer/qualify for dealer discounts (usually 20%+), then i would be stuck. Someone like me can handle every other aspect and learn everything i need to handle the responsibility, but i do not have the funds to get on my feet. All i want is the dealer license and discount, which i plan on passing to everyone for helping me achieve something nearly impossible if i tried to do it on my own, but something very much achievable if people on the forums take a chance on me and let me take the lead.
The idea is simple in that i use group buys as an opportunity to get permanent dealer discounts/cover initial dealer buy-in requirements, and in turn i return the favor to the community by passing that discount to forum members, for good. That means that after 1 group buy from people like you guys who pave the way, that every group/member that comes after will only get better prices from there/dealer prices; simply because you will be dealing with me and i will not mark it up at all (you pay manufacturer directly if i set it up properly). The most i will ever do is accept donations for those who want to buy me lunch or something, and to me that is more than i will ever need. I am blessed to have a family business job where everything i could ever need is taken care of, and because of that my income of 15 an hour is all i will ever need/want. Everything else will just be icing on the cake if members decide to send me donations.
I don't plan on touching the money, so the plan is to just acquire dealer discounts, then let members order through my account for savings. In this case they will pay rhino directly and i will step in to help with logistics/warehouse storage/product information/support and etc if needed. I like it this way because it is a volunteer project for me, so i want to set it up to be as low maintenance as possible; and accepting only donations means i don't even have to pay taxes as i hate taxes. I have faith that if i help 10 people save $500 each, that least a few of them will throw me 5 maybe 10 bucks, and that is plenty for me since like i said, everything is just icing on the cake when it comes to money. The knowledge/experience/relationships i build in the process is worth more than its weight in gold.
Also, i do this because i love this community that has taught me so much, and because something about it feels just right; i am taking everything my parents taught me and applying it to something i have a passion for. Even if i get no donations, the knowledge/experience as well as knowing that i am doing my part to give back to the community, well that is more than enough for me. Trust me, i sleep very well at night when i spend my days doing things like this, and for that i Thank you guys for letting me be a part of it.
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You nailed it, brother. It is my pleasure fellas. I will be here for a long time and you guys know how to get ahold of me any time i can be of help. Even if we do not need it now, my offer stays open for good for members of this community as a whole.
