- Joined
- Feb 8, 2012
- Messages
- 598
I am not certain if this is of much use to anyone not living in Dubai. I moved here recently and my financial situation improved greatly from the time I was back home in India, plus there is no customs duty here on knives. I mean Kershaw value line to ZT level of improvement. I am even considering custom purchases now.
This is not about the comparison between 2 retailers but the shipping service they use and the implications of using them to ship to Dubai. Knifecenter and New Graham knives. I hope mentioning them here is not verboten or anything. They are both excellent retailers who respond and ship promptly. Their customer service is damn good too.
KC Via FEDEX
1. Higher price than NGK.
2. $30 shipped to my door in Dubai with customs and handling taken care of.
3. Shipped in <7 days every time.
4. Order list (4 Orders) - ZT0566, CTK Windfang, Opinel 08 & 064, Bad Blood Partisan Nano, Boker Plus Rhino, Kershaw Leek Promo Pack, Lansky Diamond Deluxe, WRKT Backpacker, Ontario RAT 2.
NGK Via USPS
1. Slightly lower prices than KC.
2. Near $50 shipped to the customs office here. Plus the 2 trips to the customs office and 1 to the department of security systems, where they checked and made sure it wasn't a "military style" knife and charged another $30 "service charge" for "handling and clearance".
3. Shipped in 14 days to the customs office plus the time it has taken me to collect which I hope will be today.
4. Order list (1 Order) - CTK Hudson Bay Camp Knife, Boker TUF, Kershaw Black Gulch.
I have listed out my orders to show that there is much more in my KC orders that can be problematic legally than in my NGK orders. Such as assisted openers, large folders, black blades etc as opposed to wood handled FB's and a traditional type folder. Plus 4 orders from KC v/s 1 from NGK.
Again I'd like to make the point that this is not about the retailers themselves but about their choice of international shipping service provider. Clearly, FEDEX charges lesser, ships faster and takes care of administrative aspects like customs and handling. My last order from KC (containing the ZT0566) was held by customs for a day as well and FEDEX told me I needed to do nothing but wait as they would have it cleared by customs/Dubai police and they did so. Even back in India, the levied a universal charge including customs and handling and ensured delivery to my door.
To those that would ship internationally, may I recommend the use of FEDEX rather than USPS. Apologies for the long post and I hope this of use to someone.
This is not about the comparison between 2 retailers but the shipping service they use and the implications of using them to ship to Dubai. Knifecenter and New Graham knives. I hope mentioning them here is not verboten or anything. They are both excellent retailers who respond and ship promptly. Their customer service is damn good too.
KC Via FEDEX
1. Higher price than NGK.
2. $30 shipped to my door in Dubai with customs and handling taken care of.
3. Shipped in <7 days every time.
4. Order list (4 Orders) - ZT0566, CTK Windfang, Opinel 08 & 064, Bad Blood Partisan Nano, Boker Plus Rhino, Kershaw Leek Promo Pack, Lansky Diamond Deluxe, WRKT Backpacker, Ontario RAT 2.
NGK Via USPS
1. Slightly lower prices than KC.
2. Near $50 shipped to the customs office here. Plus the 2 trips to the customs office and 1 to the department of security systems, where they checked and made sure it wasn't a "military style" knife and charged another $30 "service charge" for "handling and clearance".
3. Shipped in 14 days to the customs office plus the time it has taken me to collect which I hope will be today.
4. Order list (1 Order) - CTK Hudson Bay Camp Knife, Boker TUF, Kershaw Black Gulch.
I have listed out my orders to show that there is much more in my KC orders that can be problematic legally than in my NGK orders. Such as assisted openers, large folders, black blades etc as opposed to wood handled FB's and a traditional type folder. Plus 4 orders from KC v/s 1 from NGK.
Again I'd like to make the point that this is not about the retailers themselves but about their choice of international shipping service provider. Clearly, FEDEX charges lesser, ships faster and takes care of administrative aspects like customs and handling. My last order from KC (containing the ZT0566) was held by customs for a day as well and FEDEX told me I needed to do nothing but wait as they would have it cleared by customs/Dubai police and they did so. Even back in India, the levied a universal charge including customs and handling and ensured delivery to my door.
To those that would ship internationally, may I recommend the use of FEDEX rather than USPS. Apologies for the long post and I hope this of use to someone.
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