Shipping Quote

[tay50]

So I received a shipping estimate for a finished shoulder mounted Buffalo, Sable, Zebra and Kudu skin and skull from SA. The price was $5450 plus import fees on the US side of $1350 to Chicago, got a little sticker shock going on right now. What the heck has shipping went up that much? Can't help to think I'm over paying, correct me if I'm wrong to feel this way? By the way if I opt not to ship the Buffalo the shipping drops to $2900, import price stays the same.

 

[uplander01]

It really has gotten rediculous. I wouldn't pay that much for a buff mount, that's damn near teh trophy fee on another one.

 

[samson7x]

It is getting to the point where I'd rather just take photos and put $ toward another safari. That seems expensive but that must be a very large crate to accommodate all those shoulder mounts.

 

[slam8031]

I can’t quote precisely my latest shipment I received thee weeks ago, but I had a roan on a pedestal, kudu shoulder, mountain and common reedbuck shoulders, full civet and serval and genet and skull and skin of springbok and full skin of zebra. Shipping and import thru coppersmith ATL was 3500 and 1100. Picked up in ATL. You probably got the Turkish air upcharge for dangerous game…

 

[Spartan5]

Did you have the quote air vs ship ? Just wondering if the slower route saves any money worth considering.

 

[Spartan5]

I can’t quote precisely my latest shipment I received thee weeks ago, but I had a roan on a pedestal, kudu shoulder, mountain and common reedbuck shoulders, full civet and serval and genet and skull and skin of springbok and full skin of zebra. Shipping and import thru coppersmith ATL was 3500 and 1100. Picked up in ATL. You probably got the Turkish air upcharge for dangerous game…

Dangerous game up charge would be understandable if they were alive and a threat to the staff

 

[tay50]

I did not ask for a cargo ship price.

 

[buck wild]

I did not ask for a cargo ship price.

A few folks who have gone this route ended up with MASSIVE fees at the dock upon arrival that were hidden from the quote provided. It didn't end up being any cheaper in the end. Full disclosure, I don't have any personal experience with sea freight.

 

[slam8031]

Delta and others at one point stopped shipping dangerous game items and Turkish air was the only player. They dictate prices

 

[Mark Biggerstaff]

I had sticker shock about 3 month ago, decided what I had mounted to leave with PH for lodge.
I could do part of another safari for what it was going to cost. So from now on all my hunts are non export or management hunts. Pictures will be good enough from now on, not going to let it stop me from hunting over there.

 

[Hyde Hunter]

So I received a shipping estimate for a finished shoulder mounted Buffalo, Sable, Zebra and Kudu skin and skull from SA. The price was $5450 plus import fees on the US side of $1350 to Chicago, got a little sticker shock going on right now. What the heck has shipping went up that much? Can't help to think I'm over paying, correct me if I'm wrong to feel this way? By the way if I opt not to ship the Buffalo the shipping drops to $2900, import price stays the same.

Turkish is the only game now for big 5 and they will shaft you on freight and storage fees in Chicago, like over 300 per day storage. pictures for me now only

 

[Hunt anything]

That has to be a substantial crate, what is your actual weight, volumetric weight and size of the crate?

 

[Hunt anything]

Delta and others at one point stopped shipping dangerous game items and Turkish air was the only player. They dictate prices

That was in 2015 after the “Cecil the lion” fiasco.
I’m sure the war with Iran also has given them a good excuse to jack up prices.
Use a customs broker that has a bonded warehouse to help avoid a lot of storage fees.

 

[HookMeUpII]

What is the volumetric weight on the crate(s)?

 

[HookMeUpII]

Turkish is the only game now for big 5 and they will shaft you on freight and storage fees in Chicago, like over 300 per day storage. pictures for me now only

Do yourself a favor, if you change your mind, look into SSI to do your import. Wyatt is doing ours and has a bonded warehouse he charges one flat fee for. Turkish has been known for that.

A lot of folks look like they are having their crates sit for no reason lately. Some guy on here had a crate sitting, without any primate/swine, for like 2 weeks.

 

[MontanaPat]

If you haven’t yet committed to the current shipper’s quote and you have the crate dimensions with actual and volumetric weight, I would reach out to AHG Trophy Shipping and ask them to quote shipping costs. I used AHG Trophy Shipping this past fall and found them to be at least 50% less then other shippers I previously used with similar size crates.

I think the shippers are used to us paying whatever they quote when it comes from the taxidermist they have a preferred relationship with and we don’t know any better to shop around. Richard Lendrum who owns Afton Safari Lodge and AHG trophy shipping has been trying to break the mold of the D&P or taxidermist preferred relationships and get hunters to shop around more. He discussed with me a couple of previous trips and I decided to give them a try last year and it really did save money. They picked up my stuff from the outfitters directly and took care of it all for much less than I had been paying.

If you haven’t committed to the shipping quote yet and AHG gives you a better rate they will go pick up your crate wherever it is and handle from there. Worth a quick check

 

[Shootist43]

AHG shipping handled the trophy shipping for our last hunt. I was very happy. They used FedEx and the mounts came straight to my front door.

 

[samson7x]

My recent crate sat for a while and ended up paying storage fees because they were "understaffed." I wasn't pleased with my last experience, hence my sentiment of "photos only" moving forward.

 

[TXhunter65]

So I received a shipping estimate for a finished shoulder mounted Buffalo, Sable, Zebra and Kudu skin and skull from SA. The price was $5450 plus import fees on the US side of $1350 to Chicago, got a little sticker shock going on right now. What the heck has shipping went up that much? Can't help to think I'm over paying, correct me if I'm wrong to feel this way? By the way if I opt not to ship the Buffalo the shipping drops to $2900, import price stays the same.

For reference I cleared a friends shipment in 2024 he had 10 shoulder mounts including buffalo, kudu, sable pedestal, and others with a couple euro mounts. His crate was 5' wide, 4' tall, and 8' long. His shipping was $5,579.

It is getting out of hand...saw a post on here where a guy brought back to euros from Argentina, blackbuck and axis, and shipping was over $5,000 I believe after he paid for everything.

 

[Hedge774]

Dangerous game up charge would be understandable if they were alive and a threat to the staff

I was wondering what was dangerous about dead skin and horn....hmmmm.