Can anyone tell me what has happened with shipping costs. I just paid for my shipment from this summer from Bulawayo. It consists of one crate and weighs about 150 kg's. The total cost to get it to San Fran is $3,832.95 In 2002 I had two crates shipped from Bulawayo to Utah and the total cost was $1,785. Today I learned from the tannery that the crate was constructed with a hole in the bottom allowing one steenbok horn and one klipspringer horn to fall out and now lost forever. The air shipper was Cargo Air. I have sent an e-mail to the taxidermist in Bulawayo so I will allow them the opertunity to make it right before naming names.

Wow, maybe I'm NOT looking forward to my elephant tusks finally getting here!

I received two crates, one from Zim. and one from Nam., in '03 and they ran about $2K each.

150kg is a pretty heavy crate though.

Kyler

I have heard of some unbelievable high shipping bills coming out of Tanzania. It's starting to make a elk hunt in the states look cheap!

Last year, the shipping bill on my mounts from RSA was $4000. I didn't expect it and nearly fell over from the shock. It seems cheap to get the taxidermy work done there, but with shipping, it comes out to be about the same. Of course this depends upon how much work one gets done. I was not as satisfied with the quality of workmanship as I usually am with my local stuffer. Final analysis, I will have the hides and horns shipped next time and get the taxid. work done here.

Kyler I agree 150 kg's is a heavy crate. Looking at the shipping docs for the first trip the total of the two was 168kg'and there were more and heavy animals in it including a full skin waterbuck and a buffalo and cape. This current crate has the pigmy antelope's and the largest being the full skin leopard.
I've received a response from the shipper and they deny any holes in the crate when built. I'm expecting photos of the crate from the tannery and will examine them from there.

I just received confirmation of my shipment from Windhoek arriving in San Francisco. The actual air freight charge for a 127 kg crate was $1205. Add in the customs broker, fees, exams, and shipping from SF to the tannery and the total came to $1720.
I had all my rear skins tanned and numerous rugs finished over there, and left the capes for tanning and mounting over here. Up front costs for all the dipping, packing, tanning, etc. was $1500.
I will still get nicked again for transfer of the crate from tanner to my home, and about $800 for tanning 10 capes.
My trophy fees for the hunt were about $6000, and will end up spending another $4000 to get them home.

Has any one here had World Wide Logistics in Joberg ship their trophies to the States? I had my mounts shiped to them from Maple freight in Bulawayo Zim. The taxidermist had sent my trophies to Maple freight back in Oct. I was notified by WWL that my shipment was ready to ship to Dallas TX. Not good, as I live in Seattle WA. They told me they would redue the shipping bill to Seattle. That was back in early Dec. They never got back to me even after a few emails. I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this. WWL sucks
I also found out that Airport Brokers here in Seattle could have handeled the shipping from Joberg. Tammy who works for them, cleared all my SA mounts (9) for me for $130. I hope I'm not about to get F-D

Well I got a response from the taxidermist in Bulawayo and they deny any faulty workmanship on the crate that would allow the horns to fall out. They were also taken back by the implication that they are receiveing a cut of the shipping cost. However it has been expalined to me that the taxidermist who does the dip and pack will shop around for the shipper who will pay them the most for the business. I didn't take this a surprise. I'm sure this happens all over the world not just Africa. I called Golden state Tanning in Calif.,who received my shipment and they are of the opinion that it is definately the construction of the crate that allowed the horns to fall out and not in shipment damage. They also indicate that rather than remove the horns and package in bubble wrap or plastic they were placed loose in the crate and came loose from the skull.
I don't know how to correct the over charges. I'm sure all that are involved know it's unlikely that we as hunters will refuse the shipping on trophys once it lands in the U.S Europe or where ever. However if hunt bookings were to drop by say 50% in a year that might be the attitude adjustment they need. We all know that money is the deciding factor.

Based on my own experience and post like this the more I’m convinced its better to just leave the stuff over there. With the hassle of just getting the trophies and then add in the cost of shipping, you got to ask is it worth it. I for one am beginning to think not, I’d just as soon take good photos, hang them on the wall and spend the money I’d have spent on shipping and taxidermy on another hunt.

This is where using a really good booking agent can save you money. They know who to use and will do their best to not allow bogus or inflated fees to be added on to your freight bill.
A very good friend of mine hunted in Mozambique in 92. His agent had a written agreement with the outfitter specifying how all he's clients trophies were to be shipped. Six months after his hunt the outfitter tried to us a different shipping company ??? The agent stepped in (I am being polite ) and insured his trophies were shipped correctly. The trophies arrived in Anchorage (buffalo,Sable, Crocodile, Bush buck, Reed buck, Bush pig ) with a $900 shipping bill.

I will be having my ele tusks, skull and hides and finished products sent to me from Bulawayo...But my stuff is going to be tanned and shipped finished...I am going to have it shipped by boat to NY and Fauna and Flora will receive and I will go and pick up....
Dudley Rogers will be visit my home in 2 weeks and we will finalize the arrangements...

Mike

Funny you should bring this up. I just got my bill Monday:

FDA Clearance: $180
Messenger fees: $45
Aifreight (SwissAir): $812.35
Storage: $35
Deliver: $50

Total $1122.35

Shumba and I had hoped to share this cost before the new law was in place.

The true adventure in hunting Africa is having your luggage/guns arrive the same day/place you do, and getting your trophies back without getting totally raped.

Mark, who did the shipping from Zim?? How heavy and size of crate is it...Cost me in 02 from RSA $1200..

Mike

Mike:
While I thought the shipping cost from Joburg was exhorbitant, I didn't use an importing agent. I had the stuff shipped to Baltimore and my wife and I went there and picked it up. Shepherding the stuff through USDA and Fish and Wildlife is not tough at all. It takes about an hour for the whole bureaucratic scenario and the people were nice. We borrowed a trailer from my son in law and brought the two crates home.

The only damage to my mounts was the one horn on my blesbuck was cracked (I fixed it with super glue), and one ear on the eland was bent (I straightened it and used a fabric glue from JoAnn Stores). You can't tell either was dented.

As to the taxidermy work, I was not terribly impressed. For some strange reason, they used some sort of black paint on all of the horns except for the blesbuck. I didn't like that and called the taxid. to ask how to remove it. He got huffy with me and has not sent the fly whisks we were supposed to get.

The taxidermist's name and business name will be supplied upon email request to those interested.

I have used Carol Rutkowski at Coppersmith and had not suprises or price gouging. They are on the internet, based in Dallas and do a great job.

I received the photos from Golden state taxidermy of the crate used for the shipping. This crate is unlike any I have seen used for trophy shipment. I looks to be about 5'x2.5'x5' the top and sides are made of a thin plywood re-inforced by 3x1 boards the entire lenght and along the sides. The bottom is made of the same boards the lenght but not butted together, with open gaps between each board. Goldenstate is of the opinion that the horns that are missing were never packaged as it would require a pushing of the horns through the bottom.
I find it difficult to believe that my entire shipment required that large a crate.
once I e-mailed the photos of the crate and the opinion of Golden state I have not heard back from the taxidermist in Bulawayo.

These are the photos of the crate. Has anyone seen a crate this large and re-inforced? The shipment consisted of nine animals the largest being the full skin zebra and full skin leopard. The largest skull being the kudu and wildebeest. In speaking with golden state I'm told that there was plenty of space around the contents and they flet that a smaller crate could have been used to ship this. Send me a P.M. if you would like to know who not! to use in Bulawayo for shipping.

I recieved and paid my invoice today. 106kg from JNB to JFK with Coppersmith, $1743.00. Not as bad as I expected but I am wondering if that will cover shipping to the to the taxidermist. If I left that warthog over there I would have done the clearing by myself.

Dulcinea

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Originally posted by dogcat:
I have used Carol Rutkowski at Coppersmith and had not suprises or price gouging. They are on the internet, based in Dallas and do a great job.

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A few years back I used Coppersmith for three shipments. Some of my horns were pilfered from the box someplace between Chicago and my house. All I got was a "Sorry" from Carol/Coppersmith. However, I subsequently discovered that on two of the three shipments Coppersmith had billed me for services they did not perform , "warehouse transfer" I believe it was called. I call that padding the bill. They did refund me those fees when confronted with it.

The company I now use have been real good on two shipments, (Fauna & Flora), but I'm sure other people have had problems with them too.

Good News! upon getting home this evening I received e-mails for Safariland taxidermy in Bulawayo and Cargo Air as well as Hunter International in S.F. Cargo Air indicated that there was an error in the calculations of the volume of the crate and I am owed a refund of $1360.75.
I owe an appology to Safariland taxidermy and Tracy Enslin for my first statements. They could have taken the stance of I'm in the US and they are in Africa, but they corrected the matter of shipping costs. There is still the matterof the missing horns and I now feel confident that they will do what they can to make it right.

With the $1,300 refund you are only being overcharged by $1,000.

I cleared my 182kg crate(Lion skin and skull, Two buffalo skulls and an elephant skull and jaw along with a pair of elelphant tusks) at SFO(via Harare) and the total cost was $1,802. The crate was about 4'Wx6'Lx3"H.

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I don't know how to correct the over charges. I'm sure all that are involved know it's unlikely that we as hunters will refuse the shipping on trophys once it lands in the U.S Europe or where ever. However if hunt bookings were to drop by say 50% in a year that might be the attitude adjustment they need. We all know that money is the deciding factor.

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The only way I see to steer clear of this is to hunt with an honoest outfit. I hunted with Russ Broom, he is A+ in my book and I would trust him to hold my wallet. When it comes to shipping the outfitter is holding your wallet; choose wisely!

Jason

Kino, I just received a revised quote from World Wide Logistics in Joberg that my trophies are ready to be shipped from Bulawayo Zim. They quoted me $1278 to ship my trophies to Seattle WA. This includes Shoulder mounts of an eland, impala, warthog, zebra rug and euro mounts of a blue wildebeest and kudu. I found a person in Seattle that will cleare my shipement for less than $150. It seems that your shipping charges are a little high but there seems to be a lot of defference in shipping cost amoung the shipping companies.
Good luck on getting the missing horn issue resolved. I would be more that pissed at the taxidermist.

I have used Carol Rutkowski and Coppersmith on 4 shipments. The last one (containing just a buffalo skull and elephant tusks) had, what I considered several inflated/improper charges added to it.

I let the crate set in their warehouse for 6 months while we negotiated. Finally got a small reduction in charges.

Coppersmith, never again. Carol has the attitude that when it comes to price, she can charge whatever she wants. You should see the nasty emails she and I exchanged.

Regards,

Terry

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Originally posted by KINO:
These are the photos of the crate. Has anyone seen a crate this large and re-inforced? The shipment consisted of nine animals the largest being the full skin zebra and full skin leopard. The largest skull being the kudu and wildebeest. In speaking with golden state I'm told that there was plenty of space around the contents and they flet that a smaller crate could have been used to ship this. Send me a P.M. if you would like to know who not! to use in Bulawayo for shipping.

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Kino, it is a documented practice (see Hunting Report), in Africa that some taxidermists/dippers pay a fee (kickback, if you like) to the safari company to make sure business is steered their way. I'm not saying this happens everywhere, but the Hunting Report has documented at least one case of this practice. Where there is smoke...

I have often wondered, whether the same type of paractice is not performed between taxidermists/dippers and shippers. I.e. the shipper is paid per volume and weight, since the customer is surely not going to pay extra to have a proper sized crate made (he rightfully expects this to happen automatically), what is to stop a little conversation about mutual interests over a gin & tonic?? So crates are built large and heavy, because that is what pays to ship...

Naturally, I have no way of proving this, but it does seem odd that crates are more often than not built huge - at least for non mounted trophies. My last crate had an in-built pallet. Sure nice for the people who handled the crate with a fork lift, but since shipment costs are based on weight and volume, guess who got to pay for shipment of the pallet?

When confronted with this fact, taxidermists often shrug their shoulders, and argue
1) that unless the crate is super sturdy they won't take responsibility for safe arrival of the contents
2) that, hey, the crate was built by their (un-)skilled labour, and who is to know why they built it so large? Or
3) this is a standard size case, and therefore what you got.

I have often wondered why skins and skulls are not simply shipped in sturdy cardboard boxes, padded with newspaper or (if available) styrofoam "popcorn"?? Skulls and skins are pretty sturdy, and padded the right way should offer little reason for worry. Besides, everything in the home of mail order (i.e. the US) is shipped in cardboard boxes, and rarely anything happens.

But as I said, maybe there is a reason crates are built large and heavy - apart from the official reasons... Who is to know?

-mike

P.S. Sorry just went over previous replies again, and saw you had already suggested the same as I did. Pardon me if I stated the obvious.

I paid $2400.00 for one big crate weighing 499kilos shipped from Joberg to SFO in Sept 2004. Shipped by Safari Air Cargo on Air France.

I dont think my lost horns will ever be recovered and little will be done to remedy the situation. I guess one lives and learns. I will be certain to have an in writting understanding of the shipping procedure the next time. I suppose worse could happen. My local taxidermist mounted several trophys from Tanzania that had major hair slippage on the lion, hyena and bush pig. The skins were all wrapped in plastic and when they arrived in the US there was actaully a green type of mold on the skins. I was told the reason for the plastic is it is law in Tanzania that they must be wrapped before they can be shipped. Can any one shed some light on this?, as it will be the major determination if I go to Tanzania next.