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jenson usa
NB: Originally posted elsewhere on the Global Riders Network and appears via syndication.
Hi
im looking at buying a bike off Jenson usa
does any one have any experience dealing with them
cheers
Kurt
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We did a group order off them a while back. No issues at all.
You will need to email them a copy of your credit card though the first time you purchase from memory.
They are great to deal with.
Yeah - Jenson are good. They will ask you to fax CC and license copy I think, but don't worry, the goods came when I did that!
doing a big order with some of the boys and yes there is a whole bike in the order
thanks guys
Kurt
I have wondered how much import duty and GST is payable on a bike? as once you go over $1000 worth they slug you. I guess the GST is 10%, but I don't know how they calculate the import duty?
John.
jenson are a great company but when i tried to buy some new forks they wouldnt ship them to aus,apparently at the request from fox for different warranty etc,more like huge price difference so i dont know how that works for a complete bike or build kit?
considering the shippng price from these guys is worked out on how much you purchase your item for, wouldnt a couple of grand worth of stuff get you a monster shipping fee too (like hundreds +)? not to mention the size of a bike and possibility to get damaged? just something to think about! i think they have a shipping calculator for international stuff, if youve not already found out the price..
Consider purchasing from my local bike shop as well - I think the shipping is much more reasonable. Whilst they don't have the massive bargains that Jenson has, they are still cheaper than most places in australia.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/
Nah, it doesn't work that way. Shipping for a whole bike plus a few other small things is around 100 bucks US. Considering the savings to be made it's not bad at all.
As for duty - anything over 1000 bucks Aussie has to have duty paid. AFAIK this is just 10% GST, but... last I saw the customs boys were a little behind the times and still think 1 AUD = 70c US when they make their calculations when it was really closed to 88c!
Had a look at the Jenson site and have found a nice little Jamis for my youngest son, however are the shifters and/or brake levers on the wrong side compared to how we have them? I think the brakes could be just moved to the opposite side. Shifters probably not?
Cheers John.
we were at ourimbah once and saw a guy on a jamis hardtail doing some light xc stuff that snapped the frame in 2! put me off jamis's hehe..i think the yankee doodles have all their stuff round the wrong way
, dont think its a big deal swapping though..
Shifter configuration is the same the world over, rear is on the right, it's be too expensive and confusing for the manufacturers to make both right and left rear shifters. Unless you still run gripshift of course...
You're right re brakes but it's an easy fix, just carefully swap the cables over, taking care not to lose any fluid, and they shouldn't even need a bleed. It's a ten minute job. Thinking about it, you might not even need to disconnect cables, say on a set of Hayes which don't have an upright reservior?
Ta,
Matt.
... for Hayes you'd just undo the two bolts on the bar clamp and swap them.
I put a set on my commuter bike and had to cut and reconnect the cable. Bleeding them is no problem with a bleed kit - it's a real simple job with a little practice. PM me if you ever need help.
Thanks for your answers guys, all seems to make sense.
John.
The brake levers are on the right/correct side...
Waht about Rob's Bianchi, I'm sure he had to swap the brakes over.
John.
but....NO, f...... German bikes r :
YES the wrong way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bernd
I was kidding John... my setup is 'wrong' in Aus, right elsewhere...
I've been buying off Jenson for the last few years always excellent, recently monthly for various bits and pieces
- Order on friday/sat, generaly have it by the following friday if in stock.
- Easy to make changes / additions
- Sometimes they have to bring bits in from other warehouses and this delays shipping up to a week.
- Best to use a business address for delivery, saves hassles with couriers if not home.
- You pay GST on anything over AUD1000 value PLUS ~$65 customs fee, and sometimes a small processing fee of around $28.
- I've bought frames from Jenson and Competitive Cyclist with freight between USD90 and 120.
- If Jenson dont have what I want, I go to Speedgoat.com, or sometimes competitivecyclist for special bits, and occasionally beyondbikes.com
- No dealer can officialy ship FOX suspension items out of the US, however there are a few small (non-mainstream) dealers that will do it for you. Same for Polar HRMs.
As for LBS, I will alway try to support them, but the fact is distributors in Australia seem to take far higher marging than the US, and when the dealers put their markup on, it's just not competitive. SO the issue really begins with the importation and distribution chain (IMHO).
When I am doing a big ticket item,I will sometimes offer the sale to an LBS a the price I can buy it in the US with freight. Remember we are buying retail there and adding freight, so they should be able to make something!
Whisperer
for all the helpful info on the costs etc on importing bikes, it looks like My 9 YO (Jason) is getting a new bike from Jenson. It's hard to find quality bikes in small enough sizes for kids, at the moment Jasons bike weighs about as much as mine and has 6 gears, any wonder he struggles up Andersons fire trail.
Cheers John.
I'm with it now, I missed the wink in the other post, so why does Australia do the brakes on the side we do if the rest of the world is the opposite, how does England do it?
the uk does it the same as over here. i was aware that pre hydraulic days when everything was cable(GASP!) they used to be on opposite sides in the u.s. but i cant vouch for anything that happens now?????
going way back to the Jamis comment
i ride an XLT Dakar 2.0 and have had no dramas with it
I would recomend their bikes no worries
thanks all for the comments
looking at the prices from LBS
the bike the old mate was buying was an 08 otero Mongoose
its approx $500.00 from Jenson and approx $900 at the LBS
as you ill all agree even with duties and freight that will be split up between a few of us its a lot cheaper
cheers
Kurt
does noone else see an issue with either faxing or sending via non secure e-mail both a copy of your credit card and drivers license to another party? Ask your bank, they will tell you under no circumstances do this and every time there is a news report about credit card fraud or identity theft you see some cop on the idiot box giving some speil about never letting people photo copy your DL.
As most of you know I've spent some serious dollars OS in the last twelve months and if the places I want to give my money too aren't prepared to do one of the following then I take my money elsewhere
1 - process my credit card and then wait the three or four days it may take for the details to be checked and then ship my goods,
2 - offer other secure methods of payment ie PayPal or
3 - treat me with the same level of trust that I am treating them with.
Remember that the three digit code on the back of your card, which most secure online order forms now require, can't be "skimmed" so the only way for people to get it short of having your cards in their hands is either for you to have given it to them or for them to have "intercepted" an unsecure e-mail that has a copy of your card. No thanks. The whole idea of this code is to prevent "skimmed" cards from being used for internet purchases.
FWIW I have never found a price for something I want at Jensons that can't be found cheaper elsewhere or price matched by someone that actually wants my business.
Stuart,
the ultra conservative shopper
don't get caught.
There are a couple of things to watch for.
Yes the threshold is $1000 dollars and once you go over this amount the duty and the GST is charged on the total amount, not the portion over $1000.
Individual items count towards the total package cost so if you're looking at buying a couple of expensive components you may be better paying for two lots of postage.
Duty varies depending on what the item is, ie forks and frames are a different rate to say components or complete bikes. If you crack the $1000 mark then duty is charged, 5% for frames is the only one I'm sure about, on the total amount and then 10% gst is charged on the total including duty, so you end up paying slightly over 15% on your purchase. Oh yeah, then customs slug you a processing fee of atleast $50.
Now for the hidden sting. They don't calculate the $ value at time of purchase but at the time the package is post stamped.
So with the dollar moving as much as it does at the moment you can buy something one day that is, at time of purchse, under the $1000 mark. It might take a day or two to process and ship in which time the dollar may have dropped a little so the goodies you think are duty free have just slipped over the threshold and then you have to pay duty on the total, even if it moves to say a value of $1001. The exchange rate isn't what you see on the news either. They take rates three times a day and then average them out.
I found it helps if you get the place you are purchasing from to put the $A value on the receipt as well as the value in their currency. CRC for one do this automatically. In my case this saved a hefty, unexpected bill.
As for getting your local to match an internet price plus freight. To be fair to them you should also include duty as few distributors would order in single components and would therefore pay duty on the lot. Admittedly their postage would be cheaper because it would more than likely come surface freight not the air freight that your postgae cost would be. That said I agree there does seem to be a real issue when you can buy things OS and have them delivered to your door, sometimes within a week, at upto half the cost we are asked to pay here if you snag a special.
Hope this helps
Stuart
Thanks for the heads up Stuart
the guy who was buying the bike has just read your comments and we are now going to try a couple of other lines before charging off to the states to jump head first into a massive yet unexpected bill
also in the age of electronic tecnology i ask this question
how long until your pc has a credit card scanner on it
some now have finger print locks which could also be used as a credit scanner to make sure it is you that is using it
but how far are we away from that
or have we jumped that and are now looking to the future
Not fact at all.
The fact is there is a distributor in the middle and in some cases they will be paying more than the larger on-line sellers.