Shipping costs from Germany? - Page 1

Does anyone have any idea how much shipping a puppy would cost from Germany to St. Paul, Minnesota International?

From Germany to Seattle, Washington last February was about $460. So probably in a similar range.

Unfortunately, due to the rise in gas prices, we are seeing a rise in the airline shipping prices. I paid 550 euros for shipping of a 500 crate earlier last year (including crate), and 620 euros for the same size, same shipper later last year. My guess is the prices will have gone up a bit. You can check with Gradlyn to find out prices. Email kay@gkair.de or sascha@gkair.de, and one of them should be able to help you. :) Good luck with your puppy!

email info@petair.de for a quote. The price will vary depending on the kennel size and total weight, as well as whether the shipper drops the puppy off at Petair Frankfurt at 5am on shipping day, or leaves the puppy to be kenneled at Petair Frankfurt overnight, or Petair goes out to the breeder to pick up the puppy and transport it to Frankfurt. And of course there is the detail of the crate - will the breeder provide one, or do you have to pay the airline or shipping company for one. ANOTHER important detail... CUSTOMS CLEARANCE... Is there a direct flight into St. Paul/Minn?? IF NOT, there is a new customs regulation that requires that you MUST have an agent or customs broker walk the paperwork to customs at the port of Entry. I ship all my dogs into Houston or Dallas, as Lufthansa flies straight in, and there is a customs office close by the Lufthansa terminal, so I clear them through cusoms myself. Petair should be able to tell you where the port of entry is or if you can get a direct flight in. It may be necessary for you to fly the pup into a city where someone can clear the pup trhough cusoms for you. Customs brokers charge anywhere in the neighborhood of $250.00 Email {Petair with all the details, and they will give you a quote. Petair will also let you email your credit card info to pay them. I have shipped a LOT of dogs with Petair and they are super. If I can assist you with any more details, email me at altostland@aol.com

At this time of year it might be cheaper to fly over and bring your puppy home as excess baggage... honest! You can get some great deals in Jan-Feb on airfare. Take your crate with you. They are quite expensive abroad. I usually strap a collapsed crate around my suitcase or in a duffle bag, filling the extra bag with gifts on the way over and with difficult-to-find-in-USA German food items (mmmm! wein gummies! Saurbraten spice, Racklette cheese!) and dog goodies to bring home on the way back.

Shelley, That is an awesome idea. I just checked prices through Continental and Delta, and they are very reasonable--$321 plus taxes and surcharges if you fly at the end of January. Add to that the $125 (approximately) charge to take the pup as carry-on baggage, and voila, you can MEET your pup's breeder, perhaps visit people whom you have communicated with about dogs (for future reference), pick up some goodies to bring back with you, and come home! :) It would cost roughly the same amount, once you add in the $250 Customs Broker fee and shipping/crate costs. If someone DOES decide to go this way, make sure that the seller has the pup ready to fly (i.e. all vaccinations current, pet passport ready, etc) Excellent suggestion, for those who are able to go out of country for a few days. :)

That sounds so easy, but you also need to add the expense of the rental car, hotels (unless you have friends of course) and gas, which is quite expensive. In addition, the airlines tighened their regulations for excess baggage. My suitcase last summer was just 15 pounds over the limit and I had to pay $ 50 extra (if I remember correctly, might have been even more) and that was United in Frankfurt. Also, a friend of mine could not take her extra crate with Delta without paying an enormous amount of money for the same reason - excess baggage, too heavy and too bulky. And that was here in Washington DC and on a route she had taken previously with no problems. Lucky for her, she had my husband with her or otherwise, the crate would have been lost. We were informed that the regulations for baggage changed last year (in 2006) and that there now is a strict limit on size and weight of suitcases and other pieces you wish to check in as lugggage. So, before making plans I would check with the airline on that.

Chris, That is correct, but he wants to bring back a puppy. I don't think a 200 crate even with the biggest puppy would be over the size limit. :) If you figure 350 euros for shipping, 50 euros for transport (on the cheaper side) to the airport, 30 euros for international health cert/pet passport (again, low), and then $250 for the Customs Broker fee, you're suddenly looking at $821.90 to ship the pup, versus $550 to fly there and back with the crate/pup, plus gas/rental car, hotel (unless you have friends). BUT! You also get to meet the breeder of your pup, possibly see littermates, make sure that everything is in order, etc. Shipping is often easier for people (like myself, lately!) who cannot travel for whatever reason. But actually going there is a great idea, for those who it is possible for. :)

That is true, plus it is a nice trip. Although, at this time of the year, it can be very nasty when it comes to weather. My parents live one and a half hours from Frankfurt and that trip is like going through hell in ice and snow. We have done it a few times and had to deal with jack-knifed trucks on a hill and endless lines of cars. If you have to go south of Frankfurt, you are better off, but northeast or northwest is a different story.The average cost for a hotel stay is around 100 Euros (approximately 130 US-$) for one person, plus rental car and gas. To get a cheap flight, you have to stay a certain amount of days including a weekend, right? For people who wish to calculate: The exchange rate today at the BoA in Washington DC is 1 Euro = 1.2980 US-$. You will definitely spend a lot more than 822 US-$, as a matter of fact, I would double that amount.

I had come across this site when I was researching buying a dog (not a German Shepard) from Germany. I had read about GK air and I used them. I was extremely happy with them. They were great, although my breeder had to drive from Berlin to Frankfurt. I also read about using a customs broker and some of the problems people had with getting their new puppy through customs. I prepared myself. I was sure that GK air had all of the paperwork on their end and I called customs, downloaded the CDC vaccination form, filled it out. I had EVERYTHING they needed. Or so I thought.

My puppy flew into Miami on a flight that had been delayed 2 hours and 40 minutes. I wanted my puppy out of her crate! The customs office is a short drive from the Lufthansa cargo terminal. We got our paprer work and went to customs. The agent looked over our paper work and asked for a receipt for the puppy. Receipt? I told him that I had called customs and was told everything I needed. A receipt was never mentioned. The man said "How do I know you paid for the puppy if you don't have a receipt? My husband asked why would someone SEND the puppy if it wasn't paid for. Our names were on the paperwork. We had identification. Still, he wanted a receipt. We left and went back to Lufthansa Cargo. I will not say exactly what happened, but we got a receipt : ), returned to customs and got our paperwork.

My lesson was...and the lesson I'd pass along to anyone importing a dog is: Take EVERYTHING you can think of. A receipt, a picture of the puppy, the CDC form, a 2 forms of identification. Customs agents make this a tough matter for one reason: They can.

I hope this helps someone.