The relative cost question depends upon the cost of the bike (frame/fork or complete bike?) vs. the cost of a flight and baggage fees -- if a full bike I'm guessing they're probably not all that different -- if that's the case I'd opt for going to pick it up and taking a week or more to ride it in Germany before packing it and putting it on the plane. You'll still need to pay duties upon entry when you bring it back, but there's an initial exemption, then lower rates than the tariffs (at least that's my understanding -- be sure to clarify). That will be a great trip and memory -- IMHO much better use of funds than the tariffs and large broker fees you'll pay in addition to air freight to get it to your door.
Julian Westerhout Bloomington, IL On Sunday, February 8, 2026 at 5:17:32 PM UTC-6 Robert Blunt wrote: > Greetings from frozen New Jersey. I am in something of a pickle. > Anticipating becoming an empty nester soon, I commissioned a German bike > designer and builder to make a sort of dream randonneuse, which I'll need > to sell most of my current bikes to afford. I'm concerned about import > duties. I'm wondering if anyone knows whether it would be cheaper to import > via a global carrier and pay what now seem like very hefty duties, or if > flying to Germany and bringing the bike home as luggage would be a better > option. Basically I am looking for the most cost effective way to get the > item home, considering tariffs. I wish I had thought about this a bit more > before pulling the trigger. > > Rob Blunt > Pennington, New Jersey which was colder than Antarctica this week > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/288e74e7-625d-4f9c-aa70-2646807cb8ban%40googlegroups.com.
