Hi everyone! I am about to relocate to Sydney (from Berlin) and I am thinking about sending my fixed gear via the post (the airline is being stingy about the whole thing) and I am wondering if anyone has any experience with customs/taxes for the shipment of bikes? Often when receiving things here I have to go to the customs office where they open the package and charge taxes based on what is inside. While the bicycle is not coming from a store nor do I intend to sell it, I dont want to get slammed with a huge amount of taxes upon its arrival. Anybody know anything about this/or shipped a bike themselves to Australia? Any information would be greatly appreciated!
Any whilst I am here, how is the lady riding scene in Sydney? I am an egalitarian rider of course, but I spent a few years riding in Newcastle (England) and I was the only female fixed gear rider there…would be nice to ride with some other girls!
good choice to move to Sydney, did the same thing three years ago and it was the best decision I ever made.
Assuming that the bike is used I dont think that you have to pay any tax or customs. Even new items are tax free as long as they are under $1000 value (as far as I remember).
Let me know if you need some help down here or any other advice. Made the move myself from Germany.
In theory you should not have to pay tax as it’s yours and not a purchase, I’m not sure how you prove it though,
You only have to pay taxes and duties on items over $1000 so just list it as $600 and you should be fine.
I’m not sure of the female scene in Sydney but I know there’s a great one in MLB so may be try face book
Thanks for the information!! If you need any sundries from Germany let me know, maybe I can fit them in my bike box! And I will surely be in touch if I am need of anything else. Thanks so much un Frohes Neues Jahr.
Unfortunately I was planning on insuring the bike for more than $600 (its a Bishop and I am entirely overprotective of it) which may throw that claim out of whack. Maybe I should just bite the bullet and bring the bike on the plane to avoid this potential problem. Thanks for the information!
Hahaha. I will keep that in mind!! I actually commissioned the first bike he ever built, if for nothing else it has to be insured for the sake of frame building history!
100% take it on the plane with you. Pack it up carefully and check the excess luggage fees with your airline. Dinner airlines are great when traveling with bikes, stunned aren’t
Yeah. I think plane will be best but I am switching airlines so its going to be a stupid amount. But I think it’s probably the best. Thanks for all your input. I would love to ride with you some Friday if you could handle anothe rider. Thanks for all your input guys, very helpful.
This is my bike Leigh’s fixed - a set on Flickr
God, that paint job is amazing too. Absolutely worth bringing it with you.
As for airlines, I just moved to Adelaide from Perth and put my bike (albeit a $100 internet special I got for cheap off a friend to move with) on the plane as part of my baggage. Because the box isn’t likely to weight more than 10kg all up, they just check it as Oversized and it’s included in your fare. If you have a suitcase or two, just purchase some extra baggage with your ticket and you should be fine.
I’m glad most airlines also supply boxes marked clearly as “Bike Box” with arrows all over it so they don’t put anything heavy on it lying down. The thing is, the airline has no idea what’s in it, and breaking what could be a $20,000 carbon build and paying the insurance isn’t in their best interests. I’d probably be more comfortable putting a bike like that on the plane with me than shipping it in the post where it’s handled a lot more.
not true… bike plus parts can break 10 kilos pretty easily (if you add tools and use a lot of packing to make sure it doesnt get scratched).
there are also a number of airlines that charge extra for bikes on international flights now. mainly US airlines… but the trend is spreading. the OP mentions flying multiple airlines so this might be an issue/
the assumption that a ‘bike box’ is treated nicer because thats what says on it is misinformed in my experience (based on how ive seen bike boxes emerge from baggage pickup and many flights with bikes). the handlers don’t know if you have insurance and likely could care less. the airlines will fight the ‘insurance’ and im pretty sure it doesnt cover much if you hadnt taken a lot of care with your packing.
