Question for small businesses
I should probably post in the small business and entrepreneur group, but there doesn't seem to be much activity there, so I thought I'd try the lounge.
I import stuff from the UK and Europe. In the UK I use a shipping broker that provides me with pricing options, I choose what I want, and they sort the rest of it out. Prices are pretty good - all cases less expensive than the prices from my suppliers - and customer service is excellent.
I'm looking for a comparable service for shipping from elsewhere in Europe. One of my German suppliers ships via Deutsche Post, and that can take anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months. Cheap, but uncertain, and untrackable. Others use their UPS or DHL or FedEx accounts, and the prices can extremely high, which is very frustrating. And shipping using my own UPS account falls into the same high price category.
So the question is whether any other small businesses have used shipping brokers for shipping from The Netherlands and Germany to the US, with rates that are not eye-popping.
Thanks.