Why It's Not Always "Cheaper"

On the surface, the answer seems simple... 

One of the most common questions we're asked is whether sea freight can be used instead of air freight to reduce shipping costs.

Sea freight is often perceived as the cheaper option, particularly for large items. However, after more than 30 years of supplying Rocket Bunny and Pandem body kits worldwide, our experience has consistently shown that the lowest freight quote does not always translate into the lowest overall cost.

A Real-World Example

At the explicit request of a previous customer, we arranged for their order to be made available for collection so they could organise sea freight themselves.

The shipment ultimately took around six months to reach its destination.

During that time, the crate passed through numerous ports, warehouses, freight terminals and transport providers. Unfortunately, somewhere along that journey the crate sustained transit damage.

Thankfully the body kit itself was repairable, but the experience reinforced exactly why we have continued to recommend air freight for decades.

The Hidden Cost of "Saving Money"

In this particular case, the total saving achieved by shipping via sea freight was only around $210 USD once all freight-related charges had been taken into account.

Unfortunately, that modest saving came at a much greater cost.

The damaged components required additional labour and repairs before they could be fitted. Because the customer had chosen to organise their own freight declining transit insurance, those repair costs and the resulting delays were borne entirely by them.

When the additional repair work, extended project timeline and months of waiting were considered, the overall cost of choosing sea freight exceeded what the customer would have spent had the kit simply been shipped via our recommended freight method using DHL Express air freight from the beginning.

Why We Recommend Air Freight

Our standard shipping method is DHL Express Air Freight.

This recommendation isn't based on convenience - it's based on decades of experience shipping large composite body kits to customers all over the world.

Compared with sea freight, air freight typically offers:

• Significantly shorter transit times.
• Far fewer handling points.
• Reduced risk of transit damage.
• Direct door-to-door delivery.
• Faster commencement of your build.
• Greater overall reliability.

Large FRP and CFRP body kits are lightweight but physically large and relatively fragile during transit. Every additional warehouse, container movement, port transfer or loading operation introduces another opportunity for accidental damage.

Whilst we always do our very best to ensure safe transport, mistakes during transit can happen...

Reducing the time spent in transit and the number of times a shipment is handled dramatically improves the likelihood that your order arrives exactly as it left our facility only days prior.

Can I Still Choose Sea Freight?

Absolutely.

We're always happy to accommodate customers who prefer to organise alternative freight methods, including sea freight.

However, because we do not believe it provides the best overall outcome for the majority of customers, DHL Express air freight remains the only shipping service we both offer and organise directly.

If you wish to arrange sea freight yourself, we'll gladly provide the dimensions, actual weights and collection details required, so that your chosen freight forwarder can organise transport directly from our production facility.

Important Information for Self-Organised Freight

Customers arranging their own freight must organise collection of completed orders within five (5) business days of being notified that production has been completed.

As our manufacturing and dispatch facility has limited storage capacity, completed orders that remain uncollected impact production scheduling and the fulfilment of orders for other customer.

Orders not collected within this timeframe will incur storage charges of USD $150 per day (or local currency equivalent). These charges must be paid and cleared in full before the order will be released to the nominated freight carrier.

Our Recommendation

Every customer has different priorities, and the choice is ultimately yours.

If minimising the initial freight invoice is your primary concern, sea freight may appear attractive.

However, if your priority is reducing the likelihood of damage, avoiding unnecessary project delays and achieving the best overall outcome whilst receiving your body kit sooner, our recommendation remains exactly the same as it has been for more than three decades:

DHL Express air freight continues to be the safest, fastest and most economical shipping method when all costs - not just the freight invoice -are taken into account.