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How to ship a Yurt from Kazakhstan to Canada? Any experience?

K

kochevnik

New member
Hello everyone.

Does anyone have personal (or close friend) experience in shipping a yurt from Central Asia to North America? If yes, please share contact information of ship forwarders.

For now my 6m wide beauty is sitting in Almaty, Kazakhstan waiting to be shipped. So far my lowest quote was 6 000 USD. Way too high for me. I am trying to find alternative shipping company.

I would appreciate any help.

Kochevnik
 
Hello Kochevnik,

I had my yurt shipped from Budapest to Seattle. I got several rate quotes, generally $1200 to $2000. Air was expensive--on par with your $6k USD. Ocean freight is the way to go. Actual cost is based on volume or weight of container, whichever is more expensive (online calculators available)--my yurt maker packed things really well & tight (he also cut the center posts/bagana to fit the length of the roof poles to keep things smaller). Be sure to get a crate either made out of composites or with a bug stamp. You're looking for LCL (less-than-container-load).

Ultimately mine went via rail or truck from Budapest to Hamburg, Germany where it got loaded onto a ship that sailed to Montreal, Ca where it was transfered to rail to Seattle, Wa via Vancouver BC. Whew! The freight broker I used, Service Shipping, messed up a little and hadn't filed the customs forms when I first tried to pick it, resulting in some warehousing fees... Service Shipping mainly just used Shipco Transport Inc for the shipping and acted as agent/broker. My 6m yurt was est 400 kg and crate was 2.621 cbm (170x 250x 60 cm). For US import, there are no duties if value is under $2500--my yurt was $2800 so I had to pay 8% import tax on it (code 6306.29.1100). It's much cheaper if you pick up the crate from the nearest major port instead of paying somebody to truck it to your residence (something like $0.50/mile).

Here's one quote with breakdown:
1 Crate / 500kgs
Budapest to Seattle

Origin/Ocean Freight: $568.48
Destination Charges: $351.15
Customs Clearance: $150.00
Single Entry Bond: $6.50/$1000 or $65.00 Minimum
Messenger: $25.00
ISF Filing: $25.00
Trucking to Pullman w/ Dock and Business: $408.60
Trucking to Pullman to Residential & Liftgate: $508.60
Duties/Taxes: At Cost
 
Thank you for break down.

The problem with Kazakhstan is that no one consolidates containers. It's either get a container or air. Since my last grand mother passed away I am thinking of taking some of her furniture and will freight full container. Still waiting for a quote. However it means that I will not be able to set it up this summer.

I used to ship cars from Calgary to Almaty and 40ft container was 14K.

I noticed that your 6m yurt is only 400kg. I wonder why, since mine is about 800kg. Is your yurt felt insulated?

Kochevnik
 
Ah, you probably know the shipping ropes much better than I! Kazakhstan looks pretty far from the major ports, too, sadly.

I've heard it can be more economical to buy a bunch of yurts just to fill the container full, then sell them to people for cost+shipping, maybe with some small profit ;) A full 6m/20 ft traditional yurts here usually go for $5-8k, with insulation--only problem would be finding buyers. For shipping, I got quotes from Vantage Point Services, ShipAg, and Service Shipping. I think ShipCo actually handled most of the logistics, but Hapag-Lloyd of course did most of the physical shipping in all likelihood.

I opted out of the synthetic felt my yurt maker offered--I really didn't like the idea of it catching fire and raining down on me. I guessed it all weighed ~500 kg (based on Rainer/Pacific Yurts shipping weights), but I dropped that to 400 kg and nobody seemed to notice/care (cost determined by volume). That included the frame (ash khana, pine uni/toono, mostly pine door), a light cotton liner, and a heavy cotton canvas that weighs ~110 lbs/50 kg (I think it's around 500 g/m^2). I got some wool blanket material that I'm sewing into two layers for insulation--that way I can put such things as cotton blankets, cardboard, loose wool, whatever between the two layers for added insulation.
 
Unfortunately yurts aren't a hot commidity in the U.S. I live in a city of 400K and I'll bet there aren't a dozen in the entire area. It's really amazing just how many folks I've talked to that have said "What's a yurt?" when I tell them about mine.

If I was a risk taker I'd consider buying several and marking them up just enough so I got the shipping for free. I'd have a signed contract and deposit up front on every last yurt first though. High dollar deals go south all the time.

Now I can see that shipping is outrageous. I had no idea. A thought on this is if you don't have a contract or verbal commitment (your word) you might consider buying one from one of the reputable manufacturers here. Just an idea. Good luck.
 
I will check with him. Thanks for a hint. In terms puff buying a bunch of yurts, it's not an option. It requires a lot of cash. As I mentioned before I am interested in authentic Turkic type of yurt. Like my ancestors built in the past. And they are more labor intensive than Mongolian type and cost a lot more. My yurt is made from blue willow. That only grows in parts of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. I chose black felt and bought minimal interior accessories and it was over 6000. If I chose white felt and handmade carpet it would cost over 12000. I don't think someone will pay that much money here.
By the way. I will be writing a lot about Central Asian culture and traditional yurts in my blog. So if you have any questions about differences of yurts, materials used etc, don't hesitate to ask and read at kochevnik.ca
 
Bob Rowlands said:
If I was a risk taker I'd consider buying several and marking them up just enough so I got the shipping for free.
Click to expand...
this is the best way to have a market collapse, people work in sweat shops and ruin the reputation of certain types of yurts :-)
It is actually pretty much what happened in Europe (France in particular)
 
kochevnik said:
I will check with him.
Click to expand...
Here he is ;-)
You actually got some good advices so far - watch for the crating. I would try the same people that shipped from Budapest. LTL (less than truck load) does exist out of Kaszakhstan (Almaty for sure) to Germany in particular and it can be transformed into LCL (less than container load). That will probably be reasonable if you can find one.

If you have furniture from your Grand Mother, I would also suggest considering shipping a full 20' container. You might have connections with other Kazakhs in your circle - pass the word, it will be the cheapest option.

If you can get your contacts to ship to Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, we can do LCL out of there for a very decent price... and the warehouse is about an hour from Ottawa. Next container will leave in August / September, so won't be in before October.

You're welcome to give me a call for more details on my cell 514 578 5008.

all the best!

Yves

PS - do you have some sort of a canvas included in your yurt? If not would recommend having one made there
 
just checked into what (serious) transport companies where doing Kazakhstan out of Almaty for Europe: Willi Betz, Rynart et Van Der Walare the best known names. They should all have offices in Almaty... but couldn't yet find an office after a quick google search. If your forwarder in almaty says it can't, just try another one... if you're still stuck, let me know.
 
Super!! Happy for you. Would have been suprised if there wasen't a solution. The yurt is beautiful. Are you planning to use it year round outside?
Yes, we're in Montreal, but warehouse half way between here and Ottawa.
You're welcome to give me a call when time comes. Might have some suggestion as of how to protect this beauty from local weather.
All the best!
 
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