Koper, Slovenia...

Apparently it's a port...

As it turns out it happens to be the port the shipping company intended to sail my container of vehicles out of. I only have 2-more weeks before I'm out of Europe and it looks like no one wants to take my container because "I am just an individual". (see e-mail below)

My shipping company said: I have contacted two more companies today early in the morning. One denied, but the other one is analysing the case. I was told that it would be best to move goods to Rotterdam and issue the ex-a here and sail goods from here. We want to avoid costs for transportation, so I am still trying to have it issued in Koper. The problem is that it’s an individual person, not a company, that’s why everybody denies. I spoke to my boss and consulted everybody I could. The company that is working on the case now is my last chance and my last hope.

I am teh scared.

Good luck. You would think that they would have those details worked out ahead of time.

Is the answer, become a company?
Can this be in name only?
Would a company-like name change perceptions? Billco, BillSport, etc

I e-mailed them with that very question and got no response.

Do you need it under a company name so they will actually give it some priority? If so I have a company named Global Racing Import and Distribution (GRID). May work for you.

E-mail sent

It's also a nice old Venetian city and produces some fairly spectacular wine. The port is one of the major container shipping hubs in the region, so I wouldn't be too concerned with the port itself. The other issues are, well, other issues.

I was just gonna recommend incorporating Hungary Bill Ltd. if it makes them take you more seriously. Shell games can work for us too

Drive Northeast, follow a rail line through Siberia, build a raft to float across to Alaska- its only 30 miles or so, and drive down from Alaska home. Avoid all the third parties that way...well, other than the border guards in Alaska that might get a bit concerned about a floating Impala.

Streetwiseguy wrote: well, other than the border guards in Alaska that might get a bit concerned about a floating Impala.

I just choked on my own snot!

Floating Impala? Tell them you're Cuban. Happens all the time.

on a slightly more serious note:

I think the problem we're actually running into is that I'm just shipping ONE container. I think what they mean by "you're not a company" is that they want someone to throw 100 containers on the boat at once.

I ran into this issue when I tried to buy a 1-meter bar of Delrin stock a couple years ago. No one in Budapest wanted to sell "just one bar" to an individual. They wanted to unload their entire stock on a company and get rich.

It's worth noting that after I got turned down by every company I called, I went back (the very same evening) and called the first company back and said "Hi, I'm Bill from * an aerospace company who is mostly based out of the pacific northwest *. Yes, I'd like to purchase a 1-meter length of your Delrin bar stock for a sample..."

My Delrin bar arrived a week later.

Emailed you back Bill. Sorry it took so long.

The tally (so far) is:

• 14 Adobe documents
• 81 scanned pages (not counting the ones where I made a mistake and had to re-do the paperwork).
• 6 different people
• 2 weeks in a container (so far).

aaaaaaaaand still stuck in Slovenia. I'm not sure how many more forms and e-mails I can type while keeping a polite tone.

I must be the first person in the history of automobiles to attempt to ship one to another country.

Sounds as if you're getting analysized.

Is "You're just one person" code for "You need to bribe me."?

This sounds like a coworker that was attempting to update her Russian passport; never ending delays suddenly went away once she satisfied the unspoken bribes. Perhaps something similar is happening here.

And I started typing my message before seeing Jerry's; perhaps there is good reason!

I'm guessing that's what it means, as it's getting to that point. I wonder what the "import" side of all this is going to be like!

On a slightly more somber note, I lined up a local friend to unload the trailer and sell the vehicles in my absence if it comes down to that

Streetwiseguy wrote: Drive Northeast, follow a rail line through Siberia, build a raft to float across to Alaska- its only 30 miles or so, and drive down from Alaska home. Avoid all the third parties that way...well, other than the border guards in Alaska that might get a bit concerned about a floating Impala.

This time of year you don't have to float across to Alaska. just drive as the Bering Strait is frozen this time of year. The Native Eskimos travel across back & forth on snowmobiles or walk. Would probably still have issues with the border guards, which is usually an armed F-18.

Today I actually had to explain to the customs broker how I could possibly be the "shipper" and the "recipient".

I'd like to say I did so politely, but in the end I was rather "short" in explaining how the plane I would be riding in was much faster than the boat my vehicles would be traveling on.

There's lots more, but I'll save it for the "rant" thread. (48 e-mails and counting)

Cleared Slovenian customs!

Car is due to ship December 20th, and due to arrive in Tacoma on January 28th!

I am teh excite

Glad to hear it!

finally

Did my company name help at all? LOL