DreamBox Shipping Costs

[Kengar]

What sort of shipping costs are people incurring for DreamBox sumps (no extras such as pumps/skimmers/reactors/etc., just basic sump)? (Say 149 cm long by 49 cm wide units.)

Thanks.

[slief]

Ken,
You may want to post this in the Royal Exclusiv forum here. I can tell you that the shipping costs are all over the map. I've seen costs in the $500 range direct to a major international airport to as high as $2000 for a large Dreambox and accessories door to door. Door to door is obviously much more expensive than picking up at an airport. Especially if it's a residential delivery and lift gate is required. Pretty much all domestic freight companies charge additional for lift gate service and add additional sur charges for residential deliveries. If you have it shipped to an airport, one airport can be much more expensive than the next depending on whether your nearest airport is a major international airport with direct flights from Frankfurt airport and or depending on the number of transfers the shipment has to go through to get to your nearest airport. These sumps typically ship in crates and are very heavy and large when packed. It's like shipping a coffin.

Here is a link to Royal Exclusiv forum here on RC. There are a number of Dreambox owners who peruse that forum on a regular basis.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/fo...play.php?f=745

That said, the factory in Germany is moving this summer to a much larger facility and also expanding the size of the production lines. There is a temporary moratorium on new custom Dreambox orders until the move is complete and the factory is back up and running. That said, there is a container being prepared at the factory that is going to be shipped to the Ft. Myers warehouse and there "may" just be several Dreamboxes included in that shipment for stock. They may however be full Dreambox systems with skimmers and pumps. We don't have the details yet and won't know for a few weeks.

[Kengar]

Scott,

You say there is moratorium on new custom orders. Would inverted configuration (flow from right to left instead of left to right) be considered custom? What about reducing the number of inlets to three, all configured to receive 1.5" pipe?

Thanks.

Ken

[slief]

Originally Posted by Kengar

Scott,

You say there is moratorium on new custom orders. Would inverted configuration (flow from right to left instead of left to right) be considered custom? What about reducing the number of inlets to three, all configured to receive 1.5" pipe?

Thanks.

Ken

Yes, that would be custom. Even so, any new Dreambox orders right now are not being accepted until after the move. You have no idea how many orders they get for these things. It's much more than most of us realized and not taking orders until after the move was the prudent thing to do.

Typical production time for a new Dreambox is 4-6 weeks but with the move just around the corner, they aren't in a position to take new orders as there is no way they could complete them with the impending move and current production backlog. They are preparing for the move right now, finishing up existing orders and preparing the new building for the move. Then they need to setup new equipment that has been purchased, move all existing equipment, CNC machines, production lines etc. The move will shut production down for a minimum of 2 weeks if not more. Until they are moved in and setup, they don't want to take new orders because they don't want to let people down by not meeting their delivery obligations. Like I said, there are some Dreamboxes currently in production that are slated for US stock but I don't have any further info on their configurations.

[Kengar]

Would I at least be able to get a quote -- approximate, at least -- for shipping a given unit, even if they are not accepting new orders right now? If so, how quickly would they able to provide such a quote?

[slief]

Originally Posted by Kengar

Would I at least be able to get a quote -- approximate, at least -- for shipping a given unit, even if they are not accepting new orders right now? If so, how quickly would they able to provide such a quote?

We should be able to provide a quote. It typically takes a few business days for them to get the rates. Problem is that that the rates can change depending on the shipping time frame so the rate right now can be different than 3 or four months from now when a new Dreambox order may be able to be fulfilled. Given the move, I wouldn't expect production to start again until August and with that in mind, it's not likely to be before October before new production orders start shipping again.

PM me your email address, full contact info, Airport info, Dreambox model and details. If you would want the lids cut for a specific skimmer they can cut the lids for any Royal Exlusiv Bubble King skimmer. Include return pump info, input/drain sizes and qty, etc. Normally the Dreamboxes are setup for internal RD3 pumps but can be configured with imperial unions on the outside and metric fittings on the inside that can be adapted for other non RE internal pumps. You can also drill the Dreambox and add bulkheads for external pump installation. Once I get that info from you, I will prepare an email for Germany and see if they can at least put together a shipping quote. My concern is that given the resources being put towards preparing for the move and the fact that they won't be able to take new orders until after the move, they may only provide an rough estimate since the numbers are likely to change as gas prices, exchange rates and a number of other factors impact air freight costs.

[Kengar]

pm sent