This is an easy question if you happen to live down the road from Paul Matty or one of the other dozen retailers of Elan bits in GB. But if you live on the other side of the world and you want a list of things for the Elan that I can’t source over here, who is the Lotus retailer with Elan bits that gives the best deals in GB. Postage is a killer so I’m trying to find a way of cutting the costs.
Many suppliers will default to the delivery mechanism that’s easiest for them, regardless of cost. I’ve heard that your duties will likely be lower and your service about as good using Royal Mail insured and avoiding UPS, FedEx, etc. Some freight forwarders charge minimum duties, which will whack you if you don’t have a big purchase and do not reflect the actual duty charged.
My personal experience with Royal Mail delivery to Massachusetts is less than a week, based on around 5 eBay purchases. No input to suppliers as I haven’t bought from any yet.
I prefer Susan Miller as well, she has always charged a realistic price for postage (as well as having a excellent range of good quality parts at reasonable prices)…
I find Susan Miller the best, particularly if you need to speak with her by phone. Her e-mail service isn’t quite as good but you will get a reply eventually.