I order parts from Empire multiple times per year (Austin Texas) I've ordered a few parts from Albes too & you do get stung once or twice. Like when i ordered my Custom FBM Frame, they put the FULL VALUE of the Frame on the packaging because they've had some hassles with Frames being lost or stolen & having to pay out because they marked down the value... £127 -______________-
But the most i have paid on a Frame was around £36, a LOT of that was actually handling fees from the sh*tty Parcel Force/Royal Mail..
I have actually found that if you ship via UPS, you pay a little more on shipping, but they do it all, it doesn't get transferred between different postal services etc.. I had some Bars sent to me via UPS £13 shipping & i paid ZERO import fees.
The BIG test will be my next order! Wheels, Bars, Stem, Tyres, & quite a few smaller Parts too! It's all coming via UPS so we shall see if they charge me any form of duties or handling fees when those arrive! Also everytime i have had Parts shipped via UPS they say "Estimated Delivery Date" well every single time they have been delivered on the "Estimated Delivery Date" I will go via UPS for every US Order now.