Click on each blue word for an explanation and discussion. “/” between words means, “and/or” in the Kefipedia.
1. Timing. Timing is uncertain, and we do our best to keep you up-to-date.
2. Volume. On your estimate, note the difference between net and bruto, the billable volume of your goods. The first volume survey is without charge. Additional surveys are $125 each.
3. Storage. You must let us know as soon as possible if, when, and where you may want storage.
4. Rates, Fees, and Discounts. All likely charges are included in your signed agreement. We do our best to keep this page updated, but rates and fees may change without notice. Discounts are conditional upon immediate payment of bills as presented.
Standard fees and rates for shipping to Israel and shipping from Israel and exceptional ones that we knew to anticipate, are already in the signed part of the contract. If there is a difference between what appears below and what appears in the signed part, the signed part is what counts. Rates and Fees assume a normal density of 6.5-7.0 lbs/cubic foot, include Kef handling fees and may change without notice. This website is updated continually. VAT (17%) applies to Israel-based fees, even for Olim. When two billing options appear, most often the greater will be billed.
Additional costs—final volume/weight/insurance, inspection, difficult access (*defined differently in different locations–stairs, distance, etc..) storage, etc.–are due immediately upon billing. Advancing to the next stage, whether insuring, shipping, clearing, or delivery–only upon receipt of all payments and signed authorizations. Prompt payment avoids unnecessary delays and added, related charges. Payment terms, conditions, and details including late payment and cancellation here.
Refundable deposit
The purpose of this deposit is to deal with unexpected fees–e.g. storage, container rental, taxes, difficult access (*defined differently in different locations–stairs, distance, etc.., please check with us in advance), extra heavy items, etc.– in a way that will not hold up delivery. Due with first or second payment, according to the contract, and refunded 2-6 months after receipt of shipment. The amount of the deposit will be doubled if the 1st questionnaire after signing is not fully completed and submitted before full payment is due.| Description | Price |
|---|---|
| LCL–less than full container | min $100 |
| 20’/40’/40’HighCube FCL (container load) | min $250/350/400 |
| replacement one unskilled (not a carpenter)refund check or failure to notify address change | min $25 |
| vehicle | min $400 |
Other Origin Fees
| Description | Price |
|---|---|
| All FCL (exclusive container) shipments are, unless otherwise stated, Live Load–the container is loaded at the customer’s home and goes directly from there to the port. The cost of bringing the goods to a warehouse (usually for storage or to add more goods) and then loading the goods into a container, is double handling. | at least $1/cubic foot Min $200 |
| Except for those in hard cases or pianos insured for less than 5,000, instruments not in hard cases, must be crated to be insured. When Kef recommends crating, it is required for insurance. | min $18/cubic foot; piano crates are often less (min $250-700) |
| Certificate of Origin for taxable items made in and shipped from the US, or made in and shipped from Europe | min $75 per invoice/supplier |
| Pickup and handling of piano, safe, or other heavy item (300 lbs or more) at origin | min $150-700 |
| UPS/Fedex or other transport for special order items or certificate of origin | Per
minimum $30, cost plus 20% |
| Packing and carrying of goods beyond what the contract provides for (i.e. of books, clothes if contract is partial pack, of anything if contract is no-pack) | the greater among: min $0.60/cft of overall shipment, min $250, or min $1.25/cft of actual items. min. 50 cubic feet, or the full packing price previously quoted |
| Disorder of goods at site. Failure to prioritize and segregate goods and clearly present the priorities in lists and labels, sent to Kef and the packers at least 3 days before packing. | at least 5% surcharge on door to door charges. If this disorder and/or lack of clearly presented priorities causes a day to be added to the packing/pickup, at least $590/day. |
| Cancelling or rescheduling pickup and/or packing within 8 workdays of scheduled date | min $175-$250 |
| Packing of large, delicate fixtures requiring disassembly and/or a chandelier box | min $175-400 |
| Holding LCL shipment, additional pickup or adding goods | min 175/event plus costs |
| Container holdover (eg.. non-readiness of shipment, export customs, steamship/truck/rail problems) | min $400/week (very unusual) |
| Trucking of appliances | Per weight and distance, min $125 |
| Receiving of goods to freight forwarder | $40 per delivery |
| (re-)packing of goods delivered to forwarder or at home | min $0.35/cft of overall shipment, or
min $1.25/cft of actual items |
| Insurance list or corrections submitted after pickup (or delivery to warehouse) or not in an Excel sheet | 5% of premium, min $75 |
| Creating insurance list with or for customer, including web searches, if necessary. | min $75 |
| Arranging/confirming pickup/delivery for goods not ordered through Kef | min $25/supplier or min $10/line item, whichever is greater |
| More than estimated weight or volume (No change or refund/credit for less weight/volume) | Pro-rated (total contract/estimated volume or weight) |
| Investigating and/or obtaining permission, permits, licenses, or making non-standard presentations (eg. to customs, customs clearers, retailers..) | min $175/hour or part thereof including travel time, minimum $275 |
| Bumping up to a 40 high cube (HC) from a 40 standard | min $450 |
| Searching for and removing or otherwise “processing” items after delivery to warehouse or loading container | From warehouse min $25-300 per item, from container min $300-450 per item |
| Storage at origin | $120/month minimum, min $0.45-0.55/cubic foot/month. For container, add double handling min $0.75/cubic foot |
| Additional pickup | min $125-400, depends on distance |
| Congestion/Fuel Surcharge: LCL/20’/40’/40’HC | min $85/$110/$220/240 |
Destination Difficulties
| Description | Price |
| More than 2 floors (28 steps), the sum of inside, outside, up, and down steps | min. $.025/cft/step, Min $55/floor or part thereof |
| Long carry–More than 25 meters distance truck loading door to entrance to apt or house. Charged in increments of 25 meters. | minimum $0.31/cft/25 meters, min charge $100/25 meters |
| Hoisting with cables | minimum $225/hour or part thereof |
| Ladder crane | min $125/hour -$250 min. |
| Arm crane 28 meters 42 meters | min $200/hour–$400 minimum min $250/hr–$500 minimum |
| Porterage of items above 300 lbs. including piano. Delivery to ground floor only. Re-asssembly is not included. | min $275 to $550 per heavy item |
| more than 50 boxes of books | min $210/50 boxes or part |
| Not informing Kef office at least 1 month in advance of possible or likely destination difficulties (eg. heavy items, long carry, difficult access) including though not limited to those listed above. | min 25-50% increase of above charges |
| Basic assembly of baby grand or grand piano–does not include tuning | min $300-$500 |
| Assembly of goods other than simple, used furniture which our packers disassembled, which you request the delivery crew re-assemble, excluding wardrobes, bunkbeds, flat-pack, ikea furniture, or complicated pieces. Simple = not more than 30 minutes work for one unskilled (not a carpenter) | min $70-250/piece min $65 per hour per worker bunk bed $120 min |
| Delivery to North of country when container arrives to Southern Port or vice versa | Min extra $1.25/cubic foot, minimum $250 |
| Most areas over the Green Line. Delivery outside of Central Israel Beyond 70 km from Ashdod or 60 km from Haifa (all the above are in addition to the previous row) | Min extra $1.25/cubic foot, minimum $250 |
| 2nd delivery lcl/20’/40’/40’HC same/different city (minimums) same price for 3rd, 4th, etc. | lcl $245 /$295 min 20′ 350/420 min 40′ 450/500 min |
LCL-less than container load
This is a shipment that is sent together with other shipments, sharing a shipping container. Unless otherwise arranged, it is the manner in which overflow from an exclusive container is shipped. If it does not go on the same vessel as the container, it is counted as a separate shipment (another one of 3 for new immigrants, one of 2 for returnees.) It ismore expensive on a per cubic foot basis, both because you have to pay the minimum charges for each stage in the shipping process and because goods are crated or palletized, which adds 15-25% to the billable volume, compared with the net volume inside of an exclusive container. Typically minimum volume is 150-200 cubic feet, and costs are minimum $1,850. This can work out to be 1.5-2.0 times the per cubic foot costs in an exclusive container, once you take all the peripheral charges into account.| Fees | Price |
|---|---|
| Documents/bill of lading shipping to Israel | min $75-115 |
| usable volume taken up by your goods | min, that volume times a per cubic foot rate of 1.5 times total container costs divided by total volume used |
| Israel agents’ fee | min $75 |
| Terminal handling charges | min $40 |
| Port fees | min $46/1000 kilos or part, $46 min |
| Devanning (empty container at port) | min $0. 70/cft, min $65 |
| Communications | min $70 |
| Preparation of clearing documents. Customs declaration of more than 1 page adds $35 to this fee | min $35 Customs declaration of more than 1 page adds $35 to this fee |
| Customs clearing and delivery | min $1.35/cft, min $380 |
| Second or more deliveries at the same time on the same truck, without sorting | same city min $245, diff city min $295 |
Other (less common) Fees at Origin and Destination
| Fees | Price |
|---|---|
| Extra time working or waiting because of difficult access ((*defined differently in different locations–stairs, distance, etc.., please check with us in advance), narrow entries, stairwells, elevators, delays, disorganized goods, sorting, removing goods at site, changing instructions, etc.. | $65/person hour or part thereof, min $100. plus $110/hour for container (more than 2 hours for a 20′, 3 for 40′) |
| Sorting of goods for multiple delivery. | min $225/hour, $300 minimum |
| Double handling | min $1.00/cubic foot, $200 minimum |
| Change of name for shipment | min $110 |
| Refusal or change to date or location of delivery requested by customer. | min $145/instance plus costs; if on the same day, min $600 + costs |
| Shuttle, an added smaller truck or tractor. You may order a shuttle in advance or wait to see if truck finds parking nearby. If not found nearby, you pay distance carry (more than 25 meters truck door to home door) or waiting time for truck and crew, until shuttle arrives. | shuttle min $220/trip + min $0.60/cubic foot distance more than 25 meters: min $0.40/cubic foot/25 meters or part waiting time: min $125-225/hour |
3rd party
i.e. steamship, fuel, general rate increase, customs, customs clearing, multi-page customs declaration, storage, etc..| Fees | Cost + 10%, min |
|---|---|
| Comparing the list of goods on the bill of lading with the list of goods on the volume estimate (you can do this on your own) | $250 |
| Licensing and processing of new gas grill. 1 per family. | $290 |
| Separate billing for hitchhikers component shipment. Unpacking of boxes. | $65 min/hr. $10 min/box |
Uncommon Destination Fees
| Fees | Price |
|---|---|
| For container load — emptying container at the port in order to store: 20’/40’/40’HC | minimums $350/550/650 |
| Moving the container from the port to LCD warehouse | minimum $210 (20) $320 (40) |
| Visit by Kef to site for any reason, esp evaluate/strategize destination access | $125/hour or part thereof |
| End of voyage declared by steamship company in country not requested | minimums 20’/$1000, 40’/$2000 |
| Negotiations with customs, customs clearers, shipping agents or other agents (e.g. attempting to arrange deposit of what taxes would be, until tax-free status is acquired, when shipping to Israel) | min $270 |
| War or strike surcharges | min $210-1200/40’, often split equally for LCL |
| Calls to customs to expedite clearing | min $35/each |
| Failing to list items accurately and completely on packing list a/o customs declaration | min $125/item |
| Kef surcharge on port fee on taxed goods | min 15% of tax |
| Customs Inspection LCL/20’/40’/40’HC | minimums $220/400/650/750 + minimum $186 to move container back and forth, plus nis 250/hour waiting time |
| Taxes on used goods for non-Oleh including Kef handling | minimum $2.58/cft |
| x-ray inspection | min. $ 220 + minimum $186 to move container back and forth, + nis 250/hour waiting time |
| Requesting, making presentations, and/or negotiations towards obtaining permission, permits, licenses, or otherwise making non-standard presentations to Customs or customs clearers | min $175/hour or part thereof including travel time. |
| Kef clearing surcharge for taxable items | min 15% of tax |
Vehicles (other fees on this page may also apply)
| Fees | Price |
|---|---|
| Israel side fees: port, docs, changes to car, etc. | Very approx. min $500 |
| Customs clearing including Arranging of import license for the car | min $800 |
Kef assumes no liability for loss or damage to goods or site, and any claims, whether made by your insurance company, yourself, or any other agent, would have recourse to Kef agents only – including but not limited to warehouses, steamships, forwarders, and truckers – and under no circumstances to Kef itself.
If the customer does not pay their bill on time, and if Kef does nothing, the exposure will increase significantly, Kef may at its sole discretion take any and all measures to reduce that exposure (eg. transferring the goods in a container to storage at the port, instructing that the shipment not be cleared until the bill is paid in full, etc.) Goods in storage can be moved by Kef or its agent without notice of any kind.
In any and every case where Kef deems in it’s best professional opinion it is best to change the usual flow of procedures, it may do so without consulting with or getting permission from the customer. This includes, but is not limited to:
a. taking the container out of the port earlier than required
b. emptying a container into the port or private storage
c. clearing a shipment before the customer is ready to take delivery
d. situations that will reduce exposure of the customer to additional charges or inspections
All 3rd party charges not specifically included in the contract are entirely the responsibility of the customer, including, though not limited to storage and delays resulting from changing shipping schedules, availability or unavailability of containers, traffic congestion, and all instances of force majeure.
