Babboe City Review, Part 1: Ordering and Shipping

Since I’ve wanted a cargo bike for some time now (and saved up my pennies), I finally placed an order for a Babboe City and two accessories (rain tent and toddler seat) with myamsterdambike.com (MAB) on Friday, February 9th. This post will summarize the update process on shipping. If you are planning to purchase from a local shop (and you should, if you have one that stocks cargo bikes), you can skip this post.

I plan to write a series of posts about this bike as it arrives, gets unboxed, assembled, and ridden. A more detailed post about “why buy a cargo bike” and “why this cargo bike” is planned as well.

Things got interesting when Package 1 was delivered, because it contained the rain tent for a Babboe Curve, not a Babboe City (which I had ordered). I emailed My Amsterdam Bike and they will be shipping a new rain tent.

The same tracking numbers are used by both DHL and USPS. I didn’t know USPS would be delivering beforehand, I only found out through one of the DHL updates. Your delivery may use different vendors. Only the accessories arrived via USPS; the bicycle arrived in three boxes directly from DHL.

It took 18 and 19 days for accessories to arrive, and 24 days for the bicycle itself.

Here are the data on shipping to East Grand Forks, MN (dates with no news are included so you can see the pace of updates).

• Day 0 (2018-02-09)
  • Order submitted
• Day 1
  • Received email confirmation of order, saying “2 to 3 weeks for delivery”
• Day 2
• Day 3
  • Email from DHL with two tracking numbers (Package 1 and Package 2), but comment only mentioned toddler seat.
• Day 4
• Day 5
• Day 6
  • Package 1 processed in Dorsten, Germany
  • Package 2 processed in Dorsten, Germany
• Day 7
  • Package 1 processed in Rodgau, Germany
  • Package 2 processed in Rodgau, Germany
  • Package 1 at the airport IPZ-Ffm, Germany
  • Package 2 at the airport IPZ-Ffm, Germany
• Day 8
• Day 9
• Day 10
• Day 11
• Day 12
  • Package 2 processed in ISC CHICAGO IL (USPS)  
• Day 13
  • Package 2 Inbound Out of Customs 
• Day 14
  • Package 1 processed in ISC CHICAGO IL (USPS) 
  • Email from MAB: “Next week you will receive your tracking and the  estimated delivery date. I expect your bike to be delivered end of next week, or maybe beginning of the week after.”
• Day 15
  • Package 1 Inbound Out of Customs 
  • Package 1 Arrived at USPS Regional Facility CHICAGO IL INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION CENTER
• Day 16
  • Package 1 In Transit to Next Facility 
• Day 17
  • Package 1 In Transit to Next Facility 
  • Package 2 Arrived at USPS Regional Destination Facility WEST FARGO NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER (note that Package 2 skipped Chicago USPS…)
• Day 18
  • Package 2 Arrived at USPS Regional Destination Facility GRAND FORKS ND DISTRIBUTION CENTER 
  • Package 2 Sorting Complete EAST GRAND FORKS, MN 56721
  • Package 1 In Transit to Next Facility (it’s weird how this package has very little detail about where it is, just that it’s moving)
    
  • Package 2 Out for Delivery EAST GRAND FORKS, MN 56721  
  • Package 2 delivered
• Day 19
  • Package 1 Arrived at USPS Regional Destination Facility GRAND FORKS ND DISTRIBUTION CENTER  
  • Package 1 Arrived at Unit GRAND FORKS, ND 58201
  • Package 1 Sorting Complete EAST GRAND FORKS, MN 56721 
  • Package 1 delivered
  • I emailed to ask about the bike tracking number, since both packages I knew about had arrived.
• Day 20 (2018-03-01)
  • Email from MAB: “The bike will be shipped this week (I think today) and will send you the tracking number as soon as receive it from the shipping company”
• Day 21
  • DHL shipment created for Package 3 (rain tent for City)
• Day 22
• Day 23
• Day 24
  • With no tracking code ever delivered to me, the bicycle arrives in a DHL van! So it was delivered according to the email way back on Day 14. Of note, DHL delivered during a snowstorm so I was actually home (actually outside shoveling) and able to sign for it. Not sure if they would have left the boxes otherwise.