I've imported bikes from Japan and France many times before. Currently, I have four bikes waiting in a Tokyo warehouse. Air shipping is really expensive right now so I've been looking into sea shipping to reduce cost. It's been a nightmare to figure out. Two of the bikes are Zunows and one is a rare San Rensho.
When I found my grail Look KG 196, it was on French eBay and the seller was unwilling to ship to the USA. He was located in a small town in France, and had recently broken his arm, so he couldn't pack the bike for shipping. I paid for his local bike shop to box it up, and then for UPS to come pick it up from the shop and ship to the USA. That whole process cost around $1000, not including the price of the bike.
Domestically, I drove from Brooklyn to south New Jersey once to pick up a Surly Long Haul trucker, and another time I drove to the Poconos for a stash of vintage bikes. But neither of those were "grails".
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