Shipping Internationally - a plea!

[maxwell_smart007]

I just received a box of wood from the states, and encountered the same problem that I frequently encounter...

I bought this off of ebay, and the shipper ALWAYS seems to put a higher total in the product's value than I actually paid. For example, this product cost me 9.99, and the seller indicated on the customs form that it is worth 58.47

Now, why did he do that? I imagine it has to do with insurance or something like that. What happens, however, is that when this package arrives in Canada, they look at the value of the item on the declaration, and assign duties and taxes on the item based on the perceived value.

So for this 10 dollar item, I received a bill for over 15 dollars from Customs because of what the shipper said. This means that my 10 dollar item, plus 23 shipping, plus another 15 dollars is no longer a bargain! If it was shipped via UPS (please don't ship via ups! ), then they also charge a 'brokerage fee' for that item of about 20 dollars...

So please, if you're shipping to Canada, put the actual cost paid on the customs sheet. We really appreciate being able to order from the states up here in the cold north!

 

[ed4copies]

<b><center>25%</center></b>

can't be right, no matter!!!

Call customs and find out where they got that amount!!!

 

[Dario]

I can only guess since it happened to me while shipping international but I caught it.

I am assuming that the error is encountered while filling the form. There is a column where they indicate qty and another column for price...the price is actually UNIT price and it will multiply that by the qty.

As I said, it is just my guess.

 

[wood-of-1kind]

Originally posted by maxwell_smart007
<br />I So please, if you're shipping to Canada, put the actual cost paid on the customs sheet. We really appreciate being able to order from the states up here in the cold north!

Actually, please declare a lower value for goods when shipping to me in Canada. Help me keep my pen turning pennies in MY pocket and away from our greedy taxman[]

-Peter-[]

 

[maxwell_smart007]

Yeah, I'm trying to get a refund for this, since it's obviously an amount in excess of what I paid for the items...

But, unfortunately, the postal carrier took all the copies of the customs declaration form, including the appeal form, so I have to wait for her to get back from her route before the post office can help sort it out...

Again, not a huge deal as it's usually for an item I cannot get in Canada, or costs significantly higher in Canada, but when it happens frequently, those costs can really add up.

Andrew

 

[lane223]

I agree with you 100% about UPS. Here in Spain they charge 15â'¬ for a "anticipated unpackaging fee" Strange thing about it is by law UPS cannot open the package. If for any reason UPS suspects a package's content, they need to call the Civil Guard/Customs, and they certainly don't get any payment from UPS for opening the package.

Lane

 

[ed4copies]

The customs forms ARE a pain.

Fortunately, I fill them out on-line, so I became aware of the "UNIT" part of the form.

It multiplies the cost and the WEIGHT, to make sure everything balances. Sounds good, but when you are shipping pen blanks, what does ONE weigh???

Any integer is now multiplied by 20 and the WEIGHT is "corrected", so you pay more freight - AS I Said, it's a PAIN!!!

 

[Monty]

Originally posted by ed4copies
<br />The customs forms ARE a pain......
but when you are shipping pen blanks, what does ONE weigh???

How about listing as a pack of 10 (or however many you are sending)pen blanks and give the total weight? That's how I do it with things that weight less than 1 oz.

 

[ed4copies]

Mannie,

That's a GREAT idea, but it does NOT conform with what the form says.

(I CERTAINLY DON'T CARE, and I WILL TRY your way!!!!!!!!!!!!)

 

[IPD_Mrs]

And when we ship to Canada we should always mark it as commercial samples since our Canadian friends are sampling the goods to see if it meets their standards! And it may take between 10 and 20 pen kits for them to determine if the quality is good enough! Good ole NAFTA Nasty A**ed Fing Tax Assesor.

UPS is a rip off not only to Canada but to rural residential america as well. I had a shipment of screws (4# worth) and UPS was $11.63. Thanks to Bill at AZ, I learned how to ship it for $4.60. What is really sad is that I have been in the mail order business for 20 years and had not figured that one out. Thanks Bill!

 

[1080Wayne]

Andrew Don`t know how you can be so lucky . I had one black ash burl slab for which I paid 31.17 get valued at $150 , and cost me $ 26.95 (only Canada Customs involvement). Then there was the swamp ash piece that I paid $29.95 for , valued at $100 by the shipper on the invoice , shipped via UPS , that cost me $48.23 . Moral of the story : My aSH HAS BEEN BURNED SEVERAL TIMES . Wayne

 

[Monty]

Ed - I think it does conform to the form. The unit description would be "1 pack of 10 pen blanks". Quantity would be 1, and the unit weight would be the weight of the 10 blanks and the unit value the value of the 10. To conform to the term "pack" you could put them in a baggie or tape them together.
Of course I use "10" as an example, you could use any number of blanks or whatever you choose.

I've been shipping empty glue bottles, tops and caps like this with no problems.....so far, knock on wood.