MADNESS IN FRANCE! Express Mail parcel held for almost 3 weeks in customs....

[RadioFreeTerry]

I think this photo of mine sums up the bureaucracy in France very well...though it could be said of many other countries too!



The only thing missing is a tumbleweed drifting across the foreground : )

[Ed Bray]

The postal authorities in the EU have been told to intercept and ensure duty & vat are paid on as many imports that qualify to restrict the purchasing of cheap items purchased from outside their borders.

Once upon a time it was a lottery how much if anything was charged when something was imported from outside the UK (value, amount or size had no bearing whatsoever), some stuff got through, some did not, now everything over a certain value gets included and it is up to the recipient to claim back anything that has been charged duty/vat when it shouldn't have.

[neil poulsen]

. . . Kicking and screaming we are being drawn into a global market.

Not me.

In a recent experience, I purchased something from the UK that needed returning. To ship it insured, I had to send it express mail. (Ouch!) I will say that it arrived in about 7 days. So, that part was good.

[eddie]

1st off if u want guarenteed overseas delivery u must us the "GXG" or whatever the name is on USPS. Check those prices! They are usually 3-4 times more than express!

IIRC, UPS/Fedex/DHL offer "healthy" discounts to companies who ship lots of items on a regular basis(do you think B&H REALLY pays $8 that they charge you for shipping? I'd venture to guess they're actually paying closer to $3-5, including labor and packing materials. THEY SHIP A LOT) Maybe I'm wrong, but I choose consistently choose USPS for int'l and domestic parcels because it means I can offer a lower cost for shipping if I sell something.
...

Actually u r wrong.....my friend runs a huge omline retail store. He used a HUGE warehouse in arizona(?), they pay like $.50, yes, 50 cents to have the packaged pulled from the shelf, boxed AND shipped! No shit! I asked him like 5 times cause i did not believe it!

Anyway, uou shoild be in france when they decide they are having a strike. They just do not hg to work. It happened to me once with the french trains.

Eddie

[gliderbee]

I think this photo of mine sums up the bureaucracy in France very well...though it could be said of many other countries too!



The only thing missing is a tumbleweed drifting across the foreground : )

I doubt this picture was taken in France, since the text should be: "bureau central". Maybe somewhere in one of the former french colonies?

Stefan

[Len Middleton]

I sent some stuff to a member in Canada and UPS was cheaper than USPS but he insisted I use USPS. It turns out that FedEx/UPS etc want to charge an obscene amount for customs clearance on shipments of under $1600 whereas the post office charges $5 or something similar. I read up on it and it seems like something of a scam by FedEx/UPS.

And not all times does the Queen's Couriers (aka Canada Post) collect the taxes and related handling fee (C$5). However, you can guarantee USP and likely FedEx will.

Price of that lesson: C$25 handling fee on parcel of value less than C$100.

Not using UPS / FedEx for international parcels: Priceless, or more accurately, no revenue for them...

[gth]

And not all times does the Queen's Couriers (aka Canada Post) collect the taxes and related handling fee (C$5). However, you can guarantee USP and likely FedEx will.

Price of that lesson: C$25 handling fee on parcel of value less than C$100.

Not using UPS / FedEx for international parcels: Priceless, or more accurately, no revenue for them...

Yep, I have said it before and I say it again... For shipments from US to Canada, send REGULAR parcel mail. In 9 out 10 or LESS, the parcel passes the post office with not problem, no clearance fee or duties. It just arrives at your door in few days to a week. That is my experience.

UPS and FedEX..... goes directly into the customs broker, duties, tax and time space...

[Jim Andrada]

And I believe the C$25 was IN ADDITION to the shipping cost itself

[Jody_S]

And I believe the C$25 was IN ADDITION to the shipping cost itself

In my experience, UPS will charge fees and brokerage costs amounting to roughly 40-60% of the declared value of the parcel, assuming that's over $50 or so (for lower amounts, fees may be 200% or more). Their 'brokerage fee' is not a set amount. So, basically, it's a scam. I refuse to purchase from anyone who insists on shipping UPS/Fedex, as I will not pay these fees and they generally refuse to let me clear them from customs myself.

[Jim Andrada]

Actually they CAN'T refuse to let you clear them yourself - you have a right to select your own customs broker or do it yourself at least on small (ie under $1300 or $1600 or so) shipments. They will try hard to convince you/cow you etc into believing that you can't do it but you CAN!

And you DON'T have to go to some bizarre out of the way port of entry to do it. There are some really long (but informative) threads on the subject that give all the details - there are also some discount brokers that you can use if it isn't worth the time and trouble to do it yourself.

http://trueler.com/2010/09/13/ups-br...ting-avoid-it/