SHIPPING

[Katsushin]

I recently got hit with a customs bill on a fairly large IH order that came to my place.
Apparently, UPS covered it then billed me.
The tariff rate on a cotton t-shirt is 16.25%!

They took the declared values straight off the invoice that was attached to the package.  I'm pretty sure you have to declare a value so There's probably something on there…

[LandoCal126 0]

What is the cheapest material I can say it is? It is actually a nylon type outer jacket…

[Katsushin]

The tariff rates are wildly different depending on the item.  Might want to look it up.
I think the tshirts were like more than double the rate of pants…

[Seul]

If they're asking, there's probably no invoice in the package… So yeah: lie. But find out what they have first... Ask 'm what they need exactly, play dumb...

[LandoCal126 0]

Thank you guys for the thoughts. Gonna go with Seul's advice ad see what they have and are looking for. Think I am going to try the "gift from friend" route…

[Seul]

Yeah: last time I played ball with those tossers it cost me 211 €…

[LandoCal126 0]

No way?!?!? On one item?!?!?

[Seul]

Aye lad - one fecking item. So LIE. Feck 'm… They ain't the rozzers...

[LandoCal126 0]

Oh LIE I will! If they ever pick up the phone…

[taksaha]

Custom fees really suck. If I buy a shirt from outside the European Union, I have to pay 12 % customs and 25 % VAT on top of the shirt's value (value incl. shipping and aforementioned customs!) + a fee of 30 $. A 250 $ shirt from the US would end up costing me 380 $. It's absolutely ridiculous, and they catch it 95 % of the time.

[Omega Man]

Gee, I thought Canadian custom was bad.

[Chris]

When I bought my pair of Tricker's, customs was surprisingly reasonable- about $13.  But then DHL charged me nearly $30 in fees, the bastards.  International purchases are such a frigging crapshoot.

[Giles]

Takasha, ship to me in UK, they are way more lax here, then I can ship to you no probs as we are both EU..G

[Seul]

I was about to offer the same…

[Blackheart]

+1 Chris, last jacket I ordered from Aero UPS hit me with $34.50 in customs fees. When I ordered my wallet
from Japan about two weeks ago no customs fees. That was sent by mail though and it sat in customs for
two days…Go figure. :-\

[Seul]

I got you one better…

• if people send me a package through 1st Class Int'l Mail (cheapest USPS service), and fill out the custom form correctly: no charge
• if people do the same but use Priority Int'l Mail, I receive a 10 € fee stàndard

So people: I know 1st Class doesn't come with a tracking #, but please USE it if I ask you to!..  ::)

[taksaha]

G and Seul - thanks so much for the offer, guys! I will definately let you know - and please do not hesitate to PM me if you need any obscure Danish specialities.

[dcg]

Is it common to encounter UPS exceptions in international shipments?  I've placed two orders from IHUK and have received four exceptions between them!  (Obviously not the fault of anyone at IH; simply curious whether this is common, or if I'm just extremely unlucky).

[Seul]

Could you explain to my dumb arse what an exception is?..

[dcg]

^  You get an email from UPS that's titled "UPS Exception Notification, Tracking Number (your tracking number here)".  Basically notifying you that there has been some sort of cock-up on their end and that your shipment is going to take longer to reach you.