Official Customs, Duties, and International Shipping Questions and Stories Thread

[Sammm]

OK...I've poked around the French douane (customs/border control) site, and clothing does indeed incur a 12 percent duties from outside the EU. https://www.douane.gouv.fr/fiche/calcul-des-droits-et-taxes-sur-les-achats-letranger

Vetements are addressed in item No. 5. It's a range from 6 to 12 percent, but 12 percent is "en cas general" -- so it's safe to assume that residents of France will be hit with the 12 percent. It's assessed from the first euro.

So...if you're French and order from the UK, you can assume a 32% hit on top of checkout price (the 20 percent is TVA/VAT, that used to be assessed on checkout).

If I’m not mistaken, UK businesses should deduct British VAT on orders shipped outside the UK. Most webshops have not implemented this yet, but they should: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-exports-dispatches-and-supplying-goods-abroad#vat-on-exports. Anglo-Italian is one of the few shops I’ve seen that does an automatic VAT deduction when you enter an EU shipping destination.

 

[solaro23]

The joys of being harassed by DHL four times in a day. Pay the 150 euros in "taxes" if you wish to receive your goods. Mind you, it appears that the couriers are simply making it up as they go along. And there also seems to be zero dialogue between the UK seller and courier company. Who would have thought?

Any niche UK online business selling to the EU will be bust within 6 months. That "brexit dividend" will be a long time coming.

 

[Lol1000]

It could also be due to your own country´s customs approach, or even the individual customers officer. Same as when you travel. Some don´t care that much, others will charge you for everything that is technically possible.

However, in general it is just plain dumb to hurt your own textile industry, let alone all the other export-dependant companies. What the hell were they thinking?

 

[malcb33]

Anyone in Canada or International had success getting a waybill number from UPS?

I want to try to pay my own customs and duties at the local border security agent, but to do so I need a waybill number from UPS. I tried calling and they said it's just the tracking number which I'm pretty certain isn't right...

 

[cb200]

They basically would be the same thing. I believe you need shipment ID# (tracking number, AWB or Pro#) Commercial invoice, and ID that shows you are the consignee or representative of the consignee when you go to CBSA.

 

[whorishconsumer]

What's the state of proxying from Japan these days, in particular if I were ordering directly from a brand or from a retailer, as opposed to auction or private seller? I've seen some comments that ZenMarket has been considerably delayed in placing and shipping orders. Would FromJapan be a better alternative?

What about shipping and customs? From what was discussed here toward the end of last year, air mail via DHL or Fedex is operational. The only caution in opting for these carriers concerned customs documentation not being correctly completed, thus resulting in returns to sender. @zissou mentioned the need to complete a custom's form for DHL. It seems rational to assume this wouldn't apply if I am ordering directly from a brand or vendor, as certainly they complete this paperwork, no?

Btw, if anyone has the harmonized tariff schedule code for a men's cotton jacket containing both alpaca and mouton (goat or lamb), and with knit woof cuffs, manufactured in Japan, please let me know.

 

[illiterate]

I bought something early Jan from ZenMarket and it was fine. They were on New Years vacation/holiday for a few days or so but my order (purchased from a retailer) arrived within the typical time at their warehouse and shipping via DHL to Canada was super fast as usual. No issues with customs on my end but I know Americans have been having some problems.

 

[Regg]

I used zenmarket for the first time and won't be using them again. After 10 months I finally made them ship FedEx even though they made me jump through hoops.

"You need to fill out the customs forms so there are no problems"
"Ok which forms?"
"I don't know"

In the end, I didn't have to complete any paperwork and I doubt their lazy asses did either.

For some reason they were pushing DHL, seemingly because they required no paperwork? I was hesitant because I've had issues previously with DHL charging ridiculous fees.

I'm back to using fromjapan, and I'll probably keep using FedEx

 

[zippyh]

FWIW I’ve had a bunch of stuff from Canada and UK stores ship via DHL to the US in the past several months with no delays other than one delayed a few days the week before Christmas.

 

[zissou]

What's the state of proxying from Japan these days, in particular if I were ordering directly from a brand or from a retailer, as opposed to auction or private seller? I've seen some comments that ZenMarket has been considerably delayed in placing and shipping orders. Would FromJapan be a better alternative?

What about shipping and customs? From what was discussed here toward the end of last year, air mail via DHL or Fedex is operational. The only caution in opting for these carriers concerned customs documentation not being correctly completed, thus resulting in returns to sender. @zissou mentioned the need to complete a custom's form for DHL. It seems rational to assume this wouldn't apply if I am ordering directly from a brand or vendor, as certainly they complete this paperwork, no?

Btw, if anyone has the harmonized tariff schedule code for a men's cotton jacket containing both alpaca and mouton (goat or lamb), and with knit woof cuffs, manufactured in Japan, please let me know.

Ordering via zenmarket and shipping DHL was a breeze in the end. My only complaint is that you have to load money onto your zenmarket account before they’ll order anything. The customer has to fill out extra documentation. Mine wasn’t needed because customs didn’t even open the large box of shoes I had sent here. I was worried because apparently shoes and clothes from Japan can be heavily taxed. I would only ship via DHL Express and fedex right now.

 

[zissou]

I used zenmarket for the first time and won't be using them again. After 10 months I finally made them ship FedEx even though they made me jump through hoops.

"You need to fill out the customs forms so there are no problems"
"Ok which forms?"
"I don't know"

In the end, I didn't have to complete any paperwork and I doubt their lazy asses did either.

For some reason they were pushing DHL, seemingly because they required no paperwork? I was hesitant because I've had issues previously with DHL charging ridiculous fees.

I'm back to using fromjapan, and I'll probably keep using FedEx

I will admit that zenmarket was a pain in that they told me four different things about how to ship my stuff. I eventually just told them to ship DHL Express, and it all worked out fine.

 

[whorishconsumer]

UPS is still seeking payment for their overbilled invoice from 3 months ago.

 

[Regg]

anyone ever use a UK proxy service to the USA?

 

[whorishconsumer]

This is beyond cringe. After I pain-stakingly summarized the events of five months ago, including the resolution their teams came to, UPS is persisting in asking that I substantiate my position by failing a claim, on top of which they are now disputing their organization's original resolution in the matter.

Anyone have experience with filing a complaint against UPS? This would be a first for me.

 

[illiterate]

Can someone recommend a good Korean proxy? Preferably one where you can adjust package value to avoid duties etc. Cheers!