Contrary-wise, I have had the most trouble WITH SENDING to Belgium and Fran ce, with items either disappearing or returning for failure to claim or non delivery. If there is something that triggers an additional charge on t hose two countries as a revenue burden for the buyer, I dont know what it i s. If I put the actual value on the package for insurance purposes, th en the recipient gets dinged for duty charges. If I put a low value on t he package to save the buyer additional duty charges I may lose out on an i nsurance claim. If the buyer goes to pick up the package and sees an add itional charge he may just turn around and leave and the package MAY be sen t back. I have no easy answer for these two countries and did wish I knew. The only eBay negative feedback I received is from a buyer in Fran ce that didnt pick up his package and it was sent back to me. BT
Bruce Thomson Spokane WA 99204 (509) 747 4314 Masi3v4me@yahoo.com rapidfire10ring@hotmail.com
--- On Wed, 3/11/09, Jerome & Elizabeth Moos <jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net> wrot e: From: Jerome & Elizabeth Moos <jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net> Subject: Re: [CR] Customs charges on imported items To: Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org, "John Betmanis" <johnb@oxford.net> Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2009, 10:55 AM
As Steve said, one rarely sees duty collected on parcels delivered by the U S Postal Service, so there may well be some sort of understanding between USP S and US Customs not to hassle one another. I've noted that most of the frequent eBay sellers in France and Belgium ship by carriers (perhaps the French and Belgian Post)who link up with USPS on this end. That may be by design, as these French sellers seem to have done their homework on insuring the most hassle -free shipping. I've never had a bad experience with a eBay purchase from France or Belgium.
Regards,
Jerry Moos
Big Spring, Texas, USA
> From: John Betmanis <johnb@oxford.net>
> Subject: Re: [CR] Customs charges on imported items
> To: Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2009, 12:28 PM
> At 01:00 PM 11/03/2009 -0400, Steven Maasland wrote:
> >There has been a bit of misinformation given in earlier
> posts that could
> >lead to costly mistakes.
> >
> >ALL CR-list time period bicycle items, whether new or
> used, are subject
> >to duties. This is inescapable! Luckily for many of us,
> the post office
> >rarely if ever collects the duty due on small packages
> shipped through
> >the mail. I suppose that the treasury and the post
> office have decided
> >that the cost of collecting the duty isn't
> sufficiently cost effective.
> >Couriers on the other hand, with UPS at the head of the
> class,
> >invariably do collect the duty, tacking on a nominal
> brokerage fee
> >(generally something like $ 5.50 or 1% of the item
> value).
>
> <snip>
>
> Steve, that's an extermely useful post and explains
> just about everything.
> It applies in Canada as well as the U.S. Personally,
> I've seldom been
> charged any duty on old bike parts coming into Canada from
> the U.S. or
> Europe. But that's probably because the stuff was
> coming from individuals,
> not businesses. However, buying stuff like computer memory
> from the U.S. is
> a different story and it can end up costing me double or
> more, usually
> because of inflated shipping charges and mandatory
> brokerage fees by Canada
> Post or UPS. The scruffier and more amateurish a parcel
> looks, the more
> likely it is to slip under the radar. Sometimes packing and
> addressing an
> item very professionally ends up costing the recipient.
>
> John Betmanis
> Woodstock, Ontario
> Canada
> _______________________________________________
_______________________________________________