I've been successful in my Online Shopping journey, usually snagging tons of deals that I wouldn't find in my area's vicinity. However, one of my worst experiences with online shopping is finding a new store, loving the products, buying and then when it is shipped, being hit with ridiculous fees. I've had this happen twice and because I live in Canada the most I've ever been punished with is a $60 duties fee. It was on an electronics product I had a great deal on, but the duties neutralized the offer almost completely. So what were you experiences? Did you ever get hit with a large fee?
Most companies tell you to calculate it yourself and that you are responsible for duties payable, and I have had duties to pay and you can't escape them, which is why you have to factor them into the cost. It's not a hidden cost, but one that can be expensive as it is on the cost of the items. I used to buy clothing from the US and the taxes were too high, so I stopped.
It's very annoying and frustrating, we too get it here in Botswana. We bought a keyboard for cheap on eBay UK, but then the customs fee was just under the price we paid! Luckily for us, the day that they delivered the item they never collected the money. I even asked them if there was a charge, and the poor sod said no. Two weeks later they rocked up ready to collect because I should have been charged. I laughed in their face and refused point blank to pay retrospectively LOL Harsh, but they already make a small fortune off us as it stands. The same went for when we lived in the UK. I bought a lot of my skincare products in Canada because they were a lot cheaper; I always got hit with a hefty fee. I just resigned myself to it.
Yeah, I got taxed twice when I bought 2 phones on Ebay. One phone was only $32, but I got taxed around $18 for that one. The other cost $130, and I got taxed $32 for that. But the annoying thing is that all parcels don't get delivered straight to our home except for books, and they get stuck at the customs office because you need to pay $3 to claim them, no matter how cheap the item is. Obviously, they want to make more money off of us.
I currently live in Latin America and have to pay a tax fee for everything that I buy and import from overseas. Usually it depends on the price of the items and the weight of the package. To circumvent these ridiculous fees, I now have a personal middle person who brings all the items into the country via her personal shipping containers. Many people are using her service, so it turns out to be a lot cheaper for everyone and a nice earner for her.
Oh wow Dora M, you're so lucky! I wish I could have that sort of arrangement, but I live all the way in Botswana and I order mainly from the UK/US/Canada. The charges can be ridiculous, I mean it can be as much as the value of the item! So all the money you saved is put straight back on. If I had someone I could send the stuff to, I'd have them reduce the value drastically and then mark them as gifts because apparently you don't pay for gifts. Sidney, do you pay a standard $3 on top on the customs fee? Or is that all you pay no matter what your items cost? I tend to use the courier for fast delivery, and also to have delivered to my door. I am just not cool with having to pay all these fees, even though i know it's standard across the world LOL I just think they're extortionate
@Lushlala, The standard $3 (last 2012 it used to be only $1, they have increased thrice since then) is applicable only to cheap items that you don't have to pay tax for like memory cards, bags, earphones, clothes, etc. as long as it looks cheap they won't tax you. But the expensive ones like gadgets, shoes, etc. you pay $3 too on top of the tax that they will charge. Very annoying. Which door to door courier do you use and where do you buy your items? How much do you pay for their service?
Wow, that seems a bit unfair! It looks to me like they're milking people for all it's worth, every single cent they can get out of you. That extra $3 is probably a made-up figure to extort more money out of you, and probably shouldn't exist. We don't have that charge. It's annoying that you can't choose a courier when you shop with online retailers, but one of my favourite online stores uses DHL. It just so happens that over here I have a very helpful person who works for DHL who's been very understanding and sympathetic towards my plight regarding these extortionate fees
@Lushlala, So your packages go "under the radar"? If that's the case then you're quite lucky to avoid those very annoying taxes! Even if they issue a receipt, they shouldn't charge that "storage fee" anymore. The fee is technically $2.30 when I used a peso to dollar converter, but since I have a mild bidding addiction, 10 parcels can easily cost me $24 to $25 on "storage fees" alone. They open your parcel in front of you when you claim it to determine if it's taxable, aside from making sure that it's not illegal. I wish a senator can eradicate this rule.
@Sidney, it's just a shame that it's just with that one courier and obviously you can't say to an online retailer, I prefer you use this courier. They have their own couriers that they use. I just bung the guy a little something to say thank you, obviously on the quiet. I do hope that your rates change for the better, or that they at least freeze them!
@Lushlala, So you actually get the items straight to your home? Is that courier connected to large online stores like Amazon or Ebay? Because you can't really choose in those stores how they ship your items, right?
Yes Sidney, that's the annoying thing; the fact that you can't choose what courier service they use! Because if they did, I would stick to DHL otherwise, because that's where my friend is If it's sent via courier, then yes they deliver to the door. If it's sent via registered mail through the post office, we get a slip with which to collect the parcel at the post office.
@Lushlala, You gave me an idea. I think if I will buy a gadget, I will message the seller if they can use a courier instead of sending it via registered mail, so I pay for the shipping, but I will dodge the taxes. How much does DHL charge? Or since the delivery man is your friend, you just give him a "token of appreciation" gift? Lol. Yesterday the mailman delivered one of my parcels straight to our house, since the customs officer wasn't around. My dad gave him $2.30 as "thanks", so I saved money since I didn't pay for it, lol.
If you can do it that way, it's certainly worth it. I mean, you seem to do a lot of online shopping, so it would be very beneficial to you. Sometimes I wish I shopped with sellers you could have a quiet word with to mark some stuff as gifts, but they obviously don't want to implicate themselves LOL Yes, with my "friend" I just give him that token fee and he takes care of it. But If I did a lot more shopping I'd probably pay for some and not others, just to throw them off and hopefully guard against him getting into trouble, and possibly losing his job!
In Ebay, some sellers mark the item as "gift" by default, so I don't think they can get in trouble for that. Why don't you PM the seller too and request that they mark it as "gift" so that you won't pay tax? Over here though, customs officers are smart enough to know that it's not really a "gift", lol.
Hehe @sidney, your customs officers sound like they're just after lining their pockets LOL Sadly the online stores I usually buy with are huge and are very clear about this, there's no way they'd be twisted on their stand for fear of implicating themselves in a clear case of someone trying to be in breach of customs regulations LOL
@Lushlala, Yeah, even if there's a receipt, paying a "storage fee" isn't cool. I guess that's their way of knowing when to tax a person, by opening the package in front of the person and determining if it's taxable. If you buy in Ebay, most Chinese sellers would comply if you ask them to mark the item as "gift". I never asked them, but either my parcels are marked as "gift" or they're priced really low.
Eh Sidney, hang on...what do you mean "storage fee"?! That's a new one to me, we don't have that here!! Please don't tell me they charge you to store your item until you come and collect it? That's just ridiculous, surely they just made that one up LOL In Botswana I think you have up to 30 days within which to collect your item, failing which they just return it to the sender.
@Lushlala, Yup, that's the annoying $2.30 fee that I have to pay for each parcel that I get! They issue a receipt, and the parcel has been marked by a number that is stated in your card. It sure is an easy way to get easy money! The customs is one of the most corrupt offices here in the country. After 30 days, the package will get returned to the sender, although mine was still available after 30 days. I actually wonder if they really mail back the package, lol.
You might find that they break into it and keep whatever is inside, @Sidney! If they're that corrupt, I wouldn't put it past them. I also don't like the inconsistencies. Rules are rules and if they say after X amount of time, failure to collect your item will result in it being returned to the sender, they should stick to it. Although I guess for you it was a blessing in disguise LOL
