I used to buy books and other things from Amazon US, but as I am in Portugal one day I bought a too big package and I was charged with importation fees. So beware of this, it's better to buy closer to where you are or get informed about these taxes so that you don't come across unpleasant surprises.
How much did they charge you? Over here we also get charged for taxes when the item reaches a certain amount. So were you just given a notice to just claim the item to your local post office instead of it being delivered to your home? I was also surprised to know that I had to pay taxes when I bought a cellphone online, so now I avoid buying anything over $50 online.
In Canada, we often see great deals coming out of the US but by the time we pay the additional shipping charges and the taxes, the deals are rarely all that good. The best thing to do is to order from a place that sorts out the final price including shipping across a border ahead of time. At least that way you will know exactly how much you will have to pay. There is a small piece of the US that can only be accessed by road from Canada. A lot of people have mailboxes in that community for shipping purposes (it is a huge savings). They will then bring the items across the border often duty free.
Ah, that's a neat trick when living near the border, but for those living away from it doesn't help. I never heard of a place that includes the shipping costs of borders in the price, how could they do it really, paying themselves to customs? Maybe it's happening and it's just something I am unaware of.
I'm glad you mentioned this fact. I have learned about importation costs when I opened an online eBay store in Germany. I kept wondering why customers would tell me to separate packages to avoid duty fees. So, I decided to research the issue of import fees and taxes for shipments from America. In Germany if a package is over 22 Euros, they must pay for duty costs. This problem is rare for buyers unless they order a large quantity of CDs from me totaling over 22 Euros. Then, I have to separate and ship the items on different days so they can avoid fees. Also, I had to pay import taxes here from UPS when I ordered a product from Taiwan. It is important for people to be aware of certain fees attach to items when ordering out of the country.
That's right, I don't know in detail how that works, but what I do know is that I had ordered from the Amazon USA a few times with no issues, but that one and last time I placed a bigger order and possibly it was due to more money, weight or package dimension that they charged me those fees and let me tell you it was not cheap, doubled the price of my package or more.
Here in the Philippines, the trick is picking the right courier to deliver your items. I read on several blogs that if you use DHL, FedEx or EMS, you will be taxed 50-200% of what you actually paid for (including shipping costs), regardless if it's just a $5 item that weighs 100g. A lot of citizens and foreigners residing here have been complaining about that corruption, but up to now it's still unresolved. I won't be mentioning the courier that I'm using right now, but with them I don't get taxed a single cent (or am I supposed to? lol). I once asked the delivery man why they don't get taxed. The guy said, they do too, but not as often as other couriers AND he said people in Customs only tax when they feel like it (and I thought, "oh... okay").
I'm also from Portugal, and I've never had an issue with a package being held in customs... And I've ordered stuff from India. It's pretty weird that you had this problem... How many books did you order? And were all of them from the same vendor?
Yep, all from Amazon. I think that the main problem is that the package was too big or too heavy, most likely up from a certain weight/dimension they charge. I've ordered loads of books before with no issues, so that was a big surprise for me!
I have been ordering products from iherb, amazon and ebay for many years now. I never had to pay any taxes on my orders while I lived in Australia and Europe, but since I have moved to Latin America, everything has changed. Here, I have to pay import tax on everything that I order from overseas. The price depends on the weight of the package and the value of the contents, which is usually around $25 for me.
So, you buy the same volume packages, you paid no taxes in Australia and Europe and in Latin America you pay? I guess that only shows how much the country needs the money, in theory the poorer the country, the higher the taxes?
