Nick wrote:I got pinged on a DHL shipment for being $405 (which included shipping, I think the goods themselves were about 360 or something), it's getting so you have to think twice because if you split the shipment into two 'lesser' amounts, you are then stung with two lots of shipping costs. I think this is a result of the retail sector pressuring gubmint agencies to make any offshore purchase incur GST , they don't like the fact that people are using the internet to shop offshore & buy the goods at a much cheaper price (I remember one case of a guy buying a motorcycle helmet from the States & even after paying shipping & the GST on it, it was still only half the price of what the retailers were wanting locally).
Back when the AU duty threshold was around $200, it seemed both UPS and FedEx would bump shipping quotes so the total consignment would exceed that total. It did not seem to matter how much the goods actually cost, if the company you were buying them from were contracted to those carriers, up she goes...They would then bring the consignment to the attention of customs with the net effect being that you would not get your goods delivered as paid for, rather you would get a card in your letter box telling you to drive to the airport and pick it up..and bring your wallet cause you would now need to pay for a temporary importation license, app $30, a customs consignment inspection fee, applicable duty, AND an clearance agent fee to the carrier for acting on your behalf as per consignment contract.....and THEN... GST applied to the lot, to include the original purchase cost + freight + insurance... Oh and did I mention the YOU would have to pickup rather than them delivering to your door as per original understanding with the vendor...
Brutally greedy bastards would do that to you just so they could generate a clearance agent fee where there should not have been one and avoid the cost of carrying out the local delivery you already paid for. There was nothing you could do about it either, you would pay the ransom or they would not release your consignment simple as that...Its probably the dregs of having to deal with angry international customers' emails and phone calls that were generated by a situation beyond their control that still has many USA companies refusing to shipping to Australia even though much has now changed. The weird thing was if you had the very same consignment sent via USPS, who has an exchange of delivery service agreement in place with Australia Post, your goods would be at your door in less overall time, with no duty or fees attached, and for half the freight cost. That's because both still have government ownership umbilicals attached and therefore need to play fair. What what happens if either are ever fully privatized. The unfair scalping of people at every opportunity these entities currently condemn as ruthless and unethical behavior of their competitors would soon become the rewarded expectation....its just the way of us when we only recognize the bottom line.
Cheers
Kim
$400 in NZ & they've just started including postage into that figure as well
I used RC tonewoods a fair bit but now a couple of sets & I have to consider things closely what with the increase in USPS rates, exchange rate & GST, once it's in the country it makes what was a reasonably priced set of back & sides a bloody expensive proposition for a customer choosing their wood of choice.
Does anyone know if this applies every time or is it just random checks?
Welcome back 
