im fucking screwed

[Elektrotechniker]

Well like a month ago I bought one of MarioMaster's argons and it finally arrived.
Well it's at the post office, i will go pick it up tomorrow. BUT WTF I GOT THIS NOTE IN THE MAILBOX. CUSTOMS DECLARATION SHIT

I Have to fucking pay 96 euros( 126.38 usd ) to get it... Customs suck hard dick. Sorry but thats what they do. I hope the laser didn't got smashed up at least. Damn I didn't know I had to pay extra taxes for the import I don't blame mariomaster for this but it seems greek customs should get cancer.

 

[ped]

I feel your pain.

I got hit with a £68 customs bill when i bought a laser off here....robbery.

 

[Elektrotechniker]

I feel your pain.

I got hit with a £68 customs bill when i bought a laser off here....robbery.

Wow.. Nearly what I need to pay. But why? Why pay extra?

 

[anselm]

Anything coming in from outside EU is subject to VAT+import taxes.
Low values around 20€ are usually exempt. If and how much
you have to pay in the end depends on your countries law.

That said, I feel really sorry for you... that's a bad christmas present.

 

[enigmahack]

I've always hated customs. It's a pain because they're completely inconsistent. It wouldn't be so bad if they were some sort of consistent factors involved... But I've ordered two of the same item before and had two different customs prices on them. WTF?!

I get that they have a job to do, but really?

I feel your pain Silvershot.

 

[Elektrotechniker]

Anything coming in from outside EU is subject to VAT+import taxes.
Low values around 20€ are usually exempt. If and how much
you have to pay in the end depends on your countries law.

That said, I feel really sorry for you... that's a bad christmas present.

Yeah... Really bad present. I'll build a laser or 2 and sell them. Need to recover some money from this customs robbery.

 

[ped]

Wow.. Nearly what I need to pay. But why? Why pay extra?

Because it was a $600 laser, the seller marked it as such, and insured it for $500 , so customs saw that and started rubbing thier hands with glee.

 

[Elektrotechniker]

Because it was a $600 laser, the seller marked it as such, and insured it for $500 , so customs saw that and started rubbing thier hands with glee.

So if no insurance was included, i would pay nothing?

 

[elite ares]

About two years ago I bought a telescope off Ebay that came from Taiwan and got stuck paying over $300 duty! That came as quite a surprise. I had to pay the mail lady. I didn't have exact cash so she gave me change in stamps. I still have a few penny stamps leftover from then. It was still a good buy even with the VAT added.

 

[HIMNL9]

Yeah, customs offices sucks ..... last item i had to pay them was few lenses i ordered from surplus shed .... i had to pay postman for "custom office fees" ..... the worse thing is that on 25 Euro of value, they charged me 5 Euro of taxes, and 9 Euro of "postal fees", that is the cost of the paper sheet they inserted in the package for say me that i had to pay them ..... THIEVES !! i auge them to be invased from a huge swarm of 5Kg vampire fleas with rabies (and this only for give them a compliment )

 

[FrothyChimp]

We recently shipped several lasers to Belgium. Our shipping person made a mistake and did not uncheck the box that says "bill customs and duties to shipper". We got a bill from Fedex for over $1600 USD. The worst part is the client would not have to pay the VAT anyway as they are a University. The only thing that could have been done would be to have the client accept the charges. As a university they are not subject to the VAT so they would not accept such charges and we never asked them to. A tough learning experience in attention to detail.

 

[DEMONEX]

It happened to me the same thing when I have my Green SPIDER III, they took me 35 euros.
At the price of the object
It appears as random customs checkpoint.

 

[MarioMaster]

Sorry to hear about that Silvershot - if at all possible, see if you can inspect the head and make sure it doesn't rattle before you go giving them money for import duties.

 

[Jaseth]

Those taxes and fees are in place to encourage people to buy from within their own country instead of sending their money abroad. It may be frustrating and seem unfair, but the money, like other taxes, goes towards paying for what your country does for you.

There are obviously times at which fees and taxes are completely bizarre and unfair. For instance, a $14 fee for the "service" of customs sending you a letter to tell you that you have to pay to get your item.. or the time I had to pay $36 to get a small helmet camera costing $19 through customs. You could also argue that it is silly to enforce protectionism when the item in question is not produced in the buyer's country, which is typically the case for lasers.

If you want to make it less likely that you have to pay fees and taxes, avoid putting high values on the postage info, avoid insurance and use the smallest box or envelope you can (and large envelope rather than small box). Using less expensive shipping options (flatrate first class instead of Express, Fedex) will also make it less likely that customs will inspect and add fees to your package. However, all these things will make it more likely that your package is damaged or lost and that you receive no compensation in those cases, so do it at your own risk.

Seb

 

[ped]

So if no insurance was included, i would pay nothing?

I'm not sure on the in's & outs.

But i do know thats why sellers mark them as "$10 flashlight"

 

[wayassfasterthanyou]

I am not sure how it works for you but in Canada when I get a parcel I pay tax on the amount listed by the seller, I have paid 15 cents tax and a $45 dollar fee for customs to do the paperwork on the 15 cent payment!!

I also found out the very hard way that insurance DOES NOT PAY FOR DAMAGE only if they lose the parcel!!!!

For you, you can say it is for school and get your cash back.