Jheitt

This is pretty common for me in Canada. Nearly anything I buy that is new from out of country is followed by a duty/brokerage bill some time after. I'm not sure how much your initial purchase was but anytime you buy anything out of country and it is shipped through a courier at their most basic rate I'd expect this to happen.

pdlamb

So, let's combine all this into a (text) flow chart.

1. Pull up your original order and shipping emails. Compare the shipper information and tracking label to the bill you got. If they don't match, it's probably a scam.

2. Reasonableness test: how much was the total order? Import duties seem to range from 10-20% from other sources on bikes and parts. Was the total order $750-1500? (Next I'll try to guess what you bought that only weigh 6 pounds. Oh, another flashing light: why did FedEx supposedly give you the English unit weight instead of rest-of-the-world mass in kg?)

3. If tracking labels match and the order looks reasonable, find out of channel contact information for FedEx and call or contact them to verify this is a legitimate charge.

I'd assess it as not a slam-dunk scam, but I'd guess the odds are 2:1 to 3:1 against it being legitimate. Note I'm not a professional importer or bookmaker.

jamesdak 

I've had this once from Fedex too when the ordered item exceeded the $800 limit. If I remember correctly there was the bill and also the actual duty form. What got my goat is that FEDEX did not contact me for payment before delivery. They paid on my behalf and then charged me a fee for the service. At no time did I give them permission to act on my behalf and then charge me for it. Not did I pick them as the shipper, that decision was made by the Vendor. There is a place to pull up this billing at the FEDEX site and pay. I'd just have to dig through all my info to find it.

tomato coupe

That's standard fare. Every invoice we receive from FedEx has the weight listed in pounds, even if the airway bill and customs documents are in kilograms. (DHL uses kilograms on all their invoices.)

tomato coupe

A normal customs broker requires a power of attorney to clear shipments for you, but there are laws that allow FedEx, DHL, etc. to clear shipments for you and then charge you for their services without your prior consent.

base2 

Dang it!
I just got dinged by DHL today for an unexpected $107

FWIW: Extralite HyperSmart3 hubs front/rear just went live on Monday. The pair with hybrid ceramic bearings will run you $850 USD shipped. So, with import duties count on about $957 if you want a super cool 212 gram disc brake hub set.

I should've been smart enough to save the $107 in duties by making 2 separate orders. 35€ shipping x2 would've netted a savings of $72 because the $800 value threshold was never crossed.

Live & learn. I sure do wish I'd have known about the $800 threshold mentioned in this thread before I ordered. When it's unexpected, 11% is steep.

GamblerGORD53

100% scam IMO.
Just yesterday, I got a scam call saying they were calling about an Amazon order.
And lots of border patrol BS calls from several states.
Only DHL asked for payment before home shipping. Ignoring it didn't work.

livedarklions

Here's the problem with that. Effective scammers are likely going to be familiar with FedEx procedures, those aren't exactly secret. Thus, the scams are likely going to resemble those SOPs. The part that smells scammy here is the lack of confirmation tying this bill to a particular shipment. We agree that OP should confirm stuff with FedEx, but I don't think a basic wide net scam should be ruled out here.

indyfabz

This is why I buy only locally sourced, farm-to-table, organic, plant-based bike stuff. Just had some new Beyond Brake Pads installed yesterday.

GhostRider62

SCAM

Duty on bike parts is more like 6%......not 20% or whatever the invoice from Somalia says.

tomato coupe

More misunderstanding on how this works. A bill from FedEx will include duties AND customs clearance fees. The clearance fees are often higher than the duties.

grizzly59

To the OP- what method of payment is requested and exactly who do you pay? Beware the Greek letters in the Internet address scam for one. I did buy a radio from Canada on eBay a few years ago and the customs fees and paperwork were quite a shock.

I would go to FedEx.com and punch in the tracking number, see what that shows.

GhostRider62

OP said "Duty".

When I have had Fedex clear items for me, they contacted me and I paid in advance. Now, this could have changed.

I try to use a different shipper now.

Fees can be very high, like the $500 changed to inspect my velomobile when in fact there was no actual inspection. OP had a very small package, not a crate of items. You are assuming a lot here.

trailangel

Who would ever pay a shipping bill after you have received the shipment?

GhostRider62

An honest person?

trailangel

No... a stupid person.

tomato coupe

No, I'm actually assuming very little. Several people have chimed in with "This its a scam because of X, Y, or Z", when X, Y, and Z are actually pretty standard fare. So, yes, this could be a scam, but it's not because of X, Y, or Z.

tomato coupe

Because FedEx will send it to a collection agency, and you will have to take care of it eventually. (Been there, done that.)

pdlamb

Oh, cool! Were those grown from heritage brake pad seeds?

livedarklions

Agreed, it's plausible that it's real and it's plausible that it's a scam. We simply don't have enough info about the contacts of the letter and whether its info could be verified to know.

Right now the cat is dead and alive.

GhostRider62

Ok, so, I am no longer guilty of misinformation.

Fedex fee for such a transaction is nominal, probably less than 5 bucks. So yes, you are assuming a lot. When you accuse someone of misinformation, try knowing something about the topic.

kahn

That reminds me that about two weeks ago, I received a "cow bell" (too heavy for bicycle) from Switzerland and while it cost about $250 US, there was no duty collected on it. At least, so far!

Clyde1820

I've made a handful of purchases from Bike24, before, and with delivery to me in the U.S. I have not yet been charged for any duty fees for such transactions. Uncertain whether it's for certain products but not others, etc. Might well want to inquire with Bike24, to see if duty fees are always applicable for their stuff, or only for certain stuff.

himespau 

I'm looking at making a purchase from Bike24 that's right about at that limit. Might have to take a couple things out of my cart to make sure I'm below it (and hope the exchange rate doesn't change). Those German sites charge a bit more for shipping than most (and often take a bit longer to ship), but their prices are often good enough (if you buy enough stuff) or they have things no one else does to make up for it.

WhyFi

In most cases, $800 is the limit - anything under that is going to be duty-free.