tomato coupe

It doesn't matter whether or not it's typical, it is what they do. That is the reality of the situation.

livedarklions

Almost certainly, what FedEx has decided is that it's more expensive to deal with the disruption of having to handle the packages specially than they end up losing when they get stiffed on the invoices.

livedarklions

Skepticism is always warranted as scams will work best when they resemble the SOP. No one is saying OP shouldn't verify that it actually was duties on a shipment OP received and not some randomly generated mass mailing.

livedarklions

Just to make the point that this is SOP cuts both ways, banks had to change the ways in which they dealt with suspicious activities because scammers were setting up phishing schemes that pretty much looked identical to the SOP.

Pretty much everything that isn't a routine bill needs to be cross-checked before you send out money and/or information, it's just basic identity security at this point.

base2 

Man. 4 pages & nary a reference one to: "doodie."

What's the BF coming to?

Sheesh.

Pop Alexandra

Unfortunately, they keep taxing everything they can for years.

70sSanO

Since this thread has been re-opened, and despite the bickering, it would be nice to know the outcome.

I don’t buy a lot from overseas, but it is good to know there is a threshold, $800, where additional fees are charged.

I think that most non-domestic online sites have disclaimers about the price not including duties or export/import fees. I can understand why online retailers want no part in that world and there is probably an agreement by the buyer to pay these fees buried in the terms and conditions.

John

masi61

This thread took off and I was busy so I wasn’t following it.

The outcome for me was that FedX turned my uncollected duty over to a collection agency when I ignored FedX’s billing too long. When I saw that the collection agency now wanted ~$165 I got a bit angry but a bit concerned too so I just paid the amount requested to avoid any future harassment.

The bill from the collection agency clearly stated that the duty was from Merlin Cycles in the UK. Previously I had assumed it was from a purchase that I had made from Bike24.com in Germany. Maybe if it was stated on the bill from FedX that the tax (duty or whatever you want to call it) was from a big purchase from Merlin, I would have paid more promptly. It actually made sense that the bill came from Merlin because I made a purchase over $1,000 from them. They had a sale on Dura Ace 9100 rim brake integrated shift levers and Dura Ace 9120 hydraulic disc/mechanical shift integrated levers and I wanted some for some bike builds I have in the pipe line.

Maybe the bigger tax kicked in once the total went above $1,000 but to be honest, I’m still not sure. I’m pretty busy in my life so I just paid it so I could move on. My great buy from Merlin ended up being just an average buy. But with world wide parts supply chain iffy-ness being a thing I’m OK with how it turned out. Honestly, I was surprised to be able to get premium Shimano Dura Ace parts again from the UK. Shimano cracked down on “grey market” sales for US buyers nearly 10 years ago now, making it much more difficult to find deals. I think that the way Merlin is still able to sell some of these Shimano parts is that they are generically boxed and sold as “OEM” with no more than a Merlin sticker on the brown box stating what it is. But the parts are the real deal. With Dura Ace 9200 Di2 being here, I wanted a second set of the 9120 mechanical disc shifters while I could get them since I have 2 Wittson Illuminati titanium frames I am building that are configured for mechanical disc. I had a hard enough time obtaining my first set of 9120 integrated shifters state side originally, and now I’m running the risk that they are already phased out anyway so I decided to act.

Milton Keynes

Thanks for giving us the outcome. Yes, they should have been more clear on what shipment the charges were for and should be aware that scams are rife. I would have also been hesitant to pay that invoice if it just randomly came in the mail and had little verifying info. If it were just an email I'd totally suspect a scam. My spam folder is full of stuff like that.

Iride01 

Did Shimano really crack down on the UK dealers shipping to the US? I thought it was more that the exchange rate and cost of such cycling goods in the US just made purchasing from them less attractive.

It's something that is a moving target for many reasons of trade and demand and supply, sometimes they are a good buy and other times they aren't.

masi61

My understanding was that SRAM was first to crack down on overseas internet sales to the USA. Shimano followed suit. If you check some of the European internet retailers who list Shimano parts, often you will be unable to add them to your cart and you will see “unable to ship to USA” with no explanation…

Iride01 

I saw some articles 5 or so years ago suggesting it was SRAM and Shimano cracking down. But they didn't give any sources so I just assumed them to be speculation.

Trade agreements for the USA were also in flux at that same time. So maybe they just weren't certain, and were just protecting themselves from customer backlash at the obscene customs charges that the customer might unknowingly incur.

When you buy from overseas, you are the importer and responsible for such fees if due. The sender doesn't typically have to worry about anything other than freight..

tomato coupe

Maybe all the posters who insisted the bill was a scam and told you not to pay it will kick in some money to help you out?

Atlas Shrugged

One of the reasons European parts prices look good is they are sold VAT exempt. The issue is once the value of the shipment is above a certain threshold, local taxes and duties apply. If the value of the shipment is too small the shipping charges take that advantage away. So a small value window exists.

As for the usual suspects advising you not to pay or its a scam is expected. Asking for advice on these forums is like getting investment advice from a Taxi driver questionable at best.

Koyote

Free financial advice is usually worth exactly what you've paid for it.

livedarklions

I'm too lazy to scroll through this whole thread, but I think the advice was verify it before you pay it, not don't verify it and don't pay it. There are a lot of fairly sophisticated scams out there (I have clients who have fallen for them), so that verification is still sound advice. OP didn't follow that advice.

ETA--actually went back and checked. There was the one "definitely a scam" guy, but even the "almost certainly not a scam" people were suggesting verification.

Most of the advice was sound, and if the OP had followed it, collection agents would not have been summoned.

msu2001la

Just so we're all clear, the first 30 or so responses in this thread were people suggesting that the OP verify before paying, which seems like pretty good advice.

VegasTriker

Seems to me I read a similar complaint where FedEx consolidated a bunch of small shipments where the total value of the shipment went over the $800 limit. They assessed fees on all of the recipients based on what was paid for the entire shipment divided up among all of the recipients. How they justify this is beyond me. I bought a lot of stuff directly from China on eBay for bike accessories and for LED lighting. All of the purchases were well under $800 and I never paid a cent in duties. They were sent by China post, not FedEx. I would never order anything shipped by FedEx from overseas just in case that is true.

Sy Reene

Advantage of the expedited private shipping companies is speed. OTOH, choosing slow-boat (ie. Royal Mail handoff to USPS) is that the USPS carriers won't be bothered to try and collect duty on an enclosed (polybagged) invoice, and I can't imagine the USPS (ironically) mailing an invoice to postal customers

50PlusCycling

Don't use Fedex. If you are buying from overseas, try to use airmail as your first option, and priority mail as your second option, with UPS as a last resort. Fedex is fine for documents, but not for shipping goods. I say this as the owner of an online retail store which exports worldwide. Other services charge less, and if there are duties, they collect upon delivery, so you don't get taken by surprise later on. If the shop you are looking at uses only Fedex, find another shop.

katsup

I've made 2 purchases from bike24 this year and both were shipped by DHL in Germany and handed off to USPS in the states.

Check if you order even arrived by FedEx.

70sSanO

They’ll figure out the right address but deliver it to the wrong location.

John