I am royally f****d off!

[Ash]

I've posted this same thread on LFPF, since it really concerns them, and I feel like ranting to both crowds...


So I decided I wanted a 4x5 monorail camera for xmas. So dad's credit card comes out, I grab a 'bargain' from a member at LFPF. About £150 for the camera (no lens) and a few goodies.

I gotta say I HATE the system.


The member takes it to the post office over in the USA, they quote him about £15 or so more than the postage was worked out to be. Sting #1


It's sent over the xmas/new year period so takes a little extra time to get here. It SHOULD have been sent as a gift, and marked as such to avoid any nasty surprises. Guess what?

Import duties £7 and VAT (out of nowhere) £35 - Sting #2

And even worse, PARCELFORCE CLEARANCE FEE £13.50!!!!


So even parcelforce get a nice pat on the back for nothing, £13.50! That's more than the import duties cost!

So stung 3 times, and who's going to cover what? I HAVE to pay £55 to get the camera, there's no arguing.

What a bitch. The letter from parcelforce had my surname wrong!!! So is that parcelforce or is that the member being too lazy to spell my name correctly? Not difficult I gotta say. Who here passed English?



I really hope the camera wasn't damaged somewhere down the line, or there will be hell to pay.


ARGH! All this just so I could have a 'bargain' and get into 4x5? I may as well have bought it here for less than that total cost!



Know what the worst thing is? If I wasn't true to my word, and kept to the deal then I coulda said 'sorry mate' to the america guy and gone for the 10x8 DeVere camera with heavy duty tripod +goodies that I was offered the day after I agreed to the america deal (before sending money).


My dad hasn't paid the £55 yet either, so I get home this evening and nearly have an argument AND now I have to sweet talk £55 out of him.


*swears profusely*


EDIT: The DeVere would have been collected in person, so only the cost of getting to Reading, which is hardly expensive versus the crapola I've been through now!

 

[raid]

Ash: I sense your frustration and anger, but there are worse things in life, and hopefully this unpleasant eventis somehow improved upon once you receive the 4x5 camera.Let me know how you like 4x5 photography.

Greetings,
Raid

 

[MadMan2k]

That sucks. I guess it's not worth the trouble to order things from overseas...

 

[Ash]

Well in all senses it was a gift, just not as the taxman would like to believe

 

[physiognomy]

If it makes you feel any better I'm off for the post office right now to pick up my $40 KNeB that no one else bid on... 🙂

Sorry to hear you got screwed over Ash... Sounds like you guys over there are better off dealing with people on your side of the pond. I hope the camera checks out ok!

Peter

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

That really sucks. Or is it blows? Anyway, yes, I'd be p-d off proper me-self.

But wait on the 4x5; I didn't like it at first (well, it was 2x3), but then it grows on you. I got a Crown Graflex, that, while not exactly the same, brings photography to another level for me.

These view cameras truly are from an era when people had time. Makes loading and using a Contax RF or a Barnack Leica a blink!

 

[dexdog]

That really sucks. Or is it blows? Anyway, yes, I'd be p-d off proper me-self.

My favorite Bart Simpson quote of all time: I didn't think that it was physically possible, but this both sucks and blows.

That is unfortunate, Ash. Kinda makes your camera less of a bargain. Luckily, I have never been stuck with customs duties on items that I have received from overseas (Europe and Japan). Also, I second what Greyhoundman said about falsifying the customs forms that the US postal service requires on international packages.

 

[oscroft]

Well in all senses it was a gift

No it wasn't. The point is that it wasn't a gift from the person in the US who sent it, and so he would have been acting illegally had he declared it as such - whether the person who bought it in the UK intended it as a gift to you is not relevant.

 

[FrankS]

Here in Canada, the Customs duty charge is hit and miss. Sometimes they'll add a charge, sometimes they don't. Two out of the 3 times I sent a camera to the US for repair, they jsut didn't read the info on the package and charged me an import duty for my own camera! These packages were sent back to Canada Customs so they could do their job properly.

Bummer, Ash. But as Raid said, there are worse things that could happen to you/your family. This is only money. (And I'm not being flippant with that remark.)

 

[monochromejrnl]

unexpected and hidden costs always suck... but be grateful that your dad is generous enough to buy your camera equipment for you...

 

[ampguy]

Ash, I'm sorry to hear about the end deal not working out well for you, but I've got to agree with G'man. Please don't expect overseas sellers to do the "gift" thing, it's tempting and would benefit us sellers as well, since many sellers, and some dealers do the "gift" thing (I could have sold my *ist 5 times over if I did the gift thing), but not all folks want to do that, as minor of an issue as you may feel it is.

 

[Ororaro]

American law, obeying the law blablabla... Americans are funny. They don't want to disobey the law but the carry guns in their back pocket. Whatever.

As far as I'm concerned, I'll always mark the item as a gift instead of letting the government steal the money.

 

[SCOTFORTHLAD]

Tough one Ash,certainly takes the shine off the deal.I am almost certain that the UK. Customs rules for charging Duty apply to any item,gift or not,new or used,with a total value of ONLY 36GBP,and that figure INCLUDES Postage cost.

Having said that,the charges are not always invoked,it's a lottery.(European Common Market imports carry no charges at all0

Punitive taxes if you ask me,but a handling fee by Parcelforce is rubbing salt into the wound!!😡

Brian.

 

[hth]

At least 30% extra is what I expect when buying from US. I have been through 50% extra at one time.

And yes, it is frustrating, but that is how it is.

If you do not like it, keep your purchases within EU, no hidden fees.

In Sweden I have to pay customs and clearance fee. Then they sum that with the shipping cost and the value of the goods, and add VAT/sales tax (25%) on the grand total. When I collect my parcel, I have to pay another fee to pay the previous fees.

/Håkan

 

[FrankS]

Like the UPS brokerage fee on parcels from the US to Canada. Rip-off!

 

[dexdog]

American law, obeying the law blablabla... Americans are funny. They don't want to disobey the law but the carry guns in their back pocket. Whatever.

As far as I'm concerned, I'll always mark the item as a gift instead of letting the government steal the money.

Honestly, relatively few Americans carry a gun around. I am 49 years old, and have never known a soul that carried a gun other than off-duty law enforcement officers. Plus, a back pocket is a bad place, cause it would hurt when you sat down.

 

[markinlondon]

I'd be more upset about the Parcelfarce (this is not a typo) charge myself. Taxes are just unavoidable. Hope it's worth it.

 

[oscroft]

At least 30% extra is what I expect when buying from US

Yeah, I bank on 25-30%, and then if a parcel gets through without me getting charged I consider it a bonus. (And as SCOTFORTHLAD said even a "gift" of the value of Ash's camera would have been liable for tax, though I don't know if it affects the likelihood of them charging)

 

[gareth]

Live and learn Bud.

Be patient, there are plenty of cameras out there.
If you want it sent as a gift, speak to the seller first, and agree this before you bid.

Do your sums, and take into account the worst scenario.

And don't buy stuff you can't afford. (taking into account the above)

In the meantime lets hope you got a good un. There’s always an element of risk in buying blind, you need to take that into account too.

 

[Jocko]

This invariably happens when one buys cameras from the United States - and simply reflects UK postal priorities. I used to resent it myself, but the alternative is to ask an acquaintance or friend to lie. What sort of person does that? The private trading we do thanks to the web depends on honour and even a benign misrepresentation devalues that system (think of all those "r@re", "minty" cameras). I am no particular fan of taxes (and the Parcelforce charge is grotesque) but I would far sooner pay and get a straight deal than impose on someone else.

It should also be remembered that with the decline of the dollar it's Christmas every day for those of us in the Sterling or Euro zone. There are fabulous bargains (and fewer US buyers). We really have very little to complain of.

Cheers, Ian