New Balmoral Traditional 8 Yard

[ozone]

who did you order from? I just ordered from one of our sponsors, Kiltstore. Did you get your Balmoral from them? Let me know so I can brace myself for more costs...ugh.

[Keith A]

Yes I Ordered From Kilt Store. I Cant Blame Them For The Tarif They Are Not Responsibal For The Us Gov Policy. But The Next Time I Go For Such A Big Nut. Ill Look Around A Bit More. The Problem Was I Could Not Find My Tartan Offered By To Many Other Companys And The Ones That Did Were All I Scottland.

[ozone]

What was our wonderful gov't's excuse for the HIGH tariff? Can you protest it? Who are they trying to protect?!?!

[Keith A]

I HAVENT RECIVED THE BILL YET. I WAS INFORMED BY FED EX AT TO WHAT THE TOTAL WAS. I SPOKE TO A WOMAN WHO LIVES ON MY STREET AND HER COMPANY IMPORTS ALOT OF SCARFS FOR OVERSEAS. SHE TOLD ME THAT THEY GET HIT ALL THE TIME BUT SHE SAID THAT THE $107 THAT IM GETTING HIT WITH IS VERY STRANGE. SO ILL JUST WAIT AND SEE. I HAVE A BUDDY OF MINE FROM HIGH SCHOOL AND WE WERE IN THE NAVE TOGETHER, WHO IS NOW A CUSTOMS AGENT IM GOING TO GIVE HIM A CALL AND SEE WHAT HE THINKS. AND AS FAR AS WHO THEY ARE PROTECTING DONT GET ME STARTED.

[Tattoo Bradley]

What a load of crap.

[BEEDEE]

Customs tarrifs are certainly mysterious and seem to be applied most often by UPS, Fedex or similar. I got caught for about the same amount but that was for a tank, argyll jacket, gillie brogues and a sporran in one order.

Ask your customs agent friend if there is a more favorable tarrif that the kilt can be billed to.

Don't seem to be caught with purchases that come in though the USPS. Haven't figured that one out.

Brian

[turpin]

Don't seem to be caught with purchases that come in though the USPS. Haven't figured that one out.

Brian

There are specific tariff rates available for download from the US customs service. When you get your Fedex customs bill it will have an invoice copy from kiltstore describing the item(s) shipped, along with a listing of fee rates per type of item. I paid GBP 191 for my kilt last year from Kiltstore and was charged $42 duty on it based on 12.5 % of the cost. I also got a belt, sgian dubh, hose, and sporran, most of which have separate duty rates. Total paid was about $100, incuding the FEDEX custom brokers fee.

We are supposed to be able to receive items valued at under $200 and generally not pay duty. However, UPS, FEDEX and others of that sort act as their own customs brokers and are allowed to charge a $25 fee when an item qualifies for "formal entry" What's that? It depends on the item. Woolens greater the $5 in value trigger fromal entry. You could buy a pair of kilt hose for $10 and end up paying $10 for the hose, plus $1.20 for the gov't, plus $25 to FEDEX for their vig; and FEDEX WILL charge it. I don't think USPS acts as their own broker, so they have no profit motive to make a big deal about customs.

For your next wool tank, get it from someone on this side of the pond. They will get the wool from Scotland but pay duty based on wholesale price, not finished garment. The duty will be factored into your price, but you won't have those unpleasant surprises that mess with your "jones relief". If you want a kilt from someone like Geoffrey Tailor, order it at a highland games where they are a vendor. Because they have a US presence, the customs issues are much less intrusive.

*stepping down off of soap box*

[ozone]

OK, here's the bad news: I talked with the Int'l Trade commission (very nice people BTW). And Kilts DO fall under tariff rules. Poor kilts fall under the catagory of :


6211 (con.) Track suits, ski-suits and swimwear; other garments (con.):
Other garments, men's or boys' (con.):
6211.39 Of other textile materials:
6211.39.05 Of wool or fine animal hair . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 12%
51 Other (459) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . doz.

That 12% is the dreaded number. That's the tariff applied to kilts.

Why we kilt-wearers fall under the heading of track suits and "other" is beyond me. We should at least get our own category. Contact your congress-person and protest! Better yet, perhaps we should all start a letter writing campaign to exempt the kilt from tariff rules :-)

Here's the websites FYI:

http://usitc.gov/tata/hts/

http://usitc.gov/tata/hts/bychapter/index.htm

And their phone number: 202-205-2000

[Keith A]

http://s186.photobucket.com/albums/x...rrent=4dd6.jpg

not the best of photos of the new kilt or my stillwater. ill put up better photos when i get them

[Keith A]

http://s186.photobucket.com/albums/x...dog_screen.jpg

all right lets try this one more time