U.S. customs

[Colm]

Greetings all. Here's another, "is this normal" post.
I bought a kilt from a maker in Scotland.
Fedex had to pay US customs $121 in fees to get it into the US.
Has anyone else experienced this outrageous fee?
Fedex customer service offered me no recourse, as "fee is to high" is not an acceptable grievance. I was told that importing textiles (yes I filled out the customs form a personal purchase, not for business) is considerably higher taxes.

I find this grossly overpriced. Walmart can have children making their textiles and import them into the country for pennies but if I support paying a living wage to someone in Scotland, I get charged $121.
yikes

[madmacs]

It's part of the racket that Fedex and UPS have worked out with Customs...

I'd be VERY suprised if there isnt an appeals process... What happens if they made a mistake?

Of course you will still be hit with their "brokerage fees"

[Tobus]

It's part of the racket that Fedex and UPS have worked out with Customs...

In all fairness, Customs itself was a racket long before UPS and FedEx existed. Heck, even before the continent of America was discovered, customs officers (or excisemen) were stealing from people just because they could.

And we wonder why so many of our Scottish forefathers were accomplished smugglers...

[Downunder Kilt]

There have been a number of threads re this very topic. If you search under custom duties, Fedex or import taxes, I am sure you will get more than enough to read

eg http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...a-fedex-70296/

[rondo]

The only way these things ever get changed is to repeatedly blast your elected politicos [phone, e-mail, letter] until they get to the point that they change them just to shut you up. It isn't easy but it does work [sometimes]. I like the sweatshop angle, perhaps that has some merit. You know, something like 'Representative Dumaflitch denies a working wage to Scots to support slave labor in Outer Mongolia' type of thing.

Of course picking your battles is a good idea too. I chose US kilt makers for this reason [customs issues]. Good luck.

Rondo

P.S. Meaning no offense to anyone from Outer Mongolia...its just an example.

[Steve Ashton]

This problem has been brought up many times on X Marks.


Customs Duty and Taxes are a fact of dealing in International commerce. Every country has some form of Customs laws.
In the US, Canada and Mexico the Customs laws were ‘sort of’ amalgamated under the “North American Free Trade Act” (NAFTA).

Technically everything crossing an international border is subject to Customs Duties and Taxes. Mail and Post of letters and small packages are normally exempt from many of the Customs laws. But not all. For example; weapons, food stuffs and some animal products.

The answer to your question is tied up in these Customs laws and how the Import Duties and Taxes are collected.

If you are a business engaging in International commerce it is your responsibility to insure Customs Duties and Taxes are collected on the goods you import.
For example, my kilt business imports and exports goods from around the world. I have a Customs Broker who normally handles the paper work and collects the applicable duties and taxes for me.

As an individual you have no need to hire a full time Customs Broker. But even as an individual you are still importing anything you have shipped across and International border. You still need a way to ship and receive goods to and from other countries.

The courier services such as FedEX, UPS and Purolator, who due such a large volume of shipping, have been authorized by the U.S. Government to act as their own customs brokers. And of course there is paperwork involved in this so there are brokerage fees for providing this service.

The problem for individuals is that the courier services are paid as a percentage of Duty and Tax that they recover for the Government. So naturally these services will usually collect the maximum applicable Duty and Tax.

This seems to be what happened in your case. Your stuff was shipped from the UK via FedEx. When it arrived at the border the company assessed the Duty and Taxes, added their brokerage fees for filing the paperwork, and passed those costs on to you.

There are many horror cases on X Marks where the shipping, Duty, Tax and brokerage fees have exceeded the original cost of the item.

There are some, and I stress, unconfirmed, cases where companies have misrepresented the contents of packages in an attempt to get around Customs charges. I would strongly advise against this.

The best solution we have come up with is to insure that anything you have shipped is sent via the Postal Service and not via a courier service. This is not an attempt at fraud and will not totally prevent Customs Duties and Taxes but goods shipped via the Postal Systems will often arrive without Duty, Tax and brokerage fees attached.

It is still up to every, law-abiding and responsible person, to know about and abide by the laws of the country they live in.

So let this serve as a ‘word to the wise’. Any time you order anything from another country, specify that the shipper use the Postal Service. If the company does not offer or refuses to ship by any method other than a courier service, find another. Find one that will ship via Post.

[madmacs]

In all fairness, Customs itself was a racket long before UPS and FedEx existed. Heck, even before the continent of America was discovered, customs officers (or excisemen) were stealing from people just because they could.

And we wonder why so many of our Scottish forefathers were accomplished smugglers...

Duties are one thing... Outrageous brokerage fees are something else...

[Mael Coluim]

A post has been reported for vulgar language and has been moved to the Holding Cell for the moderators to review.

Mael for the Staff


EDIT: Moderators have determined post is in violation of Rule 3 and will remain off thread.

[artificer]

*** for exactly as Steve mentions above.

Fed Ex and UPS and their outrageous & usurious "brokerage fees" are exactly the reason I will ONLY ship via USPS, and will not purchase a product overseas if they insist on using one of these handling services rather than Royal Mail/Australian Post/etc.

I knew a guy who bought $25US worth of gaming supplies and ended up spending ~$50US for "brokerage fees" to have the product shipped less than 200miles and across the US border to Canada.

ith:

[Tobus]

Duties are one thing... Outrageous brokerage fees are something else...

The "one thing" and the "something else" both equal "theft" in my book. It matters not at all whether the person holding my rightful property hostage is wearing a government uniform or a private company uniform. In either case, they claim the authority to keep something which doesn't belong to them until a ransom is paid to get it back. In any other facet of life, this would be outrageously criminal.