Experiences With International Purchases' Additional Costs ?

@CNJ Jim posted:

I know every situation is different, but has anyone been stung with large, unexpected costs when making such purchases? I'm kinda gun-shy.

Check with @Buco here, he lives in Australia and has had some interesting shipping experiences.

I have bought numerous trains from sellers in the UK and some other miscellaneous items from other places in the EU.  Never more than a few hundred dollars, and have never paid any kind of import fee.  IMO, proper marking on the customs form is important - clearly identify the items as toys.

A train friend in the UK told me a horror story...  after learning that they were both train guys, a US guest at his B&B sent him a box of miscellaneous model train stuff as a gift - minimal value.  The customs form was marked "train parts", which led the UK customs people to treat them as industrial supplies rather than model/toy trains.  As a result, he had to pay a duty of over $100 to pick up this "gift".

I have another friend in Canada who bought several items from Menards.  He didn't have to pay a duty, but UPS hit him with a hefty charge for handling an international shipment - it was about $80 IIRC.

Also, overseas prices usually include VAT of around 20%, which a foreign buyer doesn't need to pay.  Some sellers automatically discount for this, some do it if asked, and sometimes the only way to get it back is to submit a form (which probably isn't worth the hassle). 

Good luck, and please report back with the result.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Check with @Buco here, he lives in Australia and has had some interesting shipping experiences.

Good thought.  I wonder how different it is when something is coming INTO the US vs. coming from the US as in the case of Buco and the people I know in Canada and UK.

Jim @CNJ Jim:

Getting anything to Australia is always a real PIA, but I have found over the years if you are purchasing anything from THAT AUCTION SITE (Fleabay), they calculate all of the taxes and shipping costs involved in getting the goods out of Europe, or Great Britton, or where-ever, to your particular country. The costs they post is usually the total amount you have to pay, before the goods are sent.

This will always include sales/import tax (whether applicable or not - trust me, I have argued with them till I'm blue in the face that we Australians don't pay sales/import tax on second-hand goods, if the value of the goods remains under $1,000 Aus.) They also ensure the seller fills out the correct Customs paperwork etc. before their own shipping agent (Global Shipping Program/International Shipping Program) gets a hold of it to post it to you.

Fortunately, this is unlike a certain American Auction House that were engaged to sell off all of the old MTH products and parts......they have a terrible reputation, as far as I am concerned. They have no idea on shipping to Australia, and, at one time, I was charged twice for one consignment that they incorrectly addressed and was returned to them, only to charge me again to have it shipped out again with the correct address.

We have a saying in Australia........NOT HAPPY JAN!!!!!

Hope this gives some comfort that you won't be charged for "extras" if you purchase from Ebay.....all of the "extra charges" will be added in at the check-out phase, long before it hits the road!!!!

Peter.......Buco Australia.

From my experience, the biggest cost is the customs/brokerage fees that the shippers like UPS and FedEx tack on. Living in Canada, I've had a similar experience to Mallard's friend. Years ago, I bought a MTH SD90MAC for around $150. When FedEx showed up, they wanted $90 for the delivery and their fees! I was going to refuse it, but ended up keeping it and learning my lesson. Fortunately for me now, I live a few miles from the US border, so I go and get my stuff up at a local parcel pickup. I've saved hundreds on crazy "fees" over the years. That said, make sure you get an all inclusive shipping cost prior to deciding it's worth the purchase. 

Rob

I sell alot of stuff on ebay and charge a flat shipping rate on everything   You get to know about how much it costs and ebay does give discounted shipping   I do sell internationally but only though Ebay shipping center in Kentucky so my flat rates are in line   I did sell some HO Switches to a guy in Canada a couple of months ago that I had charged a 10 dollar flat shipping rate  My shipment went to Kentucky as always and Ebay sends it to Canada  I dont fill out any customs forms etc  I have no idea who does probably ebay going by what the auction listing is   Well I got a negative feedback from this guy because he said he paid 34 dollars in shipping   I only got 10 so ebay must charge the international buyer the rest   Crazy price for switches he paid 2.00 apiece for 

@bluelinec4 posted:

I sell alot of stuff on ebay and charge a flat shipping rate on everything   You get to know about how much it costs and ebay does give discounted shipping   I do sell internationally but only though Ebay shipping center in Kentucky so my flat rates are in line   I did sell some HO Switches to a guy in Canada a couple of months ago that I had charged a 10 dollar flat shipping rate  My shipment went to Kentucky as always and Ebay sends it to Canada  I dont fill out any customs forms etc  I have no idea who does probably ebay going by what the auction listing is   Well I got a negative feedback from this guy because he said he paid 34 dollars in shipping   I only got 10 so ebay must charge the international buyer the rest   Crazy price for switches he paid 2.00 apiece for

That's enlightening - I had incorrectly assumed that when you check out you know the entire cost.  I understand your buyer's displeasure, but it's too bad that your rating suffers as a result.

I have an N scale locomotive coming from Germany today and received a just-released Corgi model of the Star Trek U.S.S. Enterprise (refit) last week from England, both through eBay. (You can say eBay here. You don’t need to say “the auction site.”) And over the years I have bought items from France, Spain, the Ukraine, and Japan. There are no additional fees

I have made quite a few purchases from the UK and never had to pay any duties/fees. Both from Hatton's and private ebay sellers. The stuff usually arrives between ten and fifteen days. I always specify to please use Royal Mail as it gets handed off to USPS without any "processing" fees.

Any of the items directly from China are about the same in time and processing, usually China Post to USPS. China Post's tracking may work but I do not read Chinese so I just wait for it to arrive.

I spoke with a friend who gets a lot of British stuff from Rails of Sheffield.  He told me that he had one order that exceeded $800 and he got hit with a 20% duty.  None of his smaller orders have incurred any additional charges.  Moral of the story is to stay under $800 total value.

@Mallard4468 posted:

I spoke with a friend who gets a lot of British stuff from Rails of Sheffield.  He told me that he had one order that exceeded $800 and he got hit with a 20% duty.  None of his smaller orders have incurred any additional charges.  Moral of the story is to stay under $800 total value.

I’ve bought stuff from Rails of Sheffield, too, including one order totaling more than $200 three years ago. No duty charges, and, according to their website, no duty-paid options at this point.

https://railsofsheffield.com/p...ternational-shipping

I ordered two packages from germany which were "Undeliverable" per DHL. I know of another from canada that was lost completely and uninsured. This is mostly becasue the labels and paperwork were not filled out properly.

@Jim R. posted:

I’ve bought stuff from Rails of Sheffield, too, including one order totaling more than $200 three years ago. No duty charges, and, according to their website, no duty-paid options at this point.

https://railsofsheffield.com/p...ternational-shipping

$200 < $800 threshold.

I just received two K-Line 21" passenger cars via UPS from Canada with no duties/processing fees. Once the shipper handed the package to UPS, it got here rather quickly from Calgary.

I bought a Swiss narrow gauge model from a Swiss auction website (it's not the big one everybody thinks of first) just a few weeks ago.  Total shipping cost from Switzerland to me was $48, which was higher than originally estimated but not really excessive considering the model was delicate and had to go more than 3,000 miles.  The model itself cost noticeably more than the $800 limit that some people have described above (and the price was noted on the shipping paperwork, which I read before I got rid of it).  It shipped quickly and easily and arrived to me with no hassle and no hidden fees.

It was completely easy, relatively inexpensive, and no more difficult on my end than buying something from someone based in America.