ordering from US by USPS Global Priority

Hi there,

So, I should be getting a Cateye Stadium 3 bikelight system from Bikeman.com in a few days. It only
cost AUS$607.66 and that includes about US$41 for freight and insurance, the light cost US$369.95

I am expecting to pay a further 10% GST, but...

I wondered if anyone knows how much I might be slugged for customs cost recovery fee?

Thanks, Laurence Dodd.

Customs should be about 5% and the courier company will also charge you $25-$50 for doing the customs work for you - and if you've ever tried to clear something through customs yourself, you'll know that's money well spent!

Ross

RossB wrote:
> Customs should be about 5% and the courier company will also charge you $25-$50 for doing the
> customs work for you - and if you've ever tried to clear something through customs yourself,
> you'll know that's money well spent!

I got a new laptop through customs recently without any tax at all! I think he was being nice, or
maybe the bicycle distracted him enough. Good thing I had cleaned it well of the
foot&mouth-carrying mud.

I had heard if you get goods sent by _mail_ and the tax is less than $50, ie value below $500 and no
tarrifs, it will come through no cost at all. Is that still true? Of couse, getting the vendor to
use US-post, rather than a courier can be impossible.

This has been my experience with the postal service (under $500 and no customs fee etc)...

If you go through a courier however, expect to pay every tax/fee without exception. I have had more issues with couriers (irrespective of costs/fees) than with Post so I will now only purchase from a retailer that uses them (fortunately there are still a few).

Cheers,
Troy

I've brought in lots of different types of goods by courier and by post.

With post, if it's small enough, you can be lucky. Generally, anything big gets examined, and if it's small but expensive there is a good chance you will be caught.

The problem is that if you are caught by customs, the process of assessing and paying the duty is so complicated that it is just not worth the time and effort to do it yourself. The first time I tried to get something through customs, I had to take a day off work, drive out to Granville (far west of Sydney, not a place you want to spend a day) and it took about 5 hours before they released my package, and that was only after a certain amount of begging. If it's something inexpensive, the process is a little easier, but still time-consuming, and depends on the goodwill of the customs officer you are dealing with.

The other problem with the post is that you cannot track your package, and often it is uninsured.

Couriers offer tracking as well as insurance, fast track through customs and quick delivery. After some bad experiences with the post (things getting lost, delayed for months, packages arriving bent and soaking wet, and torturous customs processes), I am now quite happy to pay extra for a courier company to do it all, including the customs and GST. It costs extra, but to me it is worth it.

Ross

On 5/10/03 9:31 PM, in article 6iTfb.137484$bo1.44167@news-server.bigpond.net.au, "Mike"

> RossB wrote:
>> Customs should be about 5% and the courier company will also charge you $25-$50 for doing the
>> customs work for you - and if you've ever tried to clear something through customs yourself,
>> you'll know that's money well spent!
>
> I got a new laptop through customs recently without any tax at all! I think he was being nice, or
> maybe the bicycle distracted him enough. Good thing I had cleaned it well of the
> foot&mouth-carrying mud.
>
> I had heard if you get goods sent by _mail_ and the tax is less than $50, ie value below $500 and
> no tarrifs, it will come through no cost at all. Is that still true? Of couse, getting the vendor
> to use US-post, rather than a courier can be impossible.
>

Yes - that is true. Goods with less than AUS$50 tax come through no cost. I recently had three
tennis racquets sent over from Florida at a total value of AUS$498 and no duty was charged.

The only problem - global priority mail at the moment is unbelievably slow. 10 weeks it took for the
racquets to arrive, and the string that I ordered from California took 13!

Agreed that if the item is relatively expensive, better to courier it for insurance at least...
I will persist with post for most things however, until I get burned (probably inevitable)...

Just ou of interest Ross, how come you tried to bring something through customs yourself? Is there supposedly a cost benefit to do it this way or was it a special item or something?

Cheers,
Troy

It wasn't my decision, unfortunately, the seller would only ship it by airmail (even though it cost over $2000), so I had no choice. I decided after that always to use a courier for anything expensive.

Of course, I often buy books and the occasional CD over the net (usually Amazon.com), and I generally have those shipped airmail, since there will be no duty on those and, despite the occasional lost, delayed or damaged package, most things generally show up eventually. I use airmail if the item is relatively cheap (less than $100) and if it wouldn't be a huge problem if it was delayed, or got lost. Larger orders (a few books, DVDs etc) or something I really want immediately (such as the 2003 Tour de France DVD which arrived on friday) I will always bring over by courier. (My new Selle Italia Prolink Gel Flow saddle is currently on its way by courier, and will still end up about $70 cheaper than the local price.) Anything over $500 I would never entrust to airmail.

Ross

> The only problem - global priority mail at the moment is unbelievably slow. 10 weeks it took for
> the racquets to arrive, and the string that I ordered from California took 13!
>

Recently got some books from the USA via sea post (book rate).... only 14 weeks ;-)

holy moly, u spent ~$700 on lights. jeez

I imported a watch recently from the states, and I was told by the customs that if the value did not exceed AU$1000 you do not have to have it cleared through customs, therefore you don't need a customs agent!!!

This is not exactly correct. Less than $1000 you don't need to complete full customs documentation. However, you still need to complete an "informal clearance document" which is still a time consuming and painful process.

Ross

It took me about five minuets and 10% GST, it was not excactly painfull!!

"Tizer" wrote

> It took me about five minuets

Led you a merry dance eh?

Theo