URGENT!!! Looking for Peter!!!! (found..)

Just got this letter in my mailbox from FedEx and it's dated 10th of October.

---------------------------------------
Re Tracking Number: xxxxxxxxxxxxx

You have received a shipment coming from ARC Flashlight in the USA. We have been trying to contact you in regard to the payment of duties and taxes to a value of $118.64 [that's about $65 USD].

Please contact us at your earliest convenience. If we have not heard fromn you by 15th October 2002 we will have to start proceedings to return the shipment to the shipper.

FedEx Australia
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ARGHARGHARGHAGRH, what can I do!?!?!?!?

YC

You could try calling Arc,

Here's the number in case you don't have it:

(480) 752-8554
(480) 775-1457 (fax)

email: [email protected]

Good luck

Oh and keep us updated with the outcome

The bad side of using Fedex or similar..

This may be of interest, found this out when I was getting DVDs ordered from the US, in Australia..

-------------------------------------------------
Customs duties and payments:

Thank you for your email.

The DVDs will attract no Customs Duty, however GST of 10% will be payable.

The GST is charged on the landed cost of the goods; that is the sum of the
purchase price converted into Australia dollars, plus the freight and
insurance paid or payable for transporting the goods to Australia.

Once the value of the importation reaches $250, a formal Customs Entry is
required to clear the goods, unless they arrive via Australia Post. Goods
arriving via Australia Post do not require a formal Customs Entry until the
value of the importation reaches $1000. Goods arriving via Australia Post
under the value of $1000 may be cleared on an Informal Clearance Document.

A Customs Entry has a processing fee of approximately $50. Please find a
copy attached for your information. Please find a copy of an ICD attached
for your information.

Please note when goods arrive via a courier company, the company will
generally automatically create a Customs Entry on your behalf, whatever the
value of the importation.

If the total Customs Duty and GST payable on an importation is less than
$50, and the consignment is informally cleared, the Customs Duty and GST
will not be collected. Once the total Customs Duty and GST reaches $50 the
entire amount will be collected. If the goods are cleared on a formal
Customs Entry, any Customs Duty and GST payable will be collected.

Regards,

Kathy Clarke
Customs Information Centre
--------------------------------------------------

From what I've heard, stuff sent by courier like Fedex is always formally declared through customs in Australia..

Graham

Should I call now? It's a but early there isn't it?

I think they're about 8 hours behind the UK, which would make it about 6.45am there.

I'd give it a try, the probably have an answering machine switched on if no ones there yet.

***EDIT***

Make that 7 hours behind UK

As I see it you probably only have 2 choices (if that..) - refuse the shipment(if they'll let you..), and ask Peter to resend it via USPS when it eventually gets back. But not sure about shipping charges - can't see Fedex giving Peter a refund... Or grin and bear it, and pay up..

Graham

Grr.. All I really need to know is what is included in the package and what Peter (or Arc member) wrote on the package, and see what I have to work with when I call FedEx tomorrow.

On the FedEx site, it states here that:

-----------------------
5.
If a recipient refuses to pay the duties and taxes, we may contact the sender. If the sender refuses to make satisfactory arrangements to reimburse us, the shipment may be returned to the sender or placed into a General Order warehouse or a Customs-bonded warehouse. The sender must then pay both the original transportation charges and the return charges. If we advanced any amounts as duties and taxes at either the original destination or upon return, the sender shall also be liable for such amounts.
-----------------------

Seems that if I refuse it, I'll have to pay the shipping back to the US. And it might even get taxed again on the way back in!

YC

Graham - Thanks.

I can't seem to get anything on that number.

USA's country code is 1 right?

So I dial xxxx-1-480-7528554? I get a "number has been changed message".

YC

The phone number's correct and working. Perhaps you're not using the country code correctly.
Good luck

I got it from this thread.

It came directly from Peter when Arc moved to a new facility.

As for country codes, I'm not familiar with the Australian phone system so can't raelly help.

Just checked a international dialing code website, it seems that the number you should dial from Australia is:

0011-1-480-7528554

Oh... Duty is a DISGUSTING thing.

IN Canada, no Duty is payable if it's under $30 or so, so an Arc AAA flys under the radar.

It's actually cheaper (Altho I haven't tried it) to ship it to a pal in the US, have him dismantle the packaging, and ship it up here as a letter.

Weirdness.

[Update]

Just got off the phone with Peter, he had only arrived in the office for 6 minutes! Guess I must have punched in the numbers wrong or something.

Will post details later since it's already 2am in Australia and I really need to go off to bed.

Thanks guys for the help.

YC

...and the night shift (For US) ends at CPF as the day posters move in

Yes, we worked it out. Yclo is going to refuse the shipment, pay any fees we are charged and we will send it to a friend of his in the states.

Remember three things:

1. The tax and import fees are not a result of FedEx or any other shipper. This is a goverment thing and it not based on the shipping method but the item type and cost.

Our previous shipper was not declaring the value of the product correctly. This was illegal. We are no longer using them. A side effect of this prior provider was that it created the wrong perception of what things cost.

2. We switched to FedEx in an effort to reduce the number of packages lost. We would loose a package that would eat any profit gained from shipping to that country for the next 6 months. It would make better business sense at that point to just stop shipping to that country. We would rather not do that.

3. Please encourage your in-country dealers to carry our product. This will save you money and time.

Peter Gransee

I'm glad that Hong Kong is a duty free port What, US$60 import duty for a flashlight? You've got to be kidding.

Alan

US friend here, standing by.

If anybody is ever curious about the time here in the Western US, just look at the CPF clock. That'll get you within an hour of Arizona (Are you guys Mt. Time? Daylight Saving? I can never keep track). And will give you California/Oregon/Washington time exactly. In general it is three hours later on the East Coast compared to the West Coast.

Darell. x-ray has it right. Mesa, AZ is GMT +7. Where I am is GMT +6. Howza bout Zulu time?

I think we are -7:00 in Arizona. +7:00 is Bangkok or something...

Originally posted by PhilAlex:
Oh... Duty is a DISGUSTING thing.

IN Canada, no Duty is payable if it's under $30 or so, so an Arc AAA flys under the radar.

It's actually cheaper (Altho I haven't tried it) to ship it to a pal in the US, have him dismantle the packaging, and ship it up here as a letter.

Weirdness.

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Hey Phil,

In Canada, I had to pay gst, pst and a $5.00 flat fee to Canada post for handling 1 ARC AAA. So for 1 arc, I paid an extra $9.00(CAN) on top of the shipping charges.

sylvestor