Book78

You wouldn't be likely to pay any duty or taxes, because your Customs exemption is around $200.00 US. I don't remember UPS being one of the choices from Amazon.UK but maybe it is. I've only seen International airmail which I always choose. But maybe UPS is there too, though I certainly wouldn't choose it. Even from the US to Canada, the UPS brokers charges are ridiculously high. They charge the receiver a brokers fee of something like $30.00 just for preparing a simple Customs documents to present at the US/Canada border. When I order anything from the U.S. it has to be by USPS/Canada Post, or I don't order. UPS is big in the US for personal and business, but not in Canada where its used mostly for business companies. I'm surprised its only $11.31 US for UPS from the UK to US. If it was UPS in Canada it would be about 3 times that. Also, International air mail post from the UK to North America is only about $7.00 Can. and cost less than from Amazon US site who are next door to Canada.

NoirFan

Here's the email I received from Amazon:

Book78: The order was 13 DVDs with an entered value of $215.24. As I mentioned in my earlier post, the bill was $5.81 for US Customs Duties and $5.50 for Brokerage Charges. As irritated as I am about having to pay an unexpected $11.31, my real worry is for future orders. I apparently have no control over the shipping method used, meaning I could be forced to play these charges on all, some, or none of my future orders, and I will have absolutely no say in the matter, nor even know whether I am going to be charged until the bill arrives in the mail.

flixtime

Wow NoirFan, what you've experienced with your order is not good at all.

I just had an Amazon UK order ship the other day but it was only for a handful of items, and the shipping notice indicated it shipped via Royal Mail, so I think I'm clear of any nonsense.

However, I'm going to avoid large orders from Amazon UK until this issue is cleared up.

NoirFan

Is the fact that my order was valued at $215.24 the reason I was hit with these fees? It's funny - I place large orders to save money on shipping.

Book78

Noirfan - I read the email you got from Amazon.UK. (I always put which Amazon, as I deal with Amazon.CA, Amazon.COM and Amazon.UK and can't always remember) I don't know wht to make of the email you got from Amazon.UK. The message I get from it is if you don't like it, too bad. When you say the total value of the DVD's, it may be over $200.00 US which I think is exemption for US people importing items from other countries, (though I haven't checked lately). If thats the case, the $5.81 could have been for Customs tax for your state. I know thats not your main concern, though its something to consider in future. I went on Amazon UK site and shipping charges for North America (which includes Canada and 50 states for Amazon UK shipping cost purposes). I partly checked out a DVD to see delivery options and to Canada (which would be the same as you), choices are Airmail (6-10 business days) and Priority Express 1-2 days. I sent Amazon.UK an email asking what carrier is used for Priority Express (to Canada). $11.31 is not bad. If I was getting $215.00 value sent to me from anywhere in the world, I would pay 13% tax on $215.00 which is $28.00. I've never had anything sent by UPS. If I were you, (but thats just me) and you may not want to bother, I would email Amazon.UK and ask why the package was not sent by air mail whehn it was requested, and why is there no choice any more, and why is this fact not mentioned in the shipping FAQ's on their website? Even if value was over your exemption, it could still come by air mail parcel post,unless it was a very heavy parcel over the limit the post office will accept, so maybe it wasn't that. I only order from Amazon.UK not and then and usually stick to one DVD for under $20.00 value. Strangely, Amazon UK shipping cost is a little lower than from US amazon who charge the same amount for shipping a DVD to Canada as to Japan or Australia, even though the postage is half the cost to Canada. But Amazon.ca doesn't always have certain DVD's I want. I think Amazon.US has a lot of arbitrary "angles". They are the "head office" of all the Amazons, so to speak so they must make up the rules. I think they must make them up as they go along.

Book78

It could be for that reason if the US Customs exemption is $200.00 for US citizens. I will check. I just posted a message for you. When thinking about values from overseas or from Canada which is still another country, even though next door, two things to consider is saving on shipping fees and if over your exemption,Customs fees. Your $11.31 isn't a high amount, so if you had shipped some of the DVD's separately it would have cost you more money in the long run than the way you did it. For me, being used to having to keep at such a low exemption, if I want to avoid Customs tax, you did OK,but since you haven't had to pay any Customs tax or Brokers fees before, and even more important have no say into how the items will be shipped, its something to consider for future. I can't figure it out.

andicus

While that certainly doesn't sound good (no control over the method, WTF?), I suspect that the reason they used UPS is that you had a fairly large order. It reminds me of when DDD used to 'upgrade' the shipping method for free on large orders, which meant a lot of Canadians ended up with similar (actually, quite a bit higher, IIRC) UPS brokerage fees. For most orders, the upgrade was a bonus, but for Canadian orders it was a costly and frustrating thing.

The most annoying part of their response is "Unfortunately this order was not dispatched via Airmail as you requested."

That really indicates that they did not provide the service they indicated they would in your agreement (i.e. your order). Perhaps you can push back from that perspective and get compensated for it, somehow.

Book78

I was thinking the same thing. But I would also need to know why the shipment couldn't be sent by airmail via UK/US Postal.

Book78

Noirfan, just for information. By post or courier to the US from any country, it looks like your exemption is $200.00 U.S. If value of item is over that, it will be dutiable and/or tax depending what country it came from.

Book78

Noirfan. This what I got back from Amazon.UK about what shippers they use to North America. They sent me a long email about how I would know when the item was dispatched and other useless stuff and near the end of the email said:
"Regarding the shippers: We use carriers which we have found provide the best service for our different dispatching options. For international deliveries, "Airmail" is carried by Royal Mail First Class, Deutsche Post or UPS to your local mail system. "Priority Express" is serviced by DHL and UPS. For more detailed dispatch information, please visit the following URL: (For some reason,can't post the URL according to rules here till I have made 30 posts or more. It was only a link to Amazon.UK shipping page. So no further ahead.

NoirFan

Thanks for your research Book78, it is appreciated. I emailed Amazon back and asked them why, if the process was automatic, was I given the choice between Airmail and Priority Express? All of that may be a moot point though, as I am assuming I would have been charged the fees regardless of whether the order was sent by UPS or regular Air Mail?

Book78

Noirfan -Good you emailed them and told them your concerns. It doesn't matter if its a moot point or not, it could be useful to know their criteria for items sent by Air mail or UPS (if they give you a clear answer). But I wouldn't count on it. I have found with Amazon,UK,US and UK,from dealings with them that a lot of the Customer reps who email back, give you wrong information, or answer one question if you asked more than one. Maybe they really don't know. Or most annoying is they just give you links to their site where you just spent half an hour or more and didn't find information and thats why you emailed them. I think they should give you a credit. They offered you air mail, which you chose but didn't give it to you and so far didnt tell you why. Amazon.com once gave me a $10.00 credit. They mixed up my same order twice.I was really annoyed and complained. Let us know what they say.

NoirFan

Here is Amazon's follow-up email: I'm going to have to make sure all of my orders are under 150 pounds or so from now on to avoid any nasty fees.

Book78

Noirfan- There could have been two issues with your order. It might have sent it by UPS Air mail instead of by Royal Air Mail (Postal mail) from UK, if it was a fairly bulky package.The other issue is if US Customs charged you duty or tax for being over your Customs exemption of $200.00 US. Customs charge for entire $215.00 US value (converted from British Pounds) when it enters the U.S. They don't just charge you for the $15.00 part over your exemption. To me, the charge of $5.81 is only about 2.75% of the value of the shipment which is very small if the $5.81 is for Customs duty or tax. I don't know what your state or duty tax is so can't say. If I was getting that package, I would pay 13% of $215.00 for Customs tax, plus 3 or 5% duty (forget which for DVD's)which would be $38.50. So your $11.31 was not bad compared to what I would pay though I guess your'e not used to being charged anything. But if you *had* received the package by Royal Air Mail, and it was handed over to USPS, if the $5.81 was tax or whatever,for being over your exemption, you would have had to pay it whether it came by UPS or USPS. Same with the $5.50. I meant to ask, when you got the package from UPS, didn't it have an invoice or document on the package from U.S. Customs listing what the $11.81 consisted? And package is usually stamped "opened by Customs". Last time I got a package from Amazon.UK and was only over my exemption a couple of dollars, a Canada Customs invoice was stuck on the front of the package listing duty and tax I was charged for and stamped "Opened by Canada Customs".

NoirFan

The package arrived with absolutely no signs of Customs involvement - stamp, invoice, or anything. When the bill from UPS arrived, it took me completely by surprise.

Book78

Noirfan. It could be that UPS prepared a Customs document and paid duty and/or tax to U.S. Customs on your behalf, plus charged you Brokers fee. That could be why no U.S. Customs stamp. If it had come by USPS, it would likely go directly to U.S. Customs, and they decide if charge for duty and/or tax, and their invoice and charges would be on package. USPS would deliver package and you pay USPS for duty/tax plus $5.00 for handling. But even if it had come by USPS, if it was for over exemption, you would pay about the same amount as you did to UPS. Thats how its done here so probably similar (though much higher Broker fees) Watch your emption amount in future. UPS stated a Customs amount on their invoice, so some duty/tax were due. Also, it might be your package went by UPS because it was a bit bulky (just a guess). You might find out if you order 1 or 2 DVD's another time.

shinkazuya84

Hello everybody, I am a Spanish amazon.com buyer (European buyer), I buy a lot of games from US by Ebay, and I pay the games, plus shipping costs, thatīs all.
Just in case that your item bill is higher than 75 dollars, customs in Spain, may charge us the VAT, if the value is under this, they donīt.
So, I bought a game, 29 dollars, 19 dollars shipment, and they charge me an extra 9 dollars for the face as import fee charge, when do this money went?
Nobody knows! It is magical I guess.
Spain doesnīt charge for this game, and if I buy it from Ebay, and they ship in the same way, they donīt charge this extra. And donīt get naive, if your order have to pass customs value declaration, you will pay even more! This extra charge is not going to save you from that, so it is a good move from Amazon, to gain extra money for nothing, just to keep them save in case some mysterious thing might happen.
They donīt even care about the law in outer coutries, they charge as they barely imagine. I wrote to Amazon, telling that this game had not to pay any charges in Spain, because it is a lower import, and they answer me, saying that just in this particular case, they will refund ONCE the import fee charge.
Well... Who can afford lawyers against Amazon? Any volunteer?

RonG617

Translation anyone?

thetao

I don't know what the laws are like in Spain, but did you know about this $9 charge at the time of purchase, i.e. did it appear on one of the Amazon checkout pages? If not, I think complaining to your credit card company would be enough to have it erased every time. At least that's how it typically works in the US. As for fighting future charges, I suspect Amazon has some legal (but sloppy?) grounds for charging it. You may be better off using legal resources in your country to understand why Amazon feels justified. Maybe it's a new law that went into effect recently? I doubt many people here would be able to explain. EBay runs a forum system, including an international forum, and although this isn't an EBay issue, perhaps somebody there knows? Hmm, I wonder if Marketplace or "Fulfilled By Amazon" purchases would also include the fee?

But you aren't the only person who thinks Amazon is getting too big.

I hope that helps a little...