@PedalPCB that's sad news but i totally understand if it is too expensive/complicated sending orders via DHL from the US. I sent you an email about my order a few days ago. Maybe you could help me by contacting USPS. As I wrote before, I can't do anything (apart from entering the tracking code on their website, which doesn't help in any way). For customers outside the US, they do not seem to offer customer care or even an email address so one could contact them.
International Shipping Delays
- Thread starter PedalPCB
- Start date
@PedalPCB I don't know how it is in other countries, but here in 
, DHL, UPS and Fedex will charge hidden 'fee's for clearing customs for you. For low priced items like a few PCB, total fees can be more than 100% price of original product+shipping.
They will charge a random percentage based on customs value, a flat fee for paying customs on your behalf and tax on their services.
DHL will at least tell you fees up front. Fedex will send you an invoice 6-8 weeks after delivery.
The only way to avoid all this mess is with USPS. And that seems to be a very politically unstable option these days. Even with the delays, still better and cheaper than the private companies.
That said, I had a Pedalpcb order upgraded to first class (relatively big package) and it arrived in 10 days from order date. A smaller order I made in early February with economy mail took about a month to arrive.
, DHL, UPS and Fedex will charge hidden 'fee's for clearing customs for you. For low priced items like a few PCB, total fees can be more than 100% price of original product+shipping. They will charge a random percentage based on customs value, a flat fee for paying customs on your behalf and tax on their services.
DHL will at least tell you fees up front. Fedex will send you an invoice 6-8 weeks after delivery.
The only way to avoid all this mess is with USPS. And that seems to be a very politically unstable option these days. Even with the delays, still better and cheaper than the private companies.
That said, I had a Pedalpcb order upgraded to first class (relatively big package) and it arrived in 10 days from order date. A smaller order I made in early February with economy mail took about a month to arrive.
Bruce Feuillette
New member
I can confirm for France.@PedalPCB I don't know how it is in other countries, but here in
They will charge a random percentage based on customs value, a flat fee for paying customs on your behalf and tax on their services.
DHL will at least tell you fees up front. Fedex will send you an invoice 6-8 weeks after delivery.
The only way to avoid all this mess is with USPS. And that seems to be a very politically unstable option these days. Even with the delays, still better and cheaper than the private companies.
That said, I had a Pedalpcb order upgraded to first class (relatively big package) and it arrived in 10 days from order date. A smaller order I made in early February with economy mail took about a month to arrive.
UPS add an extra $18 for paying the VAT.
If your grand total is $20, then it's $42 when it's delivered. 20% VAT on $20 and $18 for them, because they paid the $4 you owe.
UPS, DHL, FedEx are carrier to avoid if you don't want extra fees.
I ordered vinyl from Cody Jinks and Rival Sons, from the USA. All was delivered quickly (under 2 to 3 weeks) with USPS, without extra fees.
Needless to say that the choice of this 3 carriers has stopped me more than once to order from a shop. I'm not against taxes, I'm against easy money made on me.
almondcity
Well-known member
Tayda is killing me. I placed an order on April 6, with the shipping label created April 7. It still has not started moving 9 days later. I've never had an order from them take that long to start moving in the US. Thinking about just placing a Mouser order but I know as soon as I do it will start moving
almondcity
Well-known member
Yeah I saw that, I was hoping to sneak in before the holiday but it seems like maybe not
caiofilipini
Well-known member
I placed an order with them on April 9 and it just shipped.
SYLV9ST9R
Well-known member
Well, for myself, I’m glad Tayda got the snail mail option back. I don’t mind waiting a month to get my stuff, because with DHL, custom fees for Canada were ridiculous. I’m also eager to build, but it’s not like I’m going anywhere (we still have a 8PM curfew here and schools are currently closed). I’d rather the vaccines get here quickly rather than electronic components...
peccary
Well-known member
DHL gets to me pretty quick here in California once it ships, I'm glad we don't have the issues with customs fees that many people seem to deal with. That's got to be tough, especially when you don't know how much it will be.
My issue is that DHL keep dropping my packages off to the wrong address! There is a poor guy who lives at my same address but on the West side and I live on the East side. I've never met the guy but he has driven to my house multiple times to drop stuff off. Last time (just a couple of weeks ago) I saw that the delivery was made and tried to get to his house first to pick it up but we passed each other on the way. I got a notification from our front door cam (as I was walking to his front door) that someone was there and saw a guy dropping the package off. I owe that dude a beer or ten.
I'm hoping you all get the vaccines you need soon. I've read that the US is going to be shipping some up to our friends up in Canada, which I was happy to hear about, and hopefully that happens soon. Stay safe!
Bruce Feuillette
New member
If I'm right, it's mainly because many States on the USA don't have VAT on importation. So, you're very lucky to avoid to deal with them.
Until now, I was just unhappy with UPS' fees, but they were fine on the rest. But...
I just had the worst delivery experience with DHL these past days, with an order from UK to France, because of the Brexit. DHL tried to charge me with a VAT 30% higher that it should have been. I'm not speaking of their fees, but the regular VAT. Add both and it was 50% of the price of my order... But it's another story.
The VAT thing was just absolutely staggering. They employed all the means to get the undue money.
All this was in a time frame of 3 days.
1 - 13 April : I had to pay before the packet can be processed further. I got the bill and didn't agree and contact them to clarify the amount.
2 - 13 April : As they were "kind", they paid for me, so it can be processed. I never asked them to do it. But they were waiting for the payment to deliver the package. It was fine, it lets me the time to get it sorted.
3 - 14 April : They sent me 4 mails to pay. They sent me 3 SMS to pay.
4- 14 April in the evening : They called me. They invented the "VAT based on the weight on the package". I disagree, because it don't exist, and ask them for the 4th time to justify how they manage to have a +30% VAT. My package was still on hold. And it was fine for me.
5 - 15 April at 6:00 AM: SMS to pay. Hopefully my phone was in silent mode.
6 - 15 April at 9:15 AM: SMS and mail because the packet was out for delivery. Remember point 1, 2, 4? Okay. You see point 8 coming? I guess.
7 - 15 April at 9:45 AM: I phoned them and they "stopped" the delivery, so I can contest the VAT.
8 - 15 April at 10:45 AM: the delivery guy phoned me to deliver the package and get the money...
I had no other choice than to refuse the package, which is now back at the sender. I had 5 peoples from DHL on phone, no one knows how the VAT was calculated. When you just had to take the order bill, the postage cost, add them and get 20%. Period.
I've been told by the sender that they are closing their deal with DHL, as many, many of their customers are facing overcharge from them. So it's a huge problem for them as many of their customers are in Europe, they're losing big money.
Clearly, DHL and the others are killing the trade.
FYIIf I'm right, it's mainly because many States on the USA don't have VAT on importation. So, you're very lucky to avoid to deal with them.
Until now, I was just unhappy with UPS' fees, but they were fine on the rest. But...
I just had the worst delivery experience with DHL these past days, with an order from UK to France, because of the Brexit. DHL tried to charge me with a VAT 30% higher that it should have been. I'm not speaking of their fees, but the regular VAT. Add both and it was 50% of the price of my order... But it's another story.
The VAT thing was just absolutely staggering. They employed all the means to get the undue money.
All this was in a time frame of 3 days.
1 - 13 April : I had to pay before the packet can be processed further. I got the bill and didn't agree and contact them to clarify the amount.
2 - 13 April : As they were "kind", they paid for me, so it can be processed. I never asked them to do it. But they were waiting for the payment to deliver the package. It was fine, it lets me the time to get it sorted.
3 - 14 April : They sent me 4 mails to pay. They sent me 3 SMS to pay.
4- 14 April in the evening : They called me. They invented the "VAT based on the weight on the package". I disagree, because it don't exist, and ask them for the 4th time to justify how they manage to have a +30% VAT. My package was still on hold. And it was fine for me.
5 - 15 April at 6:00 AM: SMS to pay. Hopefully my phone was in silent mode.
6 - 15 April at 9:15 AM: SMS and mail because the packet was out for delivery. Remember point 1, 2, 4? Okay. You see point 8 coming? I guess.
7 - 15 April at 9:45 AM: I phoned them and they "stopped" the delivery, so I can contest the VAT.
8 - 15 April at 10:45 AM: the delivery guy phoned me to deliver the package and get the money...
I had no other choice than to refuse the package, which is now back at the sender. I had 5 peoples from DHL on phone, no one knows how the VAT was calculated. When you just had to take the order bill, the postage cost, add them and get 20%. Period.
I've been told by the sender that they are closing their deal with DHL, as many, many of their customers are facing overcharge from them. So it's a huge problem for them as many of their customers are in Europe, they're losing big money.
Clearly, DHL and the others are killing the trade.
I'm just curious to know anyone else's experience ordering internationally (ie Canada)? I ordered beginning of April, which would be like my first purchase in a long time, globalpost is new to me (I think?) And it's been almost a month since they last updated the tracking on my package.
I'm not complaining on how long it is taking, I guess I am just wondering how long everyone would wait before contacting globalpost to make sure the package isn't lost. (Last update was April 17th)
Thanks,
Dane
I'm not complaining on how long it is taking, I guess I am just wondering how long everyone would wait before contacting globalpost to make sure the package isn't lost. (Last update was April 17th)
Thanks,
Dane
Robert
Reverse Engineer
GlobalPost isn't new, it's what was previously called "First Class Economy", or "First Class Large Envelope". Orders are shipped to a US based address who then relabels and forwards them on to the destination country. It's basically USPS with a middle-man.
2 - 4 weeks is typical for Canada but some can take 6 - 8 weeks (or longer)...
Contacting GlobalPost (or USPS for First Class shipments) seems to be a waste of time in my experience. USPS never responds with anything more than automated emails that are no help, and GlobalPost passes the blame off on USPS and claims the shipment should have arrived in 4 - 6 days.
Tracking with GlobalPost is fairly unreliable... shipments will appear to be stuck in Miami for long periods of time when they're actually much further along. It's also fairly common for tracking to indicate that a package is being returned to the USA (after reaching the destination country) when it really has not.
GlobalPost is good for international shipments when ordering one or two low-value PCBs and other methods wouldn't make sense.... I would not use GlobalPost for higher value orders.... Both GlobalPost and USPS First Class are uninsured, unguaranteed shipping methods. If a package is lost, it's lost. Neither service will reimburse a penny for a lost package.
2 - 4 weeks is typical for Canada but some can take 6 - 8 weeks (or longer)...
Contacting GlobalPost (or USPS for First Class shipments) seems to be a waste of time in my experience. USPS never responds with anything more than automated emails that are no help, and GlobalPost passes the blame off on USPS and claims the shipment should have arrived in 4 - 6 days.
Tracking with GlobalPost is fairly unreliable... shipments will appear to be stuck in Miami for long periods of time when they're actually much further along. It's also fairly common for tracking to indicate that a package is being returned to the USA (after reaching the destination country) when it really has not.
GlobalPost is good for international shipments when ordering one or two low-value PCBs and other methods wouldn't make sense.... I would not use GlobalPost for higher value orders.... Both GlobalPost and USPS First Class are uninsured, unguaranteed shipping methods. If a package is lost, it's lost. Neither service will reimburse a penny for a lost package.
That is exactly what I was looking for, again I am in no rush and in no way complaining,(if I can wait 3 months for tayda packages then I can wait less than 3 months for globalpost)
Globalpost may not be new then but it is new to me, so this is all good info to know. The being stuck in Miami is exactly what is going on now and I was just unsure if that was normal.
Thanks again for the response!
Wow. It's crazy what is happening with international shipping right now. Here in Australia we are fortunate to have an Aust$1000 cutoff for GST etc. If we bring something in which has a value (including shipping) of under Aust$1000 it just comes straight through, unless customs wants to look at it. Aust$1000 is around US$700 - it varies a lot.
I ordered some transformers from Texas earlier this year, and whereas two years ago it would have taken two weeks to get them here via USPS this time it was two months. I would use Fedex or UPS but they want around US$400 for shipping rather than the USPS US$70.
But I also bought some pickups from TV Jones in Washington and he has a good deal with Fedex and it cost US$20 and took under two weeks. No extra charges thankfully. Fedex could work out well for Australia if that is any indication.
And I generally get stuff from Tayda really fast - I guess Australia isn't that far from Thailand. I usually receive Tayda orders in less than a week - usually 2-3 days. I haven't ordered from them recently but did earlier this year with no problems.
I ordered some transformers from Texas earlier this year, and whereas two years ago it would have taken two weeks to get them here via USPS this time it was two months. I would use Fedex or UPS but they want around US$400 for shipping rather than the USPS US$70.
But I also bought some pickups from TV Jones in Washington and he has a good deal with Fedex and it cost US$20 and took under two weeks. No extra charges thankfully. Fedex could work out well for Australia if that is any indication.
And I generally get stuff from Tayda really fast - I guess Australia isn't that far from Thailand. I usually receive Tayda orders in less than a week - usually 2-3 days. I haven't ordered from them recently but did earlier this year with no problems.
Preverb
Active member
I just noticed this. So using the slow option avoids the duty / GST fees in Canada? It seems crazy for them to try to collect customs fees and tax on small low cost items overseas. If the slow option avoids this, I might get some stuff sent to a relatives house in Canada. I plan to visit in a few months so the timing would work out well. (Except if this Omicron variant messes things up worse).
SYLV9ST9R
Well-known member
Well, I only had fees using DHL when the slow option wasn't available. It's actually DHL who charge the customs/tax and their own fee.
Looking just now, the only "slow option" offered is with Thailand Post, which I think is a different service and it goes up as the package gets bigger (which is understandable as before you had a small flat rate, which was probably too low; and the service was with Deutsche Post). So I don't know where that services stand regarding fees and customs. And looking at the stuff I ordered last for comparison, I think it would have cost me pretty much the same with the Thailand Post option with Tayda quoting me about 40 USD for shipping with this. So I think I'd rather pay DHL and the fees and have it quickly. Unfortunately he cheap slow option seems to be a thing of the past.
Similar threads
