Extra charges to UK...

K

karate_chick

Cathlete
Hi Cathe

I'm in the UK & recently bought your CTX & Imax 2 dvds - which I'm thoroughly enjoying - BUT...I was shocked to find that the courier (UPS) charged another £30 ($55) on delivery.

I have purchased many dvds from the States & Canada and have NEVER been charged any extra when they're delivered by Airmail (this leads me to believe this extra charge is from the Courier).

As I'm sure you can understand, this is unfortunately putting me off ordering more of your workouts. Is there anyway that you could send UK orders by Airmail?

Many thanks,
Andrea
 
You could ask SMN to put on the package that the product is worth $1 and not what it really is worth, say $100, which is why you're being charged so much when they come into this country. They did this for me once when they send a wrong order and i was very, very grateful. I paid no duty that time, whereas before i was paying £30-50 per time on top of the money i paid for the DVD's plus UPS international shipping!

Wayne.
 
This happens to me every time (I'm in West Sussex). It is import tax and I was told by Chris that there was nothing they could do. If you find a way round it, let me know!

Sharon
 
Unfortunetly I am not sure if SNM can do that for original orders the other alternative is to keep orders under £36.00 & items under 2lbs in weight which is what you can import into this country without being charged import tax. But that as far as I know is if the item is shipped via USPS and Royal Mail, UPS may add addition charges for clearing the item thorough customs.
 
Just to make it clear the items shipped should be £36.00 or under but you can confirm this by checking with Customs and Excise website. I normally order from Amazon and CK Sales but keep items under that amount or just bite the bullet like I have this time by ordering Hardcore from SNM.
 
To be honest, i don't see why it would be a problem for them to say its under, say $30. What harm would it do?

Wayne.
 
I think its all about trade agreements and charges on limiting imports and exports more than what an item costs or doesn't. There was an interesting Money Programme show regarding the whole importing and exporting between the US and the UK really interesting its amazing what really goes on between governments.

Edited to add the programme came on a few years ago and featured companies such as Fruit of the Loom. As far a I know its never been repeated.
 
Because it is a commercial product, I don't think it's legal for them to misrepresent the value.

Beth
 
Hi Andrea,

When anything ships from the US to Canada via UPS, they automatically charge a "brokerage fee" - nothing to do with customs/tax, etc - just straight UPS fee. This has only happened to me once - I will not order from any company that only ships UPS because of this extra fee. Have you ordered anything via CK Sales - I know they ship world wide, and have a Cathe pre-order special too. Just a thought, maybe it could save you some money.

Beth
 
There really isn't anything we can do about this as these are import taxes. If we were to misrepresent the price of our products on a customs form we would be liable for criminal prosecution. This is just not something we would ever do.

I know the import tax is high and we feel your pain, but you actually pay these taxes all of the time and don't realize it. In the USA if you buy a $100 pair of sneakers, about $40 of the price is due to import taxes – You just don’t realize it because the prices are not separated.
 
Hello Andrea,

I know what you mean. The first time I placed an order I got the shock of my life too.

You could try ordering from CK Sales and other places that sells Cathe but deliver by airmail. Do a search for Cathe Friedrich on google and you will find other alternatives.

I order from SNM but have it delivered to a friend of mine in the US and she sends them to me via airmail.

Yen
 
I just received my P90X videos from the US, and didn't get charged any import tax - not complaining, but I don't understand it.
 
>I just received my P90X videos from the US, and didn't get
>charged any import tax - not complaining, but I don't
>understand it.


You'll receive a letter from the courier with the charges in a week or two. Some like UPS and the Post Office ask for the money upfront (UPS tend to phone you) but others, like FedEx, will send you a letter after you have received it.

It's rare that you escape the charges when your goods arrive by a courier and of course the higher shipping charges (thanks to a change in the rules) mean higher charges for us.
ATB,
- Lisa :)
 
>Hi Andrea,
>
>When anything ships from the US to Canada via UPS, they
>automatically charge a "brokerage fee" - nothing to do with
>customs/tax, etc - just straight UPS fee. This has only
>happened to me once - I will not order from any company that
>only ships UPS because of this extra fee. Have you ordered
>anything via CK Sales - I know they ship world wide, and have
>a Cathe pre-order special too. Just a thought, maybe it could
>save you some money.
>
>Beth

Actually the Post Office now charges a £4 fee on top of the other charges. The only way you'll get away without paying is if it's under the limit or if the person at customs or at the Post Office doesn't notice you're due a charge. If you believe you have been charged when you shouldn't have been, they will help and they will refund your money.
ATB,
- Lisa :)
 
I LIVE IN SPAIN AND I KNOW YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT. UPS CHARGE THE BILL WITH EXTRA CHARGES. I HAVE DECIDED TO BUY THE DVD , BECAUSE THESE ARE THE BEST IN THE MARKET OF COURSE, BUT I HAVE TO WAIT A FEW MONTHS BECAUSE MY CREDIT CARD IS ON FIRE AND I CAN NOT SPEND TO MUCH MONEY IN THE DVD.I HAVE TO WAIT FOR A LONG TIME.I WOULD LIKE TO PREORDER THE HARDCORE SERIES BUT THE DVD ARE VERY EXPENSIVE.NOT THE DVD , THEY DESERVE EVERY EURO I HAVE PAID, THE IMPORT, THE EXTRA CHARGES, THE CUSTOM DUTIES. :-( :-( :-(
 
Hello Andrea,

I'm from Malaysia, and like you I was charged exorbitant brokerage fees by UPS almost equalling the total price of the DVDs I ordered! It has never happened to me before. I later found out that courier companies charge mandatory brokerage fees. Ouch! I've ordered DVDs from Collage and Barnes & Nobles before via Airmail, and have yet to pay anything extra.

I have e-mailed SNM about this and inquired whether it is possible for them to send DVDs via Global Priority Mail, because it was mentioned in the website they do send via GPM (I even suggested using Global Express - same rate as UPS plus insurance and tracking), but they replied that UPS was the only way to go. I am truly saddened by this. Cathe's videos are amazing, but I don't want to pay those truly high charges imposed by UPS. I'm sure Cathe has many international fans, but this is preventing many of us overseas from purchasing her wonderful videos :(

So right now my only source for Cathe's videos are CK Sales and eBay.
 
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