HELP HELP HELP!!!!!!!!! Buyer being charged by the postman on delievery?!

[Vintergatan]

You got really good answers here.

As someone living in the country where customs officers are demons themselves, I can confirm all that's said above

I understand her shock if she isn't an experienced shopper but I would still expect her to sit down and think about what it could be before sending you such a distressful mail ^^

It is true that if she is not prepared to pay the fees (which is quite understandable!) the pony will simply be returned to you. alternatively, she can go to the customs office (something svarta-perlan and me know a thing or two about yay Iceland) and try to somehow convince them to release the pony with no charges.

Now, if you two are interested in basically cheating the customs (something I rarely feel bad about) I could give you a few tips, although I don't know how things are in the Netherlands exactly (but your buyer can find that out easily). If you are both prepared to battle this, you could try to write a statement that this pony was intended as a gift or something along those lines (she would have to read the rules for gifts) and try to get them to lower the fee drastically. It´s worth a try, if you don't mind those sorts of things, especially if you are willing to vouch for it. I´ve had my trading partners here send statements that ponies were intended as gifts rather than purchases to avoid all this. Just LMK if you need more help in that ^^

Bottom line, this really is completely her problem now but I do feel for her. Most you can do is either help her to convince the customs to release the pony or to take it back and refund her ^^ I really don't think you should be paying anything on top of what you´ve already paid 8which was really kind of you).

[cloud_weaver]

Thank you all so much for the help and advice.  *sigh*  I got the message literally 20 minutes before I was leaving town for a family reunion.    What timing!!!

With that being said, I had a lot of time to think about it in the car and I'm still scratching my head over it.  Would it have made a difference if I would have sent him as a gift?  (Honestly, I don't remember which box I checked, and paperwork is at home currently.)  We've never had to deal with it in the US.  Hugs to all you out there who battle with this!

I've be talking with the buyer, who's calmed down a bit and she's going to call the post tomorrow and see what can be done or explained.  I haven't decided what to do as options yet, as I feel absolutely horrible for her. 

I just want you all to know what an amazing community we have here.  Thanks for all the support!!! 

[Stormy31685]

Sorry to hear you're struggling, Cloudie! 

I completely agree with everyone else - this is a customs charge, and has nothing to do with the shipping. 

To answer your newest question, no it would not have made a difference if it had been sent as a gift (I don't think).  It has to do with the value.  I believe the only way to have avoided the customs charge would have been to seriously undervalue the pony.  You could have shipped express mail (no insurance) for around $29, and I am 95% sure you and the buyer would have been covered by eBay.

Even though this is not your fault, you could offer to split the customs fee with the buyer (if you feel bad or that you should), or you could have the buyer ship the item back to you, and re-ship on her dime.  As I said above, I believe you can ship express in a flat rate envelope for around $29-30.  It might be frustrating, but she would probably rather pay for about $60 in shipping rather than well over $100 in customs fees.

Best of luck to you!  And enjoy your weekend - this sort of thing happens all the time.  Don't let it stress you.  I have seen buyers lie about ever even receiving the items and filing a claim to get their money back, and let the items get returned to me - all because they didn't want to pay a $20 customs charge.  I am so thrilled your buyer is at least honest!

[BerryMouse]

Dunno if it's the same in the Netherlands but the customs wants to see the bill (how much you've paid for the item) as a proof.
So you need to print out the paypal invoice and take it with you to the customs - the name of the sender should match or at least the item description.
So even if you write a wrong amount on the custom form, they still are able to get the fees cuz you have to show off the bill.

That always sucks. Best thing for these high amounts would be to split the payment - like $400 and $50 - so you can write down $50 on the custom forms and the buyer has a bill over that $50 for the customs - that's not legal!
I never did that before but I never bought anything from outside Europe for such an high amount 

In Germany we need to pay 19% of the amount not sure how much it is in the Netherlands but I guess it's also quit a lot when they charge $162 

And sending it as a gift and the customs get it, they might also ask for a bill - and if you declare that you have no bill cause it was really a gift, they go and try figuring out the value of the item.... that could also end up in a disaster. =(

[Vintergatan]

Actually, it does matter if you send it as a gift!

It depends on the country obviously, but here in Iceland if something is sent as a gift, you don't pay anything up to the value of $80. If the Gift is worth more (as in, if more is declared on the package) than $80 then you pay some fee, but MUCH less than what you´d have to pay if it weren't a gift.

This is where your buyer has to sit down and do some googling for rules in the Netherlands, or simply go to the customs office where she would learn the rules.

As for providing the bill, which is indeed what customs ask for in order to determine the value (in case the value marked on the package is disputed), if she says it is meant as a gift and you confirm it, there will simply be no bill. In all honesty, it is going to be REALLY hard to convince anyone that a very very expensive pony was indeed meant as a gift and you have to be really careful to not mention ebay etc. as I said, you can shoot me a PM and I can guide you through this, but I do think this should be a completely last resort. Convincing the customs officers that something is meant as a gift is not easy even when the item is much less valuable and is actually *marked* as such :S (I´ve had to wrestle with them for 1 baity pony declared as gift worth $5, but Icelandic customs are extra horrible)
I do believe that she should have been prepared to pay some customs (the reason why I never buy or trade for more than 3 ponies at a time or join swaps ) and that this is indeed her oversight for not even counting on this. This is why I think you have done a lot already and that this is something she has to decide on her own - cough up the fees or return the pony to you ^^




ETA: I also feel it´s a good idea for me to mention that there are of course risks in declaring lower values or declaring somethng as a gift. Namely:
-the value you declare on the package is the value you are "insured" for if something happens. So in case of damage or loss, in the eyes of the law, the price you put on the declaration is the price you will be refunded.
-if you mark something as a gift on the package/declaration, as far as I know it´s completely harmless unless someone goes out of their way to prove that you are lying, but I really don't see that happening. the problem here is if you mark it as a gift via paypal, then you are not covered in case your buyer decides to trick you ^^


my point is, don't do either of these things lightly, especially not with items that are worth much. But this is kinda like shooting myself in the leg as I cannot have anything sent to me here unless it´s marked as a gift. The charges we have to pay can easily come up to 50% of the item iteslf :S even for swaps, trades etc (I rarely actually buy)

[tootie_tails]

Is it just me or are customs getting worse all over the world....?
This is getting such a big problem that for high value items it would probably be wise to make some kind of agreement or statement about that beforehand.
In fact I see that a lot in ebay auctions these days, sellers adding a disclaimer about custom fees, that they are the buyers responsibility and not a part of the shipping.

edit to add:

Re marking as gift, whether it matters depends on the destination country but most countries seem to have rules like this:
For small declared values, marked as gift it will pass customs without any problem.
Declared value being more than a certain amount, marked as gift will not matter, it will still be hit with a customs fee - *if* the package gets caught that is.
Here in Sweden the value limit seems to be about $50? $60 maybe? I don't know the exact amount but somewhere around there.
Many members here, from various contries, have reported similar circumstances.

[Mariegoldie]

Hi everyone,
I'm the buyer of this gorgeous beauty and I'm very glad with this topic too...
Of course I paid the fees, because I wanted Thai Ice Crystal save with me... <3 . I was very shocked at first, because this never happened to me before!!! (And it's a lot of money for me too...).
Cloud_Weaver couldn't have known this. Neither did I. I'm going to call the customoffice at monday, because it is closed today, to verify the costs... The fee is now 20% of the sellingprice. (Could have buy a lot of ponies from it... ).
Just want to say that Cloud_Weaver is a very nice, great, caring seller and I have to apologize for my emotional reaction at first, which was a result of the unpleasant surprise (thought he was illegal or so ) and a result of less experience with fees (I'm an active buyer since 2012 again)... Cloud_Weaver kept me always informed during the shipping and as you see, she's very concerned. We're both victims in a kind of way. Hope the market will be steady on this kind of auctions.
If someone can help me, please feel free to contact me.
Thank you!!
Marieke

[hikari_amaya]

:O Do you have current pics of the lovely pony

[Mariegoldie]

Nope, not yet, sorry!! Just got him yesterday... ^_^ I'll make them soon!!! 

[ponylady]

Thanks Mariegoldie for commenting on the situation.
 
I am sure it was a surprise to both of you.     Unfortunately, we are at our goverment's mercy no matter where we live.
 

Is it just me or are customs getting worse all over the world....?
This is getting such a big problem that for high value items it would probably be wise to make some kind of agreement or statement about that beforehand.
In fact I see that a lot in ebay auctions these days, sellers adding a disclaimer about custom fees, that they are the buyers responsibility and not a part of the shipping.

Tootie, ebay advises/tells sellers to add this statement to their listings.  It is in the event that if negative feedback is left regarding customs fees they will remove it.   

[balletpot]

Firstly, glad that the pony is in his new home. Secondly, I've been thinking about this topic and have been searching for info, just saw this on another forum (not a pony forum but a skiing one ). When shipping to Sweden from USA: UPS, custom fees every time; DHL, custom fees once in while; FedEx, straight to the receiver no custom fees.


Edit: This was a couple of years old, so it might not apply now.

[StarFaerie]

I don't read dutch but from my searching and Mum's translation it appears that there is no customs duty on toys entering the Netherlands from outside the EU but there is VAT of 19% plus a handling fee for toys costing over 100euro.

http://gebruikstarief.douane.nl/9503004990

[Vintergatan]

Congrats Mariegoldie on your beautiful new pony

I completely feel for you and I can imagine how much of a shock it was for you to see that crazy price :S especially without anyone there to let you know what it is.

I´m glad both of you had great communication ^^

I do think it´s a good idea from now on for sellers to mention the possibility of customs fees just in case the buyer is inexperienced

[angelponies]

Hi Mariegoldie!
Welcome to the pony boards

if the item was marked at the Value that it is and not as a gift, then customs would charge that high fee. I have shipped tons of stuff out of the Country and I always mark them as a gift and a low amount on the pony, I never had any problems, but that is just me.  

Anywho~ I had to just kinda poke in here to say that, Mariegoldie is a sweetie pie. I have sold her lots of rare ponies, and she always lets me know when she gets them, so she is a trustworthy buyer. I will have to leave her some feedback on here now that she is a pony member   

I just wanted everyone to know that, we have a great new pony member to the pony family  Hope that things are able to get taken care of with customs, if I can help  either one of you out in anyway, just let me know

[hokuspokus]

Hi Marieke

Glad to see your response here! It's very understandable you were shocked about the costs! I know i was when i had to pay customs for the first time!
I hope you will never have to pay such high fees in the future!
Good to hear the communication between the two of you was great!