I have a question which I hope is a straightforward as I think it is..

I recently made a US purchase and I insisted the seller send the item via Fedex because of the long customs delays..(waited over a month before..)

He said that his local post office uses global express which apparently use Fedex? And its easier for him with much less forms to fill out..

Is this true? It is he just trying to save going all the way to the nearest Fedex depot?

Thanks for help!

 

Yep. It is true. If you go to usps's website it is set out there. I've never used/tried it though.

 

Thanks, I just wondered if it was the same as FedEx express, and that it takes 1-3 days and delivers before and doesn't just sit in customs like USPS does.. It seems like it uses FedEx Express from their website.

 

Yes, basically Fedex handles it from post office to your destination. I have used it 3 times before without hitch. The best of 2 world: Affordibility of USPS an reliability of Fedex. Faster through customs and less risk in my view.

 

I actually just received one like this last week - package with 5 watches sent in for service. It was basically overnight service from the US to Canada, and the package was delivered to me via FedEx, but has USPS postal markings on it also. My only concern was getting dinged for the fees couriers normally charge for clearing customs, etc., but here they usually ask for that at the door, and they didn't this time. Not sure if I will be getting a bill later though...

Cheers, Al

 

Thanks Al

In my experience with FedEx you get the bill later. Which is why I like it because you get the watch first and it's not sitting around gathering dust or being thrown around..!

I hope that it really is FedEx after Global express touch it...

The last parcel was Fedex and it was only three days and tracked all the way!

 

I think it's was $80 and called Fedex international Priority..

 

Not here in Canada - usually you pay at the door before they hand you the package. Same thing with Canada Post - pay at the door when the package arrives....

 

Here in Singapore, Fedex sends you a bill for GST about 1 week later. Gave me a bit of a surprise the 1st time round as I thought I had 'successfully' avoided GST! (fat hope, as it turned out...)

 

Are you guys saying that the sender pays to send you an item and then you get charged on top by the courier to have it delivered to your door.... and this is normal?

 

I believe they are talking about custom duties.

 

Ah, I see now. Here we have to pay customs fees of 15% plus their added on-shipping charge directly to customs or they hold your next precious until you do. The first time it happened to me it took them two weeks to let me know they had kidnapped my precious and issue their ransom demand. It still took over a week to arrive after I paid the ransom

 

......and that's for a vintage watch which the sales tax has been paid years ago.

 

It isn't sales tax. It's import tax. Entirely different.

 

For us it is 15% Goods & Services Tax based on the cost of the watch, plus the cost of shipping that the sender paid, plus the charge they add on to send it from their facility.

I have now become proactive and phone our postal service as soon as my precious arrives in the country. If customs have snatched it, I call them repeatedly until they release my parcel. The kidnappers really only go to work to eat their lunch and issue ransom notices so I use small words to get them to do their job and send me the parcel as soon as they have received their ransom. I now know many of them by name Wankers!

 

I wouldn't argue with government officer..... sir.

 

Here it is possibly duties (I actually don't get charged duty that often), but certainly sales tax. HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) is 13% here in Ontario...

 

I think I've hit nerve here....So many of us have had gripes with the "system"...it's a shame we have such random import tax duties into the UK. But, I'm guessing its hit us all at one time or another..