Sciencemadness Discussion Board - Say goodbye to cheap Chinese shipping

Say goodbye to cheap Chinese shipping

Predacon35 - 13-11-2018 at 14:29

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-postoffice-trump/trum...

Ever wonder how the Chinese make money on shipping?
We Americans pay for it...

Mr. Rogers - 13-11-2018 at 14:41

Quote: Originally posted by Predacon35

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-postoffice-trump/trum...

Ever wonder how the Chinese make money on shipping?
We Americans pay for it...

This has nothing to do with the price of shipments sent from China. Did you read the article?

Predacon35 - 13-11-2018 at 14:47

Yes I read the article
Did you?
“Another official said the system allowed for a 40 to 70 percent discount on small packages arriving in the United States from China compared to what it would cost to send them domestically, costing $300 million.“
I should have said they make money by selling to America at a discount shipping rate

[Edited on 13-11-2018 by Predacon35]

DavidJR - 13-11-2018 at 15:08

Sounds entirely reasonable to me.

Texium - 13-11-2018 at 15:18

Who will it benefit though? It may make domestic shipping competitive, but it's not going to get any cheaper... This is probably going to be good for companies like Amazon, but hurt consumers like us who buy from China and other countries frequently...

JJay - 13-11-2018 at 15:29

This will make it more cost-effective to sell American chemicals and equipment to Europe and is a win-win for everyone in the long run.

In the meantime, now is the time to buy cheap Chinese glassware.

Herr Haber - 14-11-2018 at 04:32

Cost effective, how so ?

If I buy Chinese I dont pay shipping and there is a very good chance it'll go through customs without costing me a cent.
If I buy American I will not only pay shipping but also most likely customs. And since this has nothing to do with the value of the items I may end up paying MORE in S&H + customs since UPS & co charge 15 bucks to get your items out of customs.

So if I buy a pair of graphite molds from the US I might pay 30 for the items and 45 for UPS.

DrP - 14-11-2018 at 06:56

Quote: Originally posted by Herr Haber

Cost effective, how so ?

If I buy Chinese I dont pay shipping and there is a very good chance it'll go through customs without costing me a cent.
If I buy American I will not only pay shipping but also most likely customs. And since this has nothing to do with the value of the items I may end up paying MORE in S&H + customs since UPS & co charge 15 bucks to get your items out of customs.

So if I buy a pair of graphite molds from the US I might pay 30 for the items and 45 for UPS.

I have this problem too.. The shipping from the US is high compared to anywhere else... and then there is this stealth additional import tax thing that has been around for a couple of years now. I won't buy from them unless I have too (can't get the thing anywhere else). You pay your money and then find there is a good chance your goods are impounded and you need to pay some charge to release them from customs. Screw that nonsense... They'll loose in the log run because no-one will want to buy from them. I actively do not anymore if possible.

JJay - 14-11-2018 at 07:57

Postage from the U.S. to Europe will be cheaper.

As far as cheating on your customs duties goes, the U.S. doesn't charge duties if the value of the goods is below the details minimis amount. That works out to about $4000/day. But that is a completely different issue.

DrP - 14-11-2018 at 08:07

Quote: Originally posted by JJay

Postage from the U.S. to Europe will be cheaper.

As far as cheating on your customs duties goes, the U.S. doesn't charge duties if the value of the goods is below the details minimis amount. That works out to about $4000/day. But that is a completely different issue.

For a small e-bayer like me it is a definite barrier to trade.

If I buy something for £70.00 with £30.00 shipping (which would be about £4.00 shipping from china). I run the risk of getting an extra £30 fee slapped on my purchase as it comes into customs. Not acceptable to me - doesn't happen with ANY other country and has only just started happening with the US. No thanks - I'll shop elsewhere (like ANYWHHERE else in the world) where they don't have this thieving stealth customs robbery tax when it is shipped in.

That being said - I did buy something for £1.00 from china with free delivery the other month... when it turned up there was a £2.00 postage fee to pay.... I can live with that as it has come from half way around the world.

Ubya - 14-11-2018 at 08:55

if i buy from outside of UE or china and the value of the good plus shipping is over 45€ i have to pay IVA (22% of the TOTAL VALUE) as tax AND 7€ or something like that to release from customs. i mean if i buy 5€ of stuff and shipping is 50€ i have to pay 12+7 of taxes...
buying from china makes a lot of sense even if it takes ages to arrive, shipping cost and taxes will be more or near the cost of the item...

[Edited on 14-11-2018 by Ubya]

woelen - 22-11-2018 at 00:59

Importings things from the US is very expensive for me.
All packages from the US are intercepted and then I have to pay EUR 19 or so for getting the item through customs plus a certain percentage of the cost of the item plus a certain percentage of the cost of shipping. This is the case for ANY package which is more expensive than EUR 22 (excluding shipping cost). On a package of EUR 25 value this leads to an additional cost of appr. EUR 25, exluding shipping costs. On a package of EUR 70 this leads to EUR 35 of additional costs, excluding shipping costs.

So, buying a EUR 25 item from the US leads me to pay appr. EUR 60 (EUR 25 for the item plus EUR 25 for the customs costs plus appr. EUR 10 for shipping). If I buy the same value of goods from Russia, then I pay appr. EUR 10 for shipping, but no customs costs. If I buy the same value of goods from China, I just pay EUR 25 and usually I have free shipping.

The same bad thing is true for South Korea. Buying from that country also is very unattractive for me. I did twice, buying Odroid hardware (little Raspberry PI like computers, but faster).

I do not understand why packages from the US and Korea are intercepted always, while packages from Russia and China usually are not.

DavidJR - 22-11-2018 at 04:09

Quote: Originally posted by woelen

Importings things from the US is very expensive for me.
All packages from the US are intercepted and then I have to pay EUR 19 or so for getting the item through customs plus a certain percentage of the cost of the item plus a certain percentage of the cost of shipping. This is the case for ANY package which is more expensive than EUR 22 (excluding shipping cost). On a package of EUR 25 value this leads to an additional cost of appr. EUR 25, exluding shipping costs. On a package of EUR 70 this leads to EUR 35 of additional costs, excluding shipping costs.

So, buying a EUR 25 item from the US leads me to pay appr. EUR 60 (EUR 25 for the item plus EUR 25 for the customs costs plus appr. EUR 10 for shipping). If I buy the same value of goods from Russia, then I pay appr. EUR 10 for shipping, but no customs costs. If I buy the same value of goods from China, I just pay EUR 25 and usually I have free shipping.

The same bad thing is true for South Korea. Buying from that country also is very unattractive for me. I did twice, buying Odroid hardware (little Raspberry PI like computers, but faster).

I do not understand why packages from the US and Korea are intercepted always, while packages from Russia and China usually are not.

I (in the UK) also have had similar experience. Not sure why.

fusso - 22-11-2018 at 05:38

Quote: Originally posted by woelen

Why don't you ask the seller to write a value < EUR22 when shipping? The customs won't know it isn't it?

[Edited on 181122 by fusso]

woelen - 22-11-2018 at 08:03

Because that is fraud. The seller can get in serious trouble if he uses that kind of strategy to reduce the customs costs.

Sometimes it is possible to split up packages if shipping is very cheap. Recently I purchased a set of 10x10 cm² polarizing filter sheets from the US. Because these fit in a normal envelope, no parcel needed, shipping was only $2. I had a value of appr. $40 of sheets. These were shipped in two envelopes. I paid $4 for shipping, but no customs costs.

arkoma - 22-11-2018 at 20:06

Dang Woelen, I guess I am spoiled here. I've ordered stuff from China for five dollars and no shipping or customs fees and here in ten days.

yobbo II - 30-11-2018 at 18:45

Take a look at the postage. It typical of the OUTRAGEOUS cost. Who is ripping who.

NO SALE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yob

Twospoons - 30-11-2018 at 21:51

Sometimes that's a trick to make an item look cheaper than everyone elses, then they make their money on the shipping. Or they can't be bothered shipping international so they slap an outrageous shipping price on.

woelen - 3-12-2018 at 04:37

If I see such items, I report them. I once searched for silver bullions, just to have some silver for experiments. At the time, most sellers sold bullions for $25 per ounce (now the price is a little lower), but one seller only asked $10, but added $20 shipping and if I ordered multiple bullions, then he asked $20 shipping for each additional item as well. I reported it, I was really pissed off.