Customs BAH!

[grilkip]

I'm a soon to be Filco tenkeyless-with-cherry-browns user. However my keyboard has been in customs (NL) since the 11th. A whole bleeding week!

Hopefully I will enjoy it, I haven't any memory of ever using a buckling spring keyboard. I noticed some Model M's POS at work though (AS400 terminals, don't get me started) and they seem ok.

Too bad I didn't become aware of the UK vendor before I ordered from elitekeyboards, I would have likely had it already and wouldn't be paying 20% to the state.

Come oooon customs!

[Mental Hobbit]

wouldn't be paying 20% to the state.

You would have paid 17.5% to the queen instead.
Glad to hear customs in NL are just as annoying as everywhere else.

[ironcoder]

You have to see what WebWit does. He must have some way around this with all the stuff he buys.

[itlnstln]

I write it off.

I know of at least one other person that does this.  I take it you have to have your own business to do so?

[grilkip]

You would have paid 17.5% to the queen instead.
Glad to hear customs in NL are just as annoying as everywhere else.

Well I'm no economist but I'm pretty sure that I'm paying both Obama's hand outs and the Dutch queen's chariot as it is now.

I write it off. And it is not customs. UPS gets it through customs in a day. It is your mailer (particularly USPS which can take up to three weeks) that bought the cheap service/capacity package.

I suppose that at least means I have no reason to worry yet. :|

3 weeks sounds like about the amount of time needed to forget you ever saw a need to order such an expensive keyboard.

[Mental Hobbit]

ups gets it through customs in a day. It is your mailer (particularly usps which can take up to three weeks) that bought the cheap service/capacity package.

USPS = $50
UPS, FedEx, DHL... = $150

[JaccoW]

I ordered a Deck Legend from the US, that finally arrived after 3 weeks.
Unfortunately it is the wrong version. :/

Let's see what they say.

[grilkip]

Muhahahaha

[JaccoW]

We are always well-represented on the web, but you just don't notice us until certain terms bring us together and make us manifest ourselves.

Or in other terms: "Muhahahaha!"

[lowpoly]

When I bought parts for my Thunderbird in the US, during the first years they were sent with UPS. They managed to screw up like every 3rd send where the parcel was sitting in my city for a week w/o delivery. I never got back the additional money paid for expedited delivery. I was glad when my vendor finally switched to USPS.

[kishy]

I've discovered something frustrating with USPS vs UPS for buying items from the US for shipment to me in Canada.

I'll use a recent example of a keyboard (I forget which, I've bought 3 keyboards from the US in recent times). I don't know the specific names of the shipping services, just that I always pick the "lowest price of the group" since it's always sufficient.

USPS quote was $28 or thereabouts (USD)
UPS quote was $18

What's the obvious choice here? UPS, of course!

Keyboard arrives next day or 2 days later and BAM, $20 Cash on Delivery charge.

Another keyboard, seller and I had arranged to do it by UPS (same 18 dollar figure) and seller goofed...sent it by USPS instead, costing them more than I paid. I offered to make up the difference but seller refused to take it.

It took longer...but no Cash on Delivery charge. Ultimately, USPS despite being priced higher cost less in the end because there was no ridiculous fee on it.

USPS parcels will sometimes get hit by GST/PST by the Canadian government, sometimes even duty in extreme cases, but at least there's the chance they might not (and for the majority of items it seems they do not).

[InSanCen]

It's not too bad in the UK. I seem to get parcels from the US, Canada, Germany and The Netherlands in about a week from posting. Indian shipments (TVS Gold) seem to sit for about a week though, same carrier (DHL) on my end, so I am not sure why.

[didjamatic]

My MAJOR annoyance is that USPS makes it difficult to send things first class or parcel post using paypal.  The online shipping methods are frequently trying to get you to think you can only send via priority mail.  I learned you can ship to Canada much cheaper than I thought but you have to go to the post office to do it.  You can print a label using USPS software, then pay at post office but there's no way to do it via paypal.

[kishy]

My MAJOR annoyance is that USPS makes it difficult to send things first class or parcel post using paypal.  The online shipping methods are frequently trying to get you to think you can only send via priority mail.  I learned you can ship to Canada much cheaper than I thought but you have to go to the post office to do it.  You can print a label using USPS software, then pay at post office but there's no way to do it via paypal.

This is likely because PayPal's policies require sellers to ship everything with tracking, or your seller protection is voided.

[grilkip]

Ok, this is the filco typing. I like it a lot.

This is one with Cherry browns, I find it quite loud enough tbh, if the blues are even louder then I'm glad I opted for the browns.

[ricercar]

Be confident; the blues are much louder than the browns.

[kw71]

My MAJOR annoyance is that USPS makes it difficult to send things first class or parcel post using paypal.  The online shipping methods are frequently trying to get you to think you can only send via priority mail.  I learned you can ship to Canada much cheaper than I thought but you have to go to the post office to do it.  You can print a label using USPS software, then pay at post office but there's no way to do it via paypal.

PayPal multi order shipping (try it) lets you ship first class, parcel post, media mail, donkey cart, balloon flights, glass bottle in ocean, etc.

Your parcel/firstclass to canada or overseas can be paid for with a meter (and your meter discount) or regular stamps.  The rates are in the IMM.

This is likely because PayPal's policies require sellers to ship everything with tracking, or your seller protection is voided.

Delivery confirmation is available for all domestic postal services.  I have never had an issue with overseas first class mail not showing up either (nobody has hit my PayPal for it).  Sometimes it takes a month, but the barcode on the green customs form is scanned anyway.  Don't know how much help that will be.  It just shows you mailed SOMETHING.  The receipt from the post office shows the country it was posted to.

At any rate the post office is much better than paying fedex to carry small items (mail is faster) or parcels overseas (1/10 the cost.)

[Hak Foo]

One issue I notice with USPS is that they don't seem to identify an international registered envelope.

I got one from Turkey with a registration card stapled on the damned envelope, in the box, no signature, no doorbell.