Question Scuba Gaskets order - duty payment required???

[BoltSnap]

Paid the god damned charge.

What is interesting, only $2.69 of that amount is the actual tax, and $17 is DHL's "duty tax processing" fee.

So, f..k DHL.

That's normal and is relatively inexpensive compared to what they charge in Europe. I have to pay 40 Euros for customs handling to couriers when I send equipment for servicing or even warranty replacements. Again, get over it and count your blessings.

 

[Scuba-74]

That's because you don't seem to get the point that foreign vendors aren't responsible for your internal mess or government polices. You keep insisting that somehow the outside vendor is supposed to figure out what your government is doing inside its borders. You are also insisting that they put labels all over their website telling you what your government will charge you, the buyer/importer, and look into their crystal ball to give a quote for that part. I buy from all over the US and Europe, and no one from my vendors does for me what you seem to be insisting they do for you. This point was made several times by others here, but you seem not to accept it and want it your way. Get over it.

What I find hilarious, is that you (and some other's, but mostly you) have confirmed in your own posts, that you have to pay it where you live, but at the same time feel obligated to remind the US folks that we have "the problem", "the devil within", "the furher", or whatever else you can come up with being salty at the US government. Make up your mind, is it normal or not, lol. And let as worry about our internal issues, this post isn't about them.

 

[happy-diver]

What I find hilarious

Is the at least ten dives worth of energy you've expended on whining
Buy elsewhere before you mess it up for the I can't buy parts whiners

 

[BoltSnap]

What I find hilarious, is that you (and some other's, but mostly you) have confirmed in your own posts, that you have to pay it where you live, but at the same time feel obligated to remind the US folks that we have "the problem", "the devil within", "the furher", or whatever else you can come up with being salty at the US government. Make up your mind, is it normal or not, lol. And let as worry about our internal issues, this post isn't about them.

It is your internal problem, not theirs. You figure out how to deal with it, not the overseas vendor. Tax or no tax, that's not their job, overseas vendor, to figure it out for you.

At the end, do you want cheese to go with your whine?

 

[Scuba-74]

That's because you don't seem to get the point that foreign vendors aren't responsible for your internal mess or government polices. You keep insisting that somehow the outside vendor is supposed to figure out what your government is doing inside its borders. You are also insisting that they put labels all over their website telling you what your government will charge you, the buyer/importer, and look into their crystal ball to give a quote for that part. I buy from all over the US and Europe, and no one from my vendors does for me what you seem to be insisting they do for you. This point was made several times by others here, but you seem not to accept it and want it your way. Get over it.

And again, you missed the point completely, that the foreign vendor in this case knew exactly what I will be charged with, no crystal ball required, they just chose to hide it from me.

Another very simple point you missed, is that this is the only time it happened so far, in my experience. And unless it happens over and over again with other vendors, you can get blue in the face by invoking MAGA, you won't convince me that it is normal practice now.

 

[BoltSnap]

And again, you missed the point completely, that the foreign vendor in this case knew exactly what I will be charged with, no crystal ball required, they just chose to hide it from me.

Another very simple point you missed, is that this is the only time it happened so far, in my experience. And unless it happens over and over again with other vendors, you can get blue in the face by invoking MAGA, you won't convince me that it is normal practice now.

I guess that this means that you really want cheese to go with your whine.

Enjoy your new toys and go diving before it gets too cold there.

 

[wdeutsch]

And again, you missed the point completely, that the foreign vendor in this case knew exactly what I will be charged with, no crystal ball required, they just chose to hide it from me.

ScubaGaskets definitely knew that you would be paying for an import tariff and may have even known how much it was going to be on the day you ordered your stuff. However, it's a BIG ask for them to incorporate that into their point-of-sale software.

Condsider that they probably ship to over 100 countries, with more couriers than just DHL. Any country on any day and any courier on any day can change their tariffs/fees. So, the time required to keep up with that number of combinations is just not compatible with a low-overhead operation like ScubaGaskets. Their prices are low, in large part, because they avoid overhead by not having distribution networks, international warehouses, and import/export expert staff.

Yes, it sucks that we in the US have lost our free perk of being able to buy internationally and not deal with the costs/paperwork associated with that, but it IS the new normal per current administration policty. I'm sure you're not seeing it from all vendors because some have chosen to eat the costs in the name of keeping US customers happy. Others have ways around it of they're big enough. ScubaGaskets has chosen the low-cost way of dealing with it (for them) - probably so they can keep costs lower for their global customer base.

This should not have been a surprise to anyone. It was all over the news for a solid month and a half before it happened and was even discussed here in a couple threads. It sucks for those of us who were used to getting a free ride on duty. I'm sorry you got shafted with an unexpected bill. That sucks.

Question, though: With the added tariff/processing cost, were the kits you bought more, less, or the same as buying them from a brick and mortar dealer here in the US, or having your local shop do the work?

 

[tursiops]

But does the seller even know this?

I'm with ScubaGaskets on this one.

ah. I'm with Scuba-74. If Scuba Gaskets knows enogh to say it on social media, then they know enough to put it on their websie/point-of-sale. They are at best being lazy, at worst being misleading.

 

[Scuba-74]

Question, though: With the added tariff/processing cost, were the kits you bought more, less, or the same as buying them from a brick and mortar dealer here in the US, or having your local shop do the work?

It's hard to answer that, as the items I bought are kind of obscure. They are also 100% unnecessary, lol, so I would not have bought them from the brick and mortar store. What I can tell you, is that I would not have bought them, had I known about this additional fee.

To elaborate more, I amassed just over 30 euro worth of, frankly, crap, just to get over their minimal order requirement. Then right on top of that, was a $32 or so shipping fee. Even at that point I thought about cancelling, and had I known about $20 or so additional fee I would not have bought it, for sure.

 

[wdeutsch]

To elaborate more, I amassed just over 30 euro worth of, frankly, crap, just to get over their minimal order requirement. Then right on top of that, was a $32 or so shipping fee. Even at that point I thought about cancelling, and had I known about $20 or so additional fee I would not have bought it, for sure.

I hear you on that front. I struggle with the balance of trying to make DIY make sense financially vs. recognizing that it's an expensive hobby and sometimes I gotta just pay the piper. It's frustrating when I make a calculated choice and find out my assumptions were wrong. I think we're in for a rough ride while things settle out with recent policy changes.