Question Scuba Gaskets order - duty payment required???

[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.

 

[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?

I did some quick research though, so we can compare apples to apples.

In September, I bought Apeks 1st and 2nd kits from another online vendor for:
1st: $28.95
2nd: $16.95
Shipping: $11.95
Total: $57.85

Quick look at ScubaGaskets produces the following numbers:
1st: 29.99 euro
2nd: 14.99 euro
Shipping: 31 euro
Tax: 18 euro
Total: 93.98 euro

I hope that answers your question.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I sold my scubagaskets regulator set just because I knew getting parts was going to be a PITA.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

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.

You are of course welcome to your opinion, but your expectations are unreasonable IMO, especially for an OUS vendor.

 

[tursiops]

This is what ScubaGaskets posted on their FAcebook sie on Sept 5:

Important Update for Our US Customers

Dear ScubaGaskets Family in the USA

,​

As global supply chain conditions remain unpredictable and recent changes in import regulations begin to take effect, we strongly encourage all of our valued American partners to plan ahead and consider placing larger or consolidated orders in the coming weeks.​

Why now?​

Avoid unexpected delays caused by spare part shortages​

Ensure you have enough stock to keep operations running smoothly​

Take advantage of our optimized shipping and customs processing methods, designed to minimize your overall landing costs​

We're fully committed to helping you stay ahead of any disruptions—both in terms of inventory and expenses—so you can continue focusing on what you do best.

Have questions about bulk ordering or delivery times? Our team is here and ready to assist.​

Order smart. Stay stocked. Dive smooth.​

But nothing on their website, where they actually sell stuff. Hardly full disclosure, and not vey helpful at best. I am unimpressed.

 

[macado]

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?

I can answer that. In some cases ordering from ScubaGaskets is more expensive unless you're buying service kits and parts in high enough quantities to qualify for their bulk discount. The newly added duty fees make things not such a great deal anymore but some of us don't really have many good options. Buying bulk or doing a much larger order will help offset this a little bit.

The issue is most US brick and mortar (aka traditional dive shops) will not sell Apeks service kits or parts to end-users so most of us are forced buy third-party kits or gray market kits from eBay or other online vendors.

There used to be several other vendors in Europe that would ship Apeks to the United States but most have stopped doing this (it violates their dealer agreement) or as mentioned earlier if they're shipping via DHL you'll also get hit with similar tariffs.

I've ordered scuba and electronic parts from 4 other vendors that shipped DHL in the past month and have paid similar duty fees, again not unique to ScubaGaskets.

 

[Badger7]

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

For what it's worth, this is a completely false assumption. No one, including the vendor, knows exactly which HTS code would ultimately be applied to each line item of your invoice when processed through US customs for tariff calculation, nor would they know exactly how much DHL would charge you for processing US customs clearance on your behalf. If they would have taken a guess, and were inevitably wrong, would you not have tried to hold them liable for the difference? There are 195 countries in the world. Is it more reasonable for a vendor to try to keep track of tariff regulations for each of them, or for their customers to have a general idea of what their own country and import agent is going to charge them for import duties and processing fees? What do you think your scuba gaskets would cost if they had an entire team of global tariff specialists on staff?

We're now in a scenario where imports of goods to the US valued less than $800 now have a import duty and a filing requirement. DHL isn't going to process your paperwork for free. I'm thankful that they'll do it at all. Imagine you had to submit the import paperwork personally and pick it up from a customs warehouse yourself once released.

I'm probably not the only one who would appreciate it if you stopped trying to drag an organization attempting to sell affordable consumable items through the mud for your import duty costs that are outside of their control. If enough people make it too much trouble for small overseas vendors and DHL to get your goods through US Customs, they'll both just stop doing it, then where are you going to get your apeks rebuild kits?

 

[Scuba-74]

For what it's worth, this is a completely false assumption.

Completely, huh? If you read all of the 3 first posts on the first page of this thread, you'll see a screenshot from their FB account where they show exactly what those costs are. They've repeated that in an email to me yesterday.

I'm probably not the only one who would appreciate it if you stopped trying to drag an organization attempting provide affordable consumable items through the mud for your import duty costs that are way outside of their control.

Well, thank you for your opinion, but first of all, I am not dragging anyone through the mud. If I have done so, please show where. I don't appreciate your false accusations. Secondly, as a consumer, it is my right to share my experience, negative or positive. I suggest that you speak for yourself and let others decide if this information is useful to them or not.

 

[BoltSnap]

To all of the lovely people from MA (heck, even RI), next time I fly home to Boston, I'll bring you whatever kits you need from SG or anyone else in the EU. I'll even include something special from Libya.

This includes @Scuba-74