Question Scuba Gaskets order - duty payment required???

[Scuba-74]

you must not be in the dive industry.... all of the Huish brands have been extraordinarily hard to get parts for at the dealer level since Covid, I could not in good conscience recommend anyone buy Zeagle regulators, or anything else from Huish because of that. It has been an absolute nightmare to get parts kits or heaven forbid any replacement parts from them. Moreover, you can't buy parts kits from them directly anyway so if you're in the US, buy from companies like Deep6, Dive Rite, or Poseidon who are actually supporting end-user service....

Here is my list of Zeagle pros, in the order of importance, to me, to prove my point:

- Octo-Z is un-screwable from the corrugated hose. What other brand offers that? I'm genuinely curious. My BC bladders live decades longer than others because of that
- Octo-Z is compatible with SP and Atomic hoses. Then again, so are their combo-inflators, but are they un-screwable from the corrugated hose?
- Same 1000, 2000, 7000, etc, part kits fit most if not all stages, without guesswork what fits and what doesn't, since I started ordering them
- These part kits are available everywhere I look
- Exceptional durability and modularity of BCs

So, what you, "being in the dive industry", have to say against that?

 

[tbone1004]

That is not true at all, NOT AT ALL!! I have no issues buying anything from them, products or parts. This may have been true during COVID times, just like other vendors, but it hasn't been an issue with them for a very long time. In fact, it wasn't an issue during COVID either, perhaps some delays, but they were resolved within a reasonable time.

If you want to make a plug for other vendors, go ahead, but don't spread false information that is not even remotely true about vendors you don't like or don't support. Not fair and totally unprofessional.

Huish as a whole had major stocking issues as recently as this summer, and they were prevalent for the last 5 years. I do a lot of work with a Huish dealer locally and it was a major struggle, they weren't the only ones but they were arguably the worst offender, this is well documented on here. It was more of a being owned by Private Equity issue than an actual covid issue, but that's a separate discussion. Oceanic was probably hit the worst out of the lot, but even getting parts for Atomics were very problematic in the US. You may not have had an issue abroad, but there was nearly no inventory at the distribution level for years, and not just on parts, new kit as well.

@Scuba-74 my issues with recommending Zeagle stem from the PE issues and Huish, it's not a knock on their products. When I am asked what I recommend, the products themselves are rarely the topic of discussion, it's all about how the brand is managed in a particular region. I have fundamental issues with the way Huish manages their brands and as such I can't recommend any of them. Obviously your mileage varies and that's fine, but Zeagle is a far cry from what it once was.

 

[pisauron]

My country is suffering from all kinds of import taxes for decades. Ordering from Scubagasket was once painful and expensive experience.

But then we found out that if you write at the comments box: "Please write that the order cost 60$ on the package"

You get almost 0 tax

Sorry for the un-ethical tip.

 

[BoltSnap]

My country is suffering from all kinds of import taxes for decades. Ordering from Scubagasket was once painful and expensive experience.

But then we found out that if you write at the comments box: "Please write that the order cost 60$ on the package"

You get almost 0 tax

Sorry for the un-ethical tip.

The Chinese would do this for you; they will even ask you if you want a "customized" invoice before you even ask them. Major EU and NA brands won't even talk about it. Minor players, perhaps.

 

[Scared Silly]

Taxes are calculated on the total cost including shipping costs not just the goods cost.

The duty/tariffs are on the cost of the goods.

I'm NOT on board with absolving ScubaGaskets of any responsibility; they have chosen the easy path of just letting the end customer pay the bill instead of working out a way to ease the pain. It demonstrably can be done, as Aliexpress has shown.

The issue is one of scale. Aliexpress is huge, ScubaGaskets is small. Get back to us when you run a retail business the size of ScubaGaskets and ship internationally.

A couple of additional comments, some worth noting again and again. ScubaGasketsis selling worldwide, people cannot expect them to deal with each country's import laws. That is for the customer to figure out. SB is US centric and sometimes the nativity shows. This thread is a good example.

Years ago I imported my UW camera rig, its value was way over the de minimis limit which at the time was $200. I called the customs office and figured out the right classifications for everything. The seller listed that in the invoice right along with the value. I received the gear with no duty.

The point being, do your due diligence before buying!! Anyone surprised by the additional costs is either not paying attention or has been living underwater for the summer.

Also for decades it has been well known that one should not ship with UPS, DHL, FedEx, etc because they charge exorbitant fees for collecting duty, regardless of the amount of the duty. Shipping via the national post avoids the fees, but is slower.

 

[madamimadam]

I'm not convinced folks in other countries deal with it regularly.

We do.

My parents and a lot of friends are still in the old country, and I've never heard of them having to pay import taxes on small purchases after the fact.

Just because you've never heard of something doesn't mean it doesn't exist or happen.

There are huge international distributors, like Aliexpress and similar ones, that shield the end customer from having to deal with it, and I've never heard about people paying import taxes on something bought on, say, eBay. I can't speak for the whole wide world or how each small online store works, but in general I'm not aware of that happening where I am from.

Dive Gear Express in Florida has a section of their FAQ and another whole page dedicated to international customers and what they can expect to pay—after they've paid for their order and shipping—once their shipments arrive in-country:

and here: Import Duties and Taxes

 

[Zef]

I am curio

...In the old country,...

I am curious, what country are you originally from?

-Z

 

[Jim Lapenta]

When I was still selling gear, 50% or better of my business was overseas and in Canada. At times, it was a pain to fill out the customs paperwork.
One thing that helped me was that many of my customers in Asia were on US military bases, and shipping to them was no different than sending it across town. But more than a few were not. I always took the time to find the regulations in the countries where I was shipping to and inform the buyer, as best I could, what they would be looking at, as far as customs, brokerage fees, duties, etc.
I did not always get it right on the nose but managed to get close. And I would often let them know to budget for a little extra. I sent to some places where the customer would let me know that if they paid a few bucks to the right person, it would get processed faster.
But hey, that's on them.
I would not want to do that now. I'm glad I'm out of the business. Tariffs are not small business friendly as I am hearing from friends who are still bringing in products. It's not so bad with the lines they carry that have distributors in the US. I know that HOG had to make adjustments to prices but the individual shops and instructors don't have to deal with the customs paperwork.
Other items, such as drysuits and items like Shearwater computers, are feeling the pain because the instructor or shop buys directly from the manufacturer.
Add to that, the uncertainty of what the tariff will be, in some cases day to day or week to week depending on the mood of a toddler with a dirty diaper, and they may have to eat a significant amount of money or pass it on to the customer. After they though they had paid in full.
I work in metals manufacturing and it's an uncertain time for the company. We don't know what the costs of materials will be weeks out. That used to be pretty stable. Some of the items we make have 3-month lead times. So there's a guessing game going on. We might quote the customer a price based on material costs now. And due to supply issues and our own storage capacity, we might need to wait two weeks to get a load of stainless in, and the price jumps. So our account execs need to go back to the customer and tell them that the quote was no good. This is the new one. Many understand. But a few have not and canceled significant orders.
And don't even get me started on the orders that are in production and then canceled because the trade agreement with that country was just flushed because of the same whims of that toddler.

 

[evandroairton]

To U.S. fellows, just recieved an email form SG, and it say at the end:

A note for all US friends and customers: Since 29th of August 2025 all parcels coming from EU to USA are subjected to custom clearance. Only available shipping option for US orders is via DHL (flat rate 31 euro make the most of it and order all you need).

 

[lowwall]

Don't do it. He'll ahve to pay duty on it.

Gifts worth up to $100 do not require payment of duties.

To qualify, the shipping form has to show the contents and value, the purpose should be entered as "gift", It has to be from a private person to a private person (sender can't be a merchant), and the package should be marked with "unsolicited gift".

Enjoy your spontaneous gift giving.