LMII Order.

[ozwood]

Hi all ,

Good to be back , after the crash .I have just done an order with LMII for some tools ( not wood Tim ) and they want to send it Via FedEx but warn or possible Brokerage fees , Any body had any experiance , am I likely to have to pay, and if so how much?
I have stuff come from Stewwie macs via DHL and not had to pay extra , Whats your advice .

Ozwood .

[Gregmw]

I just had a couple of small orders (Fretboards ,Fretwire etc) delivered from LMII via FEDEX and didn't have any problems.In fact it was really quick- 2 Days.

Regards

Greg

[kiwigeo]

I've always used US Postal service option with LMI. Ive not used Fedex but others in here have had issues with excessive customs and clearance charges.

[Kim]

I would avoid Fedex completely unless the order is small. If you give them any chance to screw you for brokerage (which is not required at all if you use USPS), they will take it an them some. The old cliche that you only ever get what you pay for is doubly true with a lot of these private carriers, because with all their cooked up bullshit fees and add on's, you end up paying for what ever it was twice.

Cheers

Kim

[Paul B]

I got screwed by DHL on a stewmac order (delivery and customs clearance cost more than the order) I only go USPS now, it might tack on a few days longer, but I can buy a couple cases of beer by saving what DHL added.

[P Bill]

I just received orders from LMII ,stewmac and Bob Gollihur .Dhl ,fedex and usps were the carriers , none needed more money this end . All my orders under $300 . DHL and fedex took less than a week . USPS , Bob G ,took almost 2 weeks and was the first order placed . I was told this was because of increased buying from Oz is straining the system . Over on Ozbass Forum the guys are starting to bring in new and used basses .After we get all our supplies I'd like to see the dollar back at $ .85 .

[Kim]

I just received orders from LMII ,stewmac and Bob Gollihur .Dhl ,fedex and usps were the carriers , none needed more money this end . All my orders under $300 .

I believe the duty threshold is now set a $1000aud, that is the 'total' and must include the original purchase price of the item + any packaging and handling fees charged + any freight charged +any insurance + any other 'associated' cost with landing the consignment in Australia and this is all calculated in AUD. If your order happens to break that threshold and was sent via UPS/Fedex/DHL, they normally make a point of dutifully bringing your consignment to the attention of customs who are then obliged to charge a fee for a temporary import permit to cover your item, customs inspection fees, and customs duty. Now part of the process is that the item is not officially in Australia until it has been cleared by customs.

This means that in order for your item to enter the country, the carrier must act as your agent and pay the duty and fees on your behalf because that is their charter...and remember those 'associated' cost? Yep I believe the brokerage fees, that is the amount the carrier is going to charge you to act as your agent and an amount you cannot estimate until 'after' this has all taken place, will be added to the cost to land your item, so therefore, this amount will be included in the $1000aud threshold.....do you see where this is going yet? Aaahhaa, that is exactly why they were so keen to present your consignment to customs in the first place, so they could provide you with a 'real' service

To top it off, the carrier will now 'not' deliver your item to your door as was arranged when you bought the item and paid freight. Instead the carrier now just sends a card asking you to come and pick it up from their bond store. Yep, they hold your item to ransom until you come and pay all that duty, all those fees and all their brokerage charges......and oh, by the way, when you drive all the way up to the airport bring a full wallet with you because not only will you be paying for a lot more than you originally planned, you will also need to pay GST on top of everything......yes 'everything' the item, the freight, the insurance, the duty, the fees and their charges.......everything.

So the idea if you are game to use one of these carriers, is to be very careful about how much is in the box, because if they can get it up over the golden 1K, it is in their interest to do so. On the other hand you could simply use USPS who have an agreement with Australia Post to deliver via domestic parcel systems. Yes the threshold still stands but quite often minor breaches are over looked and there is definitely no ramping to score the brokerage cause you will simply get a card saying you have an item waiting at customs, you will still pay their fees and charges and duty, but no brokerage cause you are doing it yourself. The only down side with the AP/USPS arrangement is that insurance can be dodgy..eg;...it wasn't us it was them vicki verka and you end up with nothing.

I guess the golden rule is that there's always gonna be an element of Russian roulette involved when buying OS. Don't go over the 1K and make sure you have a 'good' buffer on your figures to avoid the unexpected if you plan to use anyone but USPS out of the USA. I have not used anyone but USPS since I got stung a few years back. But back then the threshold was only $200aud so it was a feeding frenzy for most of these carriers.

Cheers

Kim

[ozwood]

Thanks for all that info, very much appreciated .

Paul