New forward service from NZ Post: YouShop

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# 685196 12-Sep-2012 21:09

billgates:
Kyanar:

No, that's right actually. That's all-inclusive- the tax is the customs charges, which may or may not apply (this page explains that customs uses a formula called "CIF" to decide the value for the purposes of tax calculation, and that something worth about $250NZD has a chance of having a high enough CIF to incur the charges). YouShop does not quote for the potential GST/import duty, but will still charge it. So, basically, not a rip off at all. Just remove the "taxes" component (which is charged by customs, not them) and compare that.

USD$250 is ~ NZ$305. You can bring up to NZ$400 worth of goods incl shipping costs without paying any GST. Duty is another component which may or may not apply depending on the item. I have never been charged GST for goods under NZ$400 incl shipping via shipito or via amazon directly. Borderlinx seems to add the tax component which you cannot remove. Yes the shipping is cheaper than youshop but if you cannot remove the tax component then it's more expensive. I understand that if you declare a 50" Plasma for USD$300, customs will tell you to get lost and charge you GST accordingly but borderlinx seems not care and add the tax based on the category you have selected.

They estimate what you may be charged and show you there - you would pay it to customs if applicable, not them. And again, read what is written about CIF. More than just the value of the item is a factor. Also duty, shipping, insurance, and any other charges. I just confirmed with their live chat that the figure you see as tax there is an estimate of what customs will charge you, and that they do not charge it to you.

billgates

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# 685201 12-Sep-2012 21:26

Kyanar:

They estimate what you may be charged and show you there - you would pay it to customs if applicable, not them. And again, read what is written about CIF. More than just the value of the item is a factor. Also duty, shipping, insurance, and any other charges. I just confirmed with their live chat that the figure you see as tax there is an estimate of what customs will charge you, and that they do not charge it to you.

I just spoke with borderlinx on the phone. They rung me after filling out this callback form. The lady on the phone said that if the total cost of the goods reaches USD$250 incl shipping (she kept saying NZD$250), borderlinx will add the tax component on the payment screen regardless of what is inside the box that you purchased and this cannot removed. Also the US address they give is Ohio which is not a tax free state (5.5% is their rate).

Do whatever you want to do man.

Kyanar

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# 685202 12-Sep-2012 21:33

billgates:
Kyanar:

They estimate what you may be charged and show you there - you would pay it to customs if applicable, not them. And again, read what is written about CIF. More than just the value of the item is a factor. Also duty, shipping, insurance, and any other charges. I just confirmed with their live chat that the figure you see as tax there is an estimate of what customs will charge you, and that they do not charge it to you.

I just spoke with borderlinx on the phone. They rung me after filling out this callback form. The lady on the phone said that if the total cost of the goods reaches USD$250 incl shipping (she kept saying NZD$250), borderlinx will add the tax component on the payment screen regardless of what is inside the box that you purchased and this cannot removed. Also the US address they give is Ohio which is not a tax free state (5.5% is their rate).

Was it someone named Ola you spoke with? (I swear, they only have one customer service person). She told me that the "tax" component is what customs will charge you, the customer - and that Borderlinx doesn't charge taxes.

billgates

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# 685205 12-Sep-2012 21:39

Kyanar:

Was it someone named Ola you spoke with? (I swear, they only have one customer service person). She told me that the "tax" component is what customs will charge you, the customer - and that Borderlinx doesn't charge taxes.

Was british accent that's for sure. It looks like with borderlinx that if the order is below USD$250, tax is not added into your borderlinx payment screen but anything over, they add it to the payment screen which you cannot remove and that portion is handed to customs in NZ.

youshop is looking really good with it's shipping prices and no state tax in US :-)

Do whatever you want to do man.

Kyanar

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# 685214 12-Sep-2012 21:53

billgates:
Kyanar:

Was it someone named Ola you spoke with? (I swear, they only have one customer service person). She told me that the "tax" component is what customs will charge you, the customer - and that Borderlinx doesn't charge taxes.

Was british accent that's for sure. It looks like with borderlinx that if the order is below USD$250, tax is not added into your borderlinx payment screen but anything over, they add it to the payment screen which you cannot remove and that portion is handed to customs in NZ.

youshop is looking really good with it's shipping prices and no state tax in US :-)

I've just checked up again using the info you added :). Apparently they do charge you then pay customs, but if they overcharged you then they refund the difference after you send them the customs invoice. And if they undercharged you, they cover the difference between what they charged you and what it actually costs (or they refund you the amount you had to pay to release the package if you don't want to wait for them to pay the difference). Basically, they operate the same as Amazon.com.

Boeingflyer

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# 685239 12-Sep-2012 22:30

sidefx:
Jarno:
Believed to be at least one and a number of smaller incidents that could have turned out badly if left unchecked.

I admittedly just skimmed through that... but it doesn't seem to say anything conclusive about the batteries actually causing the crash or the emergency landing. It just notes the planes had li batteries on them.

And all the incidents seem to involve shipments\pallets of batteries, loaders dropping pallets, prototypes for electric cars, etc. A bit different to shipping a single tablet or phone I'd say!

A Boeing 747 freighter crashed in Dubai the other year because of batteries. Killed both pilots and everything on board went up in smoke. Someone had dropped a parcel when loading that contained batteries and didn't report it. From that drop the damaged battery started to smoke up just before take off. It was just after take off that the plane caught fire and crashed.

SaltyNZ

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# 685304 13-Sep-2012 07:34

Jarno:
SaltyNZ: How many planes have been downed by a burning battery anyway?

Believed to be at least one and a number of smaller incidents that could have turned out badly if left unchecked.

USPS prohibits shipping Lithium Ion batteries internationally.
UPS has restrictions (PDF) depending on various factors such as quantity and capacity.

So without careful management and examination of what exactly goes in each shipment, NZ Post may simply not be able to ship in goods with Lithium Ion batteries by air while following the rules.

---JvdL---

Interesting. Sounds like cargo handlers just need to be aware that they're moving bulk batteries and so they shouldn't drop them. The fact that cargo handlers have to be warned that dropping their cargo is a Bad Thing is somewhat more of a concern...

I'd say the risk of shipping a laptop or cell phone with it's battery still in a plastic bag is pretty slim all things considered: millions of them are shipped every day - mostly in the hands of travellers who are actually using them - and so far the only suspected incidents involve bulk battery shipments.

I expect you're right about NZ Post - it's easier to blanket ban anything that looks like it might have a lithium battery in it than try to second guess.

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jtbthatsme

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# 685318 13-Sep-2012 08:02

Further to an earlier post NZ Post will allow you to mail / courier a battery as listed as not allowed it just needs to be wraped / packaged separately as in not in the phone. I had to do this a few times when sending a phone back to a drop shipper for repairs.

Being a noob on sending things internationally am I reading right that $33 NZD to ship a 1kg or less item is considered cheap??? So if one was to buy a $150 USD gfx card you'd be looking at about $183 + $33 to get it back here. Might have to research some prices on newegg but still not overly sure how paying such high prices for shipping equates to huge savings.

Would it not just be cheaper to send to a friend or family member over there and have them post it back. Of course that's not an option for everyone but would it be cheaper???

Chainsaw

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# 685535 13-Sep-2012 13:03

"We are unable to accept anything worth over NZD$2,499"

Bugger.

SaltyNZ

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# 685566 13-Sep-2012 13:25

Chainsaw: "We are unable to accept anything worth over NZD$2,499"

Bugger.

It's alright, *I* will happily accept anything over NZD $2,499 you buy.

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freitasm

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# 685572 13-Sep-2012 13:29

Damn, importing that Ferrari got just a couple of thousand dollars more expensive.

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sidefx

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# 685574 13-Sep-2012 13:30

Fabian:

A Boeing 747 freighter crashed in Dubai the other year because of batteries. Killed both pilots and everything on board went up in smoke. Someone had dropped a parcel when loading that contained batteries and didn't report it. From that drop the damaged battery started to smoke up just before take off. It was just after take off that the plane caught fire and crashed.

The previously linked article seems to say that wasn't proved though:

The PRBA also noted that it has yet to be proved that lithium batteries caused two of the key accidents the FAA cited in its report, the 2006 UPS DC-8 fire in Philadelphia and the UPS 747 crash in Dubai. “The FAA assumes that ‘bulk shipments of lithium batteries (primary and secondary)….were likely contributors to two of the freighter fire accidents that occurred on U.S.-registered airplanes.’ This assumption is unfounded. In fact, the NTSB’s report on the 2006 UPS airplane incident does not identify any ‘bulk shipments’ (e.g., pallets) of lithium ion or lithium metal batteries on board the aircraft. While it is true there were several large consignments of lithium batteries on the UPS plane involved in the Dubai incident, there is nothing in the UAE GCAA reports that indicates bulk shipments of lithium batteries were ‘likely contributors’ to the accident.” The GCAA has not yet released its final report on this accident.

blair003

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# 685578 13-Sep-2012 13:38

jtbthatsme:

Would it not just be cheaper to send to a friend or family member over there and have them post it back. Of course that's not an option for everyone but would it be cheaper???

Presumably it would be cheaper because you are getting your family member to do something for free that is included as part of the price you pay for the service from NZ Post. But for the rest of us that don't have family living in the USA, NZD $33 for up to 1kg (if that's what it is) sounds reasonable enough.

Seems like a big deal given the news earlier this week (or last week?) with retailers complaining about the prevalence of on-line shopping and how it was hurting them. This will open that option up to the masses (who were not aware you could already get similar forwarding services from US based companies).

n4

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# 685579 13-Sep-2012 13:41

jtbthatsme: Further to an earlier post NZ Post will allow you to mail / courier a battery as listed as not allowed it just needs to be wraped / packaged separately as in not in the phone. I had to do this a few times when sending a phone back to a drop shipper for repairs.

Guess that rules out an iPhone then. Or an HTC One X, come to that...

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# 685580 13-Sep-2012 13:42

n4:

Guess that rules out an iPhone then. Or an HTC One X, come to that...

Awwww.... if you ask me real nice I can get you an iPhone from San Fran. YOU KNOW YOU WANT ONE.

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