Need advice about Customs and international shipping

[jfraymond]

Well I figure we have enough vendors on this site that purchase or aquire parts from oversee companies that i need to know What i have to do to get my stuff that i ordered.

I purchased a automatic Mahjong table online from a chinese manafacturer this last June as a birthday present for my wife. Needless to say It was a nightmare trying to communicate with these people ( at one point I was convinced I had been scammed and was gonna file a report through my bank that handled the international bank transfer). Anyway they finnally gave me a tracking number that was to the shipper (literally a "slow boat from china") and after getting multiple faxes from said shipper about various inspections, stages, ect to let this container into the country i Finnally get a fax this morning that it is ready for pick-up.

So in the instructions it says I need to pay the fee's (I cant even imagine how any imports can actually be sold cheaper with the list of govt fee's list i have) Anyway it also asks for a "endorsed bill of lading and request" , to notify my customs broker for customs clearance and file with US customs and Border protection. WTF is all this crap?

 

[JohnRobHolmes]

Never went through all that with mine. Who did they use to ship?

JRH

 

[jfraymond]

King Freight, but it says its location is now southwest freight.
I just fired off a email to the original manufacturer asking what the deal is but if past history is any indicator it will be days before i get a reply and I will probably miss the "free time" period, what ever that is.

 

[JohnRobHolmes]

can you contact the freight holder that has it now?

 

[jfraymond]

can you contact the freight holder that has it now?

yeah I'm looking up their number right now.

 

[jfraymond]

Imagine that....all i get is the answering machine....rofl

 

[JohnRobHolmes]

Insist on EMS, DHL, or UPS next time.

 

[jfraymond]

Insist on EMS, DHL, or UPS next time.

Yeah thats what I'm thinking.....cept in this case I think the shipping on 6 crates worth would be more than the items....lol

 

[JohnRobHolmes]

shipping is normally more than the item from china.

 

[John]

You will need to get the Bill of Lading released. The only person that can do that is the manufacturer/shipper. They can release it by email or fax to the customs department.

You will also need a commercial Invoice from the shipper/seller. A receipt showing what you paid, less shipping from overseas.

You will need a customs broker or a representative who can process the shipment through customs. Best to contact the freight company, as they will be able to assist you with the proper forms.

There are some handling fee's, bond fee, duty fee's and taxes that you end up having to pay. Toys are somewhat duty free here in the US, so not sure if your product falls under that category or another duty free one.

To give you an example of fee's, I pay just under $400 for a full 40ft container to get through customs. The container contains hobby and toy products, so there is no duty fee's, but if your shipment is small, all the fee's totaled up should not be too much. You will also have to pay for shipping from the dock to your home or business. Again, shouldn't be too expensive if your product is relatively small and can fit on standard size pallets.

 

[jfraymond]

You will need to get the Bill of Lading released. The only person that can do that is the manufacturer/shipper. They can release it by email or fax to the customs department.

You will also need a commercial Invoice from the shipper/seller. A receipt showing what you paid, less shipping from overseas.

You will need a customs broker or a representative who can process the shipment through customs. Best to contact the freight company, as they will be able to assist you with the proper forms.

There are some handling fee's, bond fee, duty fee's and taxes that you end up having to pay. Toys are somewhat duty free here in the US, so not sure if your product falls under that category or another duty free one.

To give you an example of fee's, I pay just under $400 for a full 40ft container to get through customs. The container contains hobby and toy products, so there is no duty fee's, but if your shipment is small, all the fee's totaled up should not be too much. You will also have to pay for shipping from the dock to your home or business. Again, shouldn't be too expensive if your product is relatively small and can fit on standard size pallets.

Thanks!!!! ... that is what i needed to know.....lol....hopefully i can get the manufacturer to send those items quickly. since it takes 6 crates for this order I'm not gonna hold my breath on the cheap shipping from dock to house.

 

[microgoat]

what the hell is an automatic mah-johnng table?