After Delivery Fees? **ADVISORY!**

General Discounts and Deals
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Two weeks ago I received my order from Gear Best. It was supposedly coming through USPS who couldn’t find it until it eventually showed up here with Fedex. The package itself was all beat to hell but everything was in working order so, no big deal. Now I get this seven page bill from Fedex demanding duty taxes and fees. I’ve clipped two relevant pieces from these pages to show.

Fedex Billing Me - Copy
Fedex Billing Me - Copy.jpg1568×1064 506 KB

Not only do the listed fees not match from one page to the next but 20$ for the FDA? There is no way in hell I’m paying them a dime! Has anyone ever heard of this? What are they going to do if I ignore them?

UPDATE!

Thanks to all of the wonderful folks on here with their wealth of knowledge and a lot of poking around, I’ve learned that in this case, it’s not a scam. Fedex has paid these fees already on my behalf but their delivery department and their billing department are out of sync so that’s why I’m getting this bill weeks later. It sucks but they paid it in good faith so yes, I will pay them.

For those who didn’t know this could happen, I didn’t either. I’ve been ordering from overseas for years without ever seeing this, even from China. Given the recent news about hacking and scams I was skeptical but this does legitimately happen so here’s a couple bits of advice about it.

1 - Double check all the information in the invoice is accurate and that any website they’re directing you to is the authentic website for your package carrier. Look up the official phone number for your carrier to make sure the one on your bill is the same. If not the same, call the official one you looked up. If your carrier has no record of your invoice number, then the letter you got is probably a scam.

2 - The higher value your order is, the greater chance it will get pulled for inspection so if it’s possible, break your order into smaller bundles of under $ 200 value. The extra you might pay in shipping will still be less than these fees. (And a HELL of a lot less aggravating than knowing the FDA is getting any money off me.)

3 - If the invoice is legit but the info is inaccurate, the package carrier will tell you the steps to correct or amend the charges but don’t stiff your package carrier no matter how pissed you might be. They paid your bill in good faith and don’t deserve to be left out to dry.

4 - Be mindful that this can happen to anyone, with any package of any value. Is the savings of buying from China really worth it if your country is going to charge you 10-50% of the value to deliver it? It’s a gamble I will probably still make but now I know what can happen.

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oh my goodness is that a flat 20 fee , how screwed is that ? im sure since fda is federal if you dont pay they may take it out of your tax return if you get one , id check if they send things to collections even though its a small dollar amount that 20 dollars can quickly double

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You need to call them and tell them you will self clear your package and then fill out the customs forms and pay the taxes, the $20.00 is a processing fee they charge.

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Almost sounds like a freaking nuclear device :open_mouth:

thatsbullshit!

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I already tossed out the whole thing, lol. I do have page 1 and 3 scanned though. This seems like a shake down to me. First of all, according to Gear Best it was sent from China through USPS. I don’t know how Fedex got involved but that’s not my responsibility. Their list of which fees are being charged don’t even match. For all I know this is some kind of hacked fishing type of junk mail. I can scan the Fedex logo and send out bills too.

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Since I have never heard of them, I took a look at their site. Found this:

I’m thinking being based in an Asian country, couldn’t find out which one, they tried to ship via USPS, but it had to go through FedEx at some point. Probably to get on to a transpacific flight. FedEx might have required FDA approval (not entirely sure, but I think USPS has the same policy). What ever the case might be, I don’t think you’ll be able to fight it.

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Check this out.
https://www.cbp.gov/trade/basic-import-export/internet-purchases

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What was it declared as on the customs form? I think probably 99.99% of the vape stuff I purchase from China is declared as “Electronic Gadget”. That could possibly have something to do with it.

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All very true… I’ve always wondered what those ’ you may be responsible for unforeseen extra duty charges’ …were or some such nonsense, ? Perhaps this is that? But, I’m w you they’d be in my trash too! Haaa pfft

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I’ve always feared about these import duties :frowning:
I remember way before my wife and I got married, when we sent packages back and forth between between countries, we had to pay import duties on even the smallest items.

Here in the UK, I’ve looked around everywhere to find what taxes I had to pay if I bought from Gearbest or other foreign companies. My first purchases were only because even with taxes, it would still be a better deal than buying from a local shop. However, I didn’t have to pay anything and I never understood why.

Maybe Trump is cracking down on China, trying to keep business within the country? Have there been recent changes in import laws?
Might be good to try and find out with the proper authorities why the sudden change. Simply ignoring it may get you into more trouble, you don’t want a fine on top of the extra tax.

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Good question. I’ve been watching the news more since he got “elected” and I don’t recall any changes made to imports from China (or as Trump calls them Chiner). But the site posted earlier by Cutlass92 has a revision date of Feb. 2017, so maybe…

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It could be because my total was over 250$ or it could be a shakedown. It seems to me, if there was added expense in processing the package, I should have been notified when they made me sign for it. I’m suspicious though because I’ve ordered over 300$ from Heaven’s Gifts and didn’t get this. Also, as I said before the list of which fees are what, don’t match from one page to another. If it’s legit I’m sure they’ll send another letter. To be honest, I’m more afraid Fedex will refuse to deliver my cat litter from Chewy than I am of the fuckin’ FDA, lol.

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You already have the item, which is a bad time to try and get some money from someone. This looks like a scam. Actual fees are usually required to be paid before you can receive the item. Hmmm a new scam? Did they ask you to pay the fees with $25 Amazon Gift cards?

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It really does sound hokey doesn’t it? Even if it is Fedex trying to recoup a bill, they have already spent more than the thirty bucks getting that notice out. Would have been better to eat it and move on at that point. Is it a scam or just dumb and dumber? That is the question.

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No, it had an invoice that I was supposed to fill out my credit card info or a web site I could go to, I didn’t even look at the address. I could fish this all out of the garbage if it’s not soaked in coffee grounds by now, lol. This is my thought too, that it’s some kind of scam but they did have the name I used to order listed right. It wasn’t my real name but an authorized name through my Paypal. The card I had linked was a gift card which now has a balance of $1.27 so they can’t get it that way. If I get another letter I’ll keep it and post it.

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First off a bill after delivery seems fishy to me.

Now I know here (Belgium) they can stop every item from outside the EU. Then usually they ask you to provide proof of what you paid for it, if it’s below 22€ no fees, between 22€ and 150€ is a 15€ fee plus vat, above 150€ they can ask additional import duties and I think the processing fee is higher aswell (not sure about that last one). As far as I know this method is used in most off the EU

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I thought the online sales of electronic cigarettes is completely forbidden in Belgium?
Aren’t they just going to confiscate everything at customs?

It does sound like a scam, but just like it’s fishy that they sent a bill after delivery, it’s just as fishy that they knew about the package and what was in it.
Hence, if it were me, I wouldn’t have thrown the bills out, try to contact some people and find out what this is and why this was sent to you. Even if it’s just out of curiosity and if it’s a scam and they can find out who’s behind it, so much better.

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thank you for this as i’ll never buy from gear best. paypal is great for disputed claims. have you contacted them?

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Pure Luck :sunglasses:

The packages send from China doesn’t get declared or anything like that, instead it is a lottery of whether or nor they get opened and checked in customs. Had your package been opened in customs you would not only have had to pay VAT put also a ridiculously large processing fee similar to the OP.

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I wonder what will happen when governments across the globe catch up with globalization and realize what millions or billions of taxes they miss out on…

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