Customs costs and problems for Foreign Collectors

[LordAzrael]

I don't see it happening folks. The Statesiders are Sideshows biggest market. It is rightfully so that they get the better end of the stick, because its what's floating our most beloved Sideshow. Without the enormous support of the Statesiders we'd all have nothing to want.

Its a self fulfilling thing though creecher. If it costs anyone outside the US twice the price to buy their product then of course most of their sales will be within the US. I for one would like to see direct shipping from China. It might not be much cheaper but at a minimum it would be quicker. I would hope that it might be cheaper though because as you say the price of shipping from China to the USA is built into the price - but that's at bulk rates I suppose.

 

[Alice Adrenochrome]

It looks as if SSC has decided to ship Darth Maul and his probe droids separately (what ever the reason may be). Not only will this result in extra shipping costs, but the shipping fee ($29) for the droids will also be higher than the price of the product itself ($24.99)! How cool is that? Add a little extra for the government (yes, somehow we pay taxes on shipping, so that's an extra $5...), and it can't get cooler than that... I feel that SSC should really try to ship things together, especially if they where offered together.

I'm curious how SSC is going to handle the Jabba/Throne/Creature pack 'bundle'... It would indeed be stupid to receive Jabba, and having to wait for the throne and Salacious...

2007 should be the year of the "combined shipment initiative"!

 

[lcummins]

As many have pointed out before in numerous other threads, Sideshow is a US company and therefore anything shipped outside the US will cost more. Is it Sideshow's fault? No, I don't think so. Between the shipping companies and the Governments, the cost has risen dramatically in recent times. I have been buying and selling on eBay for several years and it used to be easy to ship to/from overseas (outside the US). Now days, it is a burden in paperwork and the cost just doesn't seem to make sense! And the larger, more expensive items that Sideshow is producing doesn't help. With the Post Office, there are limits to the size package that can be sent with each shipping option; many countries have a size limit of as little as 79 inches for length plus girth, which isn't a very big package. I sold my Predator Maquette to a friend of a board member and because of the size of the box, FedEx was about the only option. It cost over $500 in shipping alone and that didn't include any taxes or FedEx broker costs. I imagine that the total for everything came close to $2000. I feel sorry for them. But as you can see, I am not Sideshow and it still cost them a fortune to get it from the US. The only viable option I can see is to have additional warehouses in other countries, but as can be seen with the EU warehouse right now, that may just cause other problems.

 

[Gruff Old Bear]

I don't know whether this will help, but non-US Freaks may want to begin by ascertaining how your respective countries classify and assess import duty on Sideshow products. Sideshow may already be finding the cheapest way for you to receive their figures, or not. I don't know.

But ten years ago Toy Biz successfully sued US Customs in the Court of International Trade. US Customs was classifying X-Men action figures as dolls, which were subject to a 12% duty, rather than toys, which were assessed only 6.8% import duty. (I'm assuming duty was being charged when the figures were brought into the US from China.) Yes, US Customs sees that big a difference between dolls, defined as representing the human likeness, and toys. And the Court said that since X-Men weren't human, they weren't dolls.

So for those outside the US: do you know how your country classifies Sideshow figures? Whether a less onerous customs classification is possible if the authorities re-examine the issue? Whether your local representative can tell you where to write?

Apologies to anyone for whom this is old news.

 

[olvidadero]

I'm from Spain and I've been somewhat lucky so far. The only bad experience I had with customs was with PF Buffy. I got it from Red Planet Toys (cool store, recommended) for $224 but ended up paying $350.

Luckily there are great sellers that agree to lower the value of the item in the customs form. However, that conveys a risks not everyone is willing to make. So far, I've been lucky and I've avoided abusive customs rates, but it's still unfair how we non-US collectors buy one figure for the price others get 2 (I'm not turning over my anger towards you, even though it might seems so)

 

[pordey2]

Woohoo, I'm finally about to get my first big piece since Sauron last fall. I'm getting Weta's Superman Return Danger Averted. Shipping is only $128

 

[gambit]

Combined Shipping

I sold my Predator Maquette to a friend of a board member and because of the size of the box, FedEx was about the only option. It cost over $500 in shipping alone and that didn't include any taxes or FedEx broker costs. I imagine that the total for everything came close to $2000. I feel sorry for them. But as you can see, I am not Sideshow and it still cost them a fortune to get it from the US.

It was me BTW Lonnie, hey there

I understand that FEDEX costs incredibly high if you are not buying over a dealer and I am extremely happy with the agreement between SS and FEDEX for we are paying half of the normal shipment usually. (I would be paying around 280 $ for predator if I had bought from SS)

regardless, I agree with what ALice said above. It doesn't make sense to pay additional shipment for probe droids. Sideshow is a great company but I believe that they still need more planning on small issues like these to satisfy customers from NON-US countries.

 

[Nightwings]

You know what, the more stuff I get from Sideshow directly, the more I like their shipping. It might cost 5 to 10 bucks more than UPS but Fedex only charges me 8 dollars for a broker's fee compared to the 30 to 40 dollars per hundred dollars of item value UPS charges. The only cheaper option would be the post office but it's actually not much cheaper. Also, for what they charge for shipping I'm happy cause I get my stuff from the warehouse in 3 days. UPS and the post office can take 2,3 or more weeks for the same shipping price. As for customs, I can't blame them for that, that our government just looking to leach more money from our pockets. If I buy something from another country I don't think I should be paying our government sales taxes on that item.

 

[dr2red]

After receiving my Spooktacular prize via Fed ex Ground, costing half
the normal price for shipping, I have asked that all my packages be shipped
that way in the future. I hope to see a big savings that way and I am not in that big rush to get an item. Plus Salacious Crumb and Bib are being shipped
together to save cash as well.

Many thanks to the great customer service department at SS.

 

[Portugueezer]

Don´t get me started on import taxes!!:emperor

Pay around 30% over the total price of the piece. That´s right. I pay taxes on shipping.

 

[massf]

yep, me too...

I picked up my hard Hero Iron man regular and Stealth yesterday to find that I had to pay £21 (around $45) each for customs. Anything over a value of £36 if it's marked as a gift (or £18 if it's not), and they work out tax on the whole value of the item plus shipping!! So you end up paying custom charges on the shipping as well.

Talk about screwing you every which way you can

 

[Domer]

But no diffrence to direct SS ordering. Pay 17% and the Tax from the China - US import. That really sucks. Woulde be more clever to ship from China - UK and save some %, but only for the customer, which is the problem.

I had to pay 19% on the value, not shipping, of the Chrome Iron Man. But Customs secure the income of the seller in Portugal, UK or Germany.

 

[Portugueezer]

yep, me too...

I picked up my hard Hero Iron man regular and Stealth yesterday to find that I had to pay £21 (around $45) each for customs. Anything over a value of £36 if it's marked as a gift (or £18 if it's not), and they work out tax on the whole value of the item plus shipping!! So you end up paying custom charges on the shipping as well.

Talk about screwing you every which way you can

Yup.
We´ve got no luck... It´s not easy being an European collector..

 

[insomniac]

Does anyone in Canada have an example of how much it cost to have a statue shipped directly from Sideshow? ie shipping cost, duties, brokerage fees, taxes etc...

 

[Havok]

Just saw this thread, and all I can say is wow. I had no idea the costs were so much for the international collectors out there. I feel for you guys, no one should have to go through that much of a hassle to get their items.

 

[Kuzeh]

Last time I checked, in Mexico, you have to pay customs a minimum of 150% up-charge from items "made in China", it doesn't matter if it's a U.S. product because Mexico doesn't have a free trade agreement with China.
Pretty lame IMO...

 

[Darth_Maul]

So far i haven`t faced any problem with my customs i will know for sure in a few months with my iron man 1:1 life size bust.i`m getting worried about the charge,i`ve mentioned it before in another thread that here in Greece they charge whatever they want. i was afraid when i bought a sim from pjam that they will charge me a tax penalty but i was lucky! i know many retailers here in Greece that they are facing problem with the customs since they started to run their stores,thats why we can`t buy lifesize swords.one friend of mine bought a katana from a store in U.S. and he got a call from the police station,they started asking questions like : what you want to do with the katana and things like that, but when he showed them pics from his room they realized that he is a collector.Maybe it sounds very funny but guys really that`s the truth,the collectible area here in Greece and maybe in other countries too its years far behind and we don`t have any office or a service to have an estimate value about a collectible statue.lets face it we aren`t lucky enough to buy things directly from a retailer at the prices of sideshow and this is bad,there are so many pieces that i want but really i can`t afford the total cost.if the european warehouse of ss can find a way for us i`ll be glad and i think the most of the european collectors like me.i hope this post to be readed by someone in ss.

 

[Batman29]

My sympathy is with you guys outside North America. It make shipping within NA look like a walk in the park with their shipping costs.

It does say a lot that you are still collecting with those barriers.

 

[vader70450]

I just erecently got a bill from UPS for an item I got from Canada. $50.00 bucks in customs fess....I know its not as much as you guys...but this is a first I ever got one of these and I ship and receive alot of ^^^^....What I dont get is why charge you guys all that money...where is it all going?

 

[jkno]

Shipping to Romania costs a bit as well. I usually try getting my packages sent Express Mail and that costs. At least the customs officer is my student