Sideshow supplying incorrect customs information to Fed Ex on sale items / discounts

[Dankir]

Especially the way the CAD is compared to USD I'm only buying from Canadian sellers. I buy all my stuff from Starbase Collectibles right now. But to be honest the absolute cheapest method for Hot Toys right now are asian sellers who offer free shipping on eBay.

I bought Igor for 459.99 + free shipping. I've been on eBay for 14 years and never paid duty on anything I've ever bought from Asia. Granted that some asian sellers are scam artists, I had bought an Igor earlier for 369.99 from an account that was stolen, got my money back in the end so it was all good.

With big characters like Hulk, Ultron, 1/4 scale Mark 43 and Hulkbuster next year I don't want to pay duties any of that ****. Yes my seller is incorporating some of that into the amount he's charging me, it still works out to be cheaper in the end. At least until the CAD goes back up in value.

AoU War Machine is the only figure I'm getting from SSC direct. I'm getting Stealth Mark 7 from Popcultcha and pretty sure I won't pay any duties on it.

 

[Asta]

.....

 

[CAhobbit]

Just happened again with Fed-ex.
This was NOT a local custom issue. The custom fees were calculated correctly based on the final figure that Fedex were using.

It was incorrect price and shipping information given to Fed-ex, no inclusion of discount or that the item cost supplied already included shipping.

I ordered a Hot Toys "Baby Groot" figure for my son. Using discount points it cost me $55.88 including shipping from Sideshow.

Fed-Ex calculated my duty on the full non discounted price AND added the shipping again on top.

Totalling euro97.44, that's over $100!!!!! Before they added duty.

Alex? Sideshow? Whoever is in charge? you need to do something about this immediately, my last two orders from you have been the same. Something is obviously going wrong in this process. And Fedex get their figures from you?

This is not about local customs or duty, it's about the figures that FedEx are receiving.
Now I have to enter into another two weeks of emails with them, disputing the price of the item and shipping.

1: It's just not good enough guys.
2: I recommend everyone double check that Fedex bill and ask for a full breakdown of the cost.

As I stated above earlier in the thread…

A pre-clearence document with the full retail price, and at the request of our customers (many years ago), a customized commercial invoice are transmitted/supplied to customs, which contains the full retail price, discount applied/final cost actually paid, and the shipping cost. We've confirmed that all these forms are filled out according to custom requirements. Both forms are transmitted electronically to the appropriate custom agencies upon shipping an item outside of the U.S.

If you find that you have a customized invoice that does not have this information (retail price, price you paid, and ship cost), then please email me with a scan of your document so that we can investigate further (link to my email can be found above).

Important notes: Customs offices ONLY require the actual retail price of an item but at our customers requests (many years ago) we began to supply the commercial invoice, so we transmit both documents to custom offices. Of course, this means many may configure fees off of the retail price because they consider this the ultimate value of the item even though we send a customized commercial invoice properly filled out with the price paid, etc. It is ultimately customs decision based on the laws of each country as to what price they will base taxes they will be charge on imported items.

With that all said...I'm so sorry to hear that some are still having issues with the custom fees . My offer is still stands though….please feel free to email me with scans (must be under 5MB in size) of incorrect commercial invoices for recent orders that are said to be filled out incorrectly, your name and order number and I can get this proof into the right folks hands to review.

My email

-SideshowAlex

 

[Rorywan]

As I stated above earlier in the thread…

A pre-clearence document with the full retail price, and at the request of our customers (many years ago), a customized commercial invoice are transmitted/supplied to customs, which contains the full retail price, discount applied/final cost actually paid, and the shipping cost. We've confirmed that all these forms are filled out according to custom requirements. Both forms are transmitted electronically to the appropriate custom agencies upon shipping an item outside of the U.S.

If you find that you have a customized invoice that does not have this information (retail price, price you paid, and ship cost), then please email me with a scan of your document so that we can investigate further (link to my email can be found above).

Important notes: Customs offices ONLY require the actual retail price of an item but at our customers requests (many years ago) we began to supply the commercial invoice, so we transmit both documents to custom offices. Of course, this means many may configure fees off of the retail price because they consider this the ultimate value of the item even though we send a customized commercial invoice properly filled out with the price paid, etc. It is ultimately customs decision based on the laws of each country as to what price they will base taxes they will be charge on imported items.

With that all said...I'm so sorry to hear that some are still having issues with the custom fees . My offer is still stands though….please feel free to email me with scans (must be under 5MB in size) of incorrect commercial invoices for recent orders that are said to be filled out incorrectly, your name and order number and I can get this proof into the right folks hands to review.

My email

-SideshowAlex

Do you not think that someone from Sideshow should talk to someone at FedEx about what is happening Alex?
FedEx get their info from you, whoever is at fault it's happening between Sideshow and your shipping service provider in this case FedEx? There must be a clearer foolproof way of ensuring FedEx have the correct figure to use for duty purposes?

This has nothing to do with calculating custom duties, both my cases duty fees were calculated correctly, just on completely the wrong sales and shipping cost?

 

[CAhobbit]

Do you not think that someone from Sideshow should talk to someone at FedEx about what is happening Alex?
FedEx get their info from you, whoever is at fault it's happening between Sideshow and your shipping service provider in this case FedEx? There must be a clearer foolproof way of ensuring FedEx have the correct figure to use for duty purposes?

This has nothing to do with calculating custom duties, both my cases duty fees were calculated correctly, just on completely the wrong sales and shipping cost?

Please feel free to send me documentation and I can get it in to the right folks hands for review. All info passed along to FEDEX and UPS has been verified as being correct for items (i.e.: We send the full retail price (this is 100% a requirement), shipping cost, and discounts applied) but I'm always more than happy to send along invoices from customers that believe they have an incorrect invoices filled out.

Unfortunately we find that discounts are totally ignored from time to time (even though that information is passed along) and the custom fees incurred by international customers will be based on the full retail price and ship cost.

-SideshowAlex

 

[VincentVegaFFF]

Got a call today saying that my Robocop I used rewards points on and only paid $130 US total for has a customs charge of almost $70 due at the door tomorrow. Clearly I've been charged based on the full $300 value of the figure so for Canadians there's still a problem though without having the customs slip in hand I can't say who exactly is at fault.

 

[MR Regan]

Got a call today saying that my Robocop I used rewards points on and only paid $130 US total for has a customs charge of almost $70 due at the door tomorrow. Clearly I've been charged based on the full $300 value of the figure so for Canadians there's still a problem though without having the customs slip in hand I can't say who exactly is at fault.

Unfortunately this is why I'm not ordering from sideshow again, I'm sick of getting charged the incorrect amount, Sideshow says it customs fault customs says its sideshows fault, if this is the case why not just put the cost I actual paid on the invoice and not what the retail price is. This way you can't confuse them.
all I know is my wallet is taking the hit.

 

[Rorywan]

This has nothing to do with customs. Customs in each country will add whatever % of the number they are given into the total.
Or FedEx do it themselves and bill you directly.

The issue is the figure/number that is being used to calculate the duty fees. Their is a miscommunication happening. And while I appreciate Alex coming on here and offering a helping hand, i really do. It's still happening to their customers. It's between them and Fedex to get it sorted out. Not us as customers.

IMO.

 

[Rorywan]

Please feel free to send me documentation and I can get it in to the right folks hands for review. All info passed along to FEDEX and UPS has been verified as being correct for items (i.e.: We send the full retail price (this is 100% a requirement), shipping cost, and discounts applied) but I'm always more than happy to send along invoices from customers that believe they have an incorrect invoices filled out.

Unfortunately we find that discounts are totally ignored from time to time (even though that information is passed along) and the custom fees incurred by international customers will be based on the full retail price and ship cost.

-SideshowAlex

So I decided to follow this up out of principal with Fedex.

This morning I got this reply, Alex could you tell us what you think of this?
I may take you up on your kind offer to look into this.

What they are saying is this.

Sideshow discounts are not relevant. That duty & fees are calculated on the catalogue price unless the discounted price is available to all.
Now, I've never heard of anything like this before, it sounds incorrect. I've been shipping and ordering for 15 years, you always pay duty on what your retail price plus shipping is.


Does this mean that Sideshow discounts are useless to customers outside US?
Seems they are now saying it hasn't been a mistake at all. I call foul.
It doesn't make sense to me?














"Dear Mr Rorywan

Thank you for your e-mail regarding invoice 19004-------

Yes that is correct. A discounted cost can only be taken into account if it is available for all, for example the items being on sale. When there is an amount discounted and no evidence that it is available to all then the 'catalogue' price is used. We have checked the sender site to see if the price you paid is available to all and unfortunately it is not. If I was to purchase the same item it would cost me 44.99 USD plus shipping.

Therefore we respectfully request immediate payment of the invoice to prevent any future collection activity. If you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Best Regards

Mrs Rachael Diskin
Customer Relations Representative GB
FedEx Express Europe, Middle East, Indian Subcontinent & Africa

Tel: +44 8456

'FedEx truly values and acts on all customer feedback. If you have any comment that you would like to make regarding the FedEx Customer Experience or my performance, please feel free to contact my manager, Joanne Austin, [email protected] Thank you."

 

[Invictus Sol]

I dunno, Rory, what they're saying is actually my understanding. For example, if you or I won one of SSC's giveaway contests, my understanding is we'd be on the hook for shipping plus full duties/customs/VAT for whatever that figure retails for, despite it being 'free'. With points and stuff, I'm not really sure how governments are supposed to take that seriously. Couldn't SSC theoretically just say everything's paid by points to evade taxes for their customers? I know I'm in the minority but full retail makes sense to me in these situations.

 

[Rorywan]

The idea that you have to pay VAT or Duty on a number which is no indication of what you actually paid for a product is crazy talk. So far I have had Fedex charge me duty on double shipping, and now this. I honestly will never use them again.

You pay Duty and VAT on the price you paid for an item, not what its Reg Retail price is. Otherwise how would ebay work!

This is a **** up of grand proportions. I emailed Alex as well, I would love to get her take on it, as it severely effects their pricing and discounts outside of the US.


The Irish/European Custom/Revenue laws say this (from the government website):


"Customs Duty:
The value for the purposes of charging Customs Duty is calculated on the price paid or payable for the goods plus the cost of transport (including postage)”

VAT:
Imported goods are liable to VAT at the same rate as applies to the sale within Ireland of similar goods. The value of the goods for the purpose of VAT is their value for customs purposes, described above, increased by the amount of any duty or other tax (but not including VAT) payable and any other transport, handling or insurance costs between entry into the EU and delivery to their final destination."

 

[Asta]

.....

 

[Rorywan]

I dunno, Rory, what they're saying is actually my understanding. For example, if you or I won one of SSC's giveaway contests, my understanding is we'd be on the hook for shipping plus full duties/customs/VAT for whatever that figure retails for, despite it being 'free'. With points and stuff, I'm not really sure how governments are supposed to take that seriously. Couldn't SSC theoretically just say everything's paid by points to evade taxes for their customers? I know I'm in the minority but full retail makes sense to me in these situations.

No, it's worth what you paid for it. A free item, I've no idea as that is pretty unique, but in my experience I haven't had to pay duty on items which haven't cost me anything. I've had returns, free gifts etc sent form various dealers & sellers.

Think about eBay for example, you could pick up items for a fraction of their retail cost, or a lot more. Same with Amazon. This is FedEx stupidity.

That's how it should be working. It's based on the value you actually pay.

So far, on each occasion, FedEx has agreed that I was overcharged, apologised for not using the discounted price, and refunded me.

Can you try and speak to somebody else at FedEx to get this sorted correctly?

Yeah, that's what I would have expected too. But no, they said that the discount that Sideshow applied to my order did not count and that I have to pay duty on the full retail catalogue cost. Personally I think this is just lazy lies, from a bad employee at Fedex, which is why I'd love some official comment from Alex (whom I've passed all the info over to). And this is for a tiny amount of money by the way, but it's the principal of the thing. My last few SSC orders through FedEx have been a lot of hassle and inaccurate and I want to know the truth before ordering again.

 

[canadaclone]

I dunno, Rory, what they're saying is actually my understanding. For example, if you or I won one of SSC's giveaway contests, my understanding is we'd be on the hook for shipping plus full duties/customs/VAT for whatever that figure retails for, despite it being 'free'. With points and stuff, I'm not really sure how governments are supposed to take that seriously. Couldn't SSC theoretically just say everything's paid by points to evade taxes for their customers? I know I'm in the minority but full retail makes sense to me in these situations.

I only know for Canada, and I checked with CBSA about this, they sent me links to the customs websites for documentation, and it is clear in multiple spots, the 'value paid' is what is taxed. If it is another currency, it is converted to CDN and then taxed. Sale prices DO COUNT.

I have had an unbelievable amount of conversations with FED EX agents, which is why I posted this thread, they say different than Alex. They say one amount is sent electronically to them, Alex says the whole form is sent, and they are reading it wrong.

The last few items from Sideshow I received seemed to prove Alex correct. There is nothing on the box at all, just a mailing and tracking label for delivery. So the 'paperwork' still has to be done, rules are rules...so I believe now that the electronic form is going to Fed Ex (Canada carrier) and that they were making the error.

 

[Asta]

.....

 

[Invictus Sol]

Well, hopefully I am wrong. I'd certainly like to pay less.

So far, only time I've avoided taxes/fees (aside from buying from e.Bay and the seller undervaluing the purchase) has been when using EMS shipping from HK. I have BBTS mark all my purchases from them as "gift", for example, but always pay full fees and taxes on 'em. Maybe SSC shouldn't confuse matters by including the full and discounted prices and only present what was actually paid.

 

[Rorywan]

This is what I think too.

I just found this document relating to the UK:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...for-customs-purposes-vat-and-trade-statistics

Yes, exactly the same in Ireland.

 

[CAhobbit]

So I decided to follow this up out of principal with Fedex.

This morning I got this reply, Alex could you tell us what you think of this?
I may take you up on your kind offer to look into this.

What they are saying is this.

Sideshow discounts are not relevant. That duty & fees are calculated on the catalogue price unless the discounted price is available to all.
Now, I've never heard of anything like this before, it sounds incorrect. I've been shipping and ordering for 15 years, you always pay duty on what your retail price plus shipping is.


Does this mean that Sideshow discounts are useless to customers outside US?
Seems they are now saying it hasn't been a mistake at all. I call foul.
It doesn't make sense to me?














"Dear Mr Rorywan

Thank you for your e-mail regarding invoice 19004-------

Yes that is correct. A discounted cost can only be taken into account if it is available for all, for example the items being on sale. When there is an amount discounted and no evidence that it is available to all then the 'catalogue' price is used. We have checked the sender site to see if the price you paid is available to all and unfortunately it is not. If I was to purchase the same item it would cost me 44.99 USD plus shipping.

Therefore we respectfully request immediate payment of the invoice to prevent any future collection activity. If you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Best Regards

Mrs Rachael Diskin
Customer Relations Representative GB
FedEx Express Europe, Middle East, Indian Subcontinent & Africa

Tel: +44 8456

'FedEx truly values and acts on all customer feedback. If you have any comment that you would like to make regarding the FedEx Customer Experience or my performance, please feel free to contact my manager, Joanne Austin, [email protected] Thank you."

Unfortunately, countries and how they charge duties/fees will vary from country to country but there are some that will charge based on the full retail price and disregard any discounts. What parameters a country will use to charge for duties/taxes/etc is out of our control. If they want to base it off the full retail price they will, if they want to take into account discounts they will, if they want to charge based on 5 times the retail price they will. We supply all required information upon the item being shipped internationally and from there they will charge (sometimes incorrectly such in the case of you being double charged incorrectly by your customs office for the ship costs) at their discretion.

-SideshowAlex

 

[Rorywan]

Respectfully Alex, that's not true in this situation. I can only speak for Europe.

European law states that duty and VAT are charged on the actual amount paid by the buyer Alex.

This is a FedEx thing again.

Otherwise how could eBay and Amazon work? If an item is stopped by customs you are requested to supply your PayPal receipt or Credit card receipt for the item.

It's calculated on what you paid. It's all there, clearly listed on each countries Revenue/Customs websites.


And what seems to be missed in these situations is this. It's not local governments doing anything at their discretion, FedEx charge these costs and pass that income minus their handling costs onto the relevant departments. FedEx not customs, they have an arrangement. And FedEx use the information provided by SSC to calculate these fees.

 

[CAhobbit]

Respectfully Alex, that's not true in this situation. I can only speak for Europe.

European law states that duty and VAT are charged on the actual amount paid by the buyer Alex.

This is a FedEx thing again.

Otherwise how could eBay and Amazon work? If an item is stopped by customs you are requested to supply your PayPal receipt or Credit card receipt for the item.

It's calculated on what you paid. It's all there, clearly listed on each countries Revenue/Customs websites.

Is there another representative or manager that you can speak with there that is better versed in the laws of your country in regards to VAT/Taxes on goods received? I would highly suggest seeing if it's possible to talk to somebody that is more knowledgable with your countries laws if you believe you are not being charged correctly through FEDEX (which is acting as customs for your country).

eBay and amazon are more of a marketplace where all sorts of entities are selling through it and in which multiples of the same thing are sold at varying prices by varying sellers where as Sideshow is a single entity (in the grand scheme of things). As such those entities (especially sellers on eBay) will fill out forms accordingly just as we fill out and disclose all the required information to ship an item. I fully understand what you're saying, Rory, but in the end we are disclosing all the information that is required of us to pass along for shipments and it sounds like customs will not honor all the information we are passing along for some reason. Perhaps a rep that's not up-to-date enough on laws is who you've been in contact with?

I'm sorry that this has been so frustrating by the way. I wish there was more consistency around the world in regards to what customs will charge.

-SideshowAlex