Issues Shipping Internationally

[joel2600]

I'm not one to complain, but there are a few issues that came up for me while placing an order, so I'd just like to give some constructive feedback.

(1) Creating an Account. Having "State" as a required field and requiring 4 digit zip codes (we have neither), luckily I was able to put some information in that still was able to get my package delivered. No big deal, this stuff happens for us all the time, so I don't see a big need to make any changes to your system just for us, as you're probably more likely to catch more errors than to have people from here ordering from you. The zip code thing did throw me for a minute until I found I could prefix the zip code with zeros.

(2) The whole "We expect to have this product in stock in 5 to 10 days". I mistakenly assumed that you would actually have things back in stock in about 5 to 10 days. Since shipping is so expensive, it's always best for me to place a single order rather than multiple orders. So when I saw that everything was in stock, except for one thing, I thought, "no big deal, I'll just wait a few days until the product is back in stock, and then place my order". After a short time, I realized that 5-10 days could really mean one month, and that I would likely not be able to order everything I wanted at once. Eventually I was able to place an order to get most of the things I wanted, but I ended up waiting 2 months to place an order that I could have placed when I originally decided to wait the "5 to 10 days".

(3) This one is my only real complaint. We have very high taxes here. On items that we purchase from overseas, we pay taxes based on the value of the items. On the customs form of my order, the value of the items was filled out using my total purchase price (including shipping and insurance). Since this cost was included in the price on the customs form, that meant that I had to pay tax on that as well. I'm sure you understand that shipping and insurance are not items within the box that should be taxed, and I request that you try to avoid this practice in the future. Rather than try and fight the post office for the next few days, I just bit the bullet and paid their bill. While I only had to pay an extra $8-10 USD, I would have much rather used that extra money to buy a bottle of wine or some more electronics parts than to give it to the post office over a clerical error.

Oh well, like I said, the last one was my only real complaint. Other than that, It's been a good experience so far. Thanks!

[adafruit]

hi joel2600,

thanks for the note and feedback! glad it worked out ok, and we value these comments!

1) we're required to ask for state by USPS and UPS, even if it's not used. sounds like you filled it out and it worked out, we'll see what we can do to make the process more streamlined.

2) depending on the item it can be 5 to 10 business days and we often update the product page if there is a parts delay. when in doubt, just email support@adafruit.com. make sure you sign up on the page if something goes out of stock, you'll get an email when it's back in stock so you do not need to check the site.

3) depending on the country they will tax the total order or the products, usually it's only the products (in fact it's rare to hear anything else). if iceland is doing this, let us know (support@adafruit.com) and we'll check out your specific customs forums to see what we can do.

thanks,
adafruit support, phil

[Amorpheus]

Hi, I would like to pick up on part 3 of joel2600's post

I have just picked up my small package of bits and bobs from my local post office and been stung by a Value Added Tax and additional handling fees due to the extra tax, a tax that is purely based on the USPS mailing sticker, which detailed the value of the contents of the package at $38.

My sense of excited anticipation leading up to receiving my delicious adafruits was somewhat dampened by the inclusion of the postage in the value of the contents, inflating the content value by close to 49% and resulting in the breaching of the lower limit for VAT on imports to the EU

When I say dampened I really mean utterly obliterated. Whilst deep inside I still love adafruit almost as much as I love my raspberry pi, this experience does mean I am less inclined to purchase from adafruit again, unless of course future shipping lables really reflect the actual contents of the package or adafruit can start being picked from a european branch.

Value of 3 items $25.95 (£16.64)
Total paid including items, shipping, tax and handling fees. $58.69 (£37.65)

[adafruit]

Hi, I would like to pick up on part 3 of joel2600's post I have just picked up my small package of bits and bobs from my local post office and been stung by a Value Added Tax and additional handling fees due to the extra tax, a tax that is purely based on the USPS mailing sticker, which detailed the value of the contents of the package at $38. My sense of excited anticipation leading up to receiving my delicious adafruits was somewhat dampened by the inclusion of the postage in the value of the contents, inflating the content value by close to 49% and resulting in the breaching of the lower limit for VAT on imports to the EU When I say dampened I really mean utterly obliterated. Whilst deep inside I still love adafruit almost as much as I love my raspberry pi, this experience does mean I am less inclined to purchase from adafruit again, unless of course future shipping lables really reflect the actual contents of the package or adafruit can start being picked from a european branch. Value of 3 items $25.95 (£16.64)
Total paid including items, shipping, tax and handling fees. $58.69 (£37.65)

thanks for the note, some countries will use the amount on the invoice and customs forms, and some will include shipping. please send us a note support@adafruit.com so we can see if there's anything we can do to avoid this for future orders.

lastly, for raspberrry pi we'll have resellers for all our goods soon, it's very new - so thank you for your patience and understanding.

thanks,
adafruit support, phil