OUTRAGEOUS Customs Charges for 3 S/TDM Cables

t_tangent · Post by **t_tangent** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 8:10 am

I bought 3 S/TDM Cables from JRR Shop in US as they were cheaper than from SonicCore shop

What I didnt realise was that UK Customs charge 3.5% import duty and then 17% VAT on top of the item plus cost of shipping on anything over UK£ 18

3 x STDM Cables = US$ 29.97 = UK£ 15.08

Shipping Charge = US$ 32.34 =UK£ 16.26

Total Cost = UK£ 31.34

Then on top of that I just got a bill from Fedex for Tax charges for UK£ 19.80
which means Total Cost of buying 3 small STDM cables = UK£ 51.14

Convert that into US$ and that is US$ 101.66

i.e. a 300% increase in the total cost of the item.

Which equals a very pissed off ME

So anyone thinking of buying stuff from abroad don't forget to take into account the shipping costs and then Import tax and VAT cost on top. I mistakingly thought that was only if the item cost over £ 18.

Too late for me...but never again.....and hopefully this will help someone in future. Someone's running a nice little racket there. And no its not me or JRR Shop

Oh well, such is life

kylie · Post by **kylie** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 8:20 am

buy 3x http://www.thomann.de/gb/search_dir.htm ... dm&x=0&y=0 ,
add 7GBP for shipping, and you have a total of 39,40 GBP.
well, next time.

-greetings, markus-

Crickstone · Post by **Crickstone** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 8:24 am

I think the highest most ridiculous charges are the brokerage fees charged. Especially from UPS. I just cringe whenever someone is shipping UPS. FedEx is not that much better. That's where the real money is made. I dont' mind paying my share of import taxes but not for some monkey to scan and clear a package that takes 3 secs and then charge an insane amount. I prefer the old fashioned postal route for a lot of stuff and gladly wait a little extra time for delivery. I've never had an issue with Canada Post and the Royal Mail and US Postal Service for that matter. You my friend have met up with the modern version of the highway robber.

"Look ,I happen to know that this is the Lupen Express"

chriskorff · Post by **chriskorff** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 8:49 am

Don't even get me started on couriers...

In the short time I've been at my current job, I've known TNT to destroy a brand-new Toft ATB24 console, Parcelforce have trashed a MARS modular synth worth a couple of grand, and one of the SOS reviewers spotted City Link throwing a Novation synth over a fence because they couldn't be bothered to ring the doorbell and wait for an answer. The person who had my job before me had the pleasure of claiming for a broken Analogue Systems modular that was also destroyed by a heavy-handed courier.

And they have the cheek to charge the prices they do!

djsainz · Post by **djsainz** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 9:28 am

Heh, I was a victim of such degenerate couriers. back in 2004 they broke my amplifier. Wow to claim was a nightmare and at the end of it all they refused to do it as thet always had a new procedure for me to follow.

In the end they asked me that if i could not prove I bought the amp then I have no claim. The amp I bought in 2000 and lost the receipt time ago and I was moving from Spain to UK, then after they knew I was moving country they told me that they dont do house moving for personal items and from that I was held totally responsible for the lost. I was so angry as they knew what I was doing when purchasing the service which cost me in excess of €300, but when I wanted to claim they refused to under the circumtances.

pling · Post by **pling** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 9:44 am

just for the record:
current price in s|c shop: 8€ / stdm cable.
http://www.sonic-core.net/shop/index.ph ... tform.html

okantah · Post by **okantah** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 10:07 am

I paid 45,99 euro's all inclusive for my 5 pcs of the S/tdm cabel,from German to Amsterdam in dec 2007.

S/tdm cabel 6,72 eur
fright charges 5,05 for 1 pcs and 19% on tatal cost.
from German seems to be cheaper i think !
cheers

t_tangent · Post by **t_tangent** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 10:20 am

Yes on reflection it probably is the courier charges that knocked the cost right up there. I couldnt find a cheaper means of delivery on the JRR Shop so I just went with what they had there...and as I said before I didnt think that customs charged for the total cost of the item and shipping combined. I thought it was waived if the actual item was under £18. But like I said we live and learn. Anyway, looking to the positive side...I have 3 scope cards with 5 cables connecting them all, and I dont ever need to worry about it again. LONG LIVE SCOPE

Niw if only I could find somewhere that sells an external 68pin to 50pin SCSI adapter with high byte termination and a 50pin to 25pin SCSI cable so I can hook up my Kurzweil 2500 to my old SCSI AHA-2940UW pci card Anyone who has any ideas about that I'd be most appreciative

husker · Post by **husker** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 10:36 am

JRR Shop will ship airmail if you ask them - a lot cheaper, and often faster as it gets through customs faster (for me anyway to New Zealand).

darkrezin · Post by **darkrezin** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 11:38 am

ttangent - Ebay might be worth a look for SCSI cables. Give me a shout sometime btw... long time no chat

t_tangent · Post by **t_tangent** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 1:08 pm

Thanks for the replies guys...Obviously this has sparked some similar experiences and sentiment. I didnt really mean it to be a rant as such but having felt a little bit pee'd off I thought I would just mention it in case anyone wasnt aware either.

husker, thanks for the advice and I guess I should have emailed them first to ask. Certainly next time I will. Airmail would have been fine for a small package.

darkrezin, thanks also. I did have a look on ebay the other day but didnt find exactly what I wanted. If you have any specific adapter id no's or such that I could use to search for a recommened SCSI adapter...such as the Adaptec ack-68p-50p-e adapter and a decent cable, then let me know, but if not then I will keep trying anyway. And yes I have been meaning to call you. I will be around over the weekend, or tomorrow. Or if you can call me as you are usually busier than I am, so when you have a free moment give us a bell

Thanks also again to all the other who have offered advice and ideas...or even just plain condolences, haha

Later chaps

paulrmartin · Post by **paulrmartin** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 2:45 pm

This is indeed outrageous. I got my STDM for 2 dollars CDN....

Tau · Post by **Tau** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 5:10 pm

30 euros for 3 cables from sonic core (shipping included and very fast delivery).

Customs are crap: they charge VAT over the total sum of items + shipping charges, so the more you pay... the more you pay. If you happened to live in Portugal, you'd tipicaly pay around 30% more over the combined price in customs and taxes. But sometimes, things are absurd, like I was trying to buy a $150 rack case from the US, but I realized it would cost me over 500EUR to have it here

that's about US$700
I contacted UPS and asked for a reverse service: I would hire UPS Portugal to pick up a case for me in the US and bring it to my house. You know what? I would still have to pay VAT for shipping at customs, even though I had already paid the same VAT to the company in Portugal... These guys kill me...

First time I bought a magma (from america) I actually had to go to Lisbon (300 kms away) to pick it up myself from customs. And bring along a copy of the Ebay page, invoice and paypal payment pages. Or else, wait a couple of months. So, I don't mind paying 30 Euros for UPS or FedEx to do it for me - just not on something as small as 3 STDM cables. Overkill.

I know people who had to pay 40 EUR in taxes for a DVD, but every once in a while, something arrives without a bill attached. For example, much to my surprise, the rather big SKB rack with sequencer Scope4live sent me, simply arrived at my doorstep.

For us in EU, it's much preferable to buy in Europe, although sometimes more expensive, you'll find the Euro to dollar rate gets easily soaked into customs and stuff. But for things like downloadable software, it's different, though, it actually pays to buy in USA. For smaller stuff, it's useless. If you have to buy from the USA, it's better to buy more expensive stuff, so that all those handling charges are dilluted in the final price.

BTW, is the SCSI cable the same as a Magma cable?

T

dawman · Post by **dawman** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 5:21 pm

Brotha' Man Tau,

Any 3rd party developer, or member I have done business with, such as you, can always call me and I will purchase the item tax free and ship it to you.

Part of the ongoing " Sore Dick Deal ".

I just shipped a member a case just like the one you wanted to the U.K., and the shipping was a little high 105 USD, but I got the case on ebay brand new for 160 w/o the worthless PSU. It was a 3U I believe made for the SKB I sent you. It seems as someone else had a 4U w/ a SurgeX 1U and hence the need for a 3U.

There are always ways to beat the system.

The Lord Helps Him, Who Helps Themselves..........................................The Reverend Benjamin Franklin ( US 100 Dollar Bill ).

Sorry I am a Capitalist, but my Brotha's are those which I do business with.

kylie · Post by **kylie** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 11:39 pm

pCora wrote:just for the record:
current price in s|c shop: 8€ / stdm cable.
http://www.sonic-core.net/shop/index.ph ... tform.html

uh, yes, it wasn't there last time I visited the hardware section in the shop...
that's of course the most preferable way

-greetings, markus-

kwild · Post by **kwild** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 3:33 am

Every time i need an stdm cable here in Italy i got it absolutely for free from our national creamware dealer and from the shop where i've buy scope.
Even postal ship costs are free!
It was some years ago,maybe that stdm cables thang is the only good working thing in all that unlucky country!

http://myspace.com/_kwild

darkrezin · Post by **darkrezin** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 12:06 pm

t_tangent wrote: darkrezin, thanks also. I did have a look on ebay the other day but didnt find exactly what I wanted. If you have any specific adapter id no's or such that I could use to search for a recommened SCSI adapter...such as the Adaptec ack-68p-50p-e adapter and a decent cable, then let me know, but if not then I will keep trying anyway.

I just had a quick look - I had forgotten how painful it is buying SCSI cables. I guess I was lucky that I had one lying around when I needed it

I've never used a SCSI adapter - should be fine but to be safe I'd probably recommend getting the right cable to start with. I'm using the exact same SCSI card with my K2500 and it works great!

Scotty · Post by **Scotty** » Sun Feb 03, 2008 1:03 pm

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0207585483

I just purchased this off of EBAY - indicates 14 dsp - triple adat and sync plate. The seller indicated SRB in the title but this one has I/o. I am confused. The price was right even for an SRB about $750 US. Is this likely the professional Card? or an SRB with expansion interface?

Post by **garyb** » Sun Feb 03, 2008 6:05 pm

looks like a first generation Scope DP card....

Scotty · Post by **Scotty** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 4:33 pm

Thanks garyb,

Yes, a pulsar I variant with 14 dsp . I guess I will have to see how stable it is ith a pulsar II 6 dsp and pulsar I 4 dsp card. Here is to hoping .

PlanetZ forums - scopeusers.com

OUTRAGEOUS Customs Charges for 3 S/TDM Cables

OUTRAGEOUS Customs Charges for 3 S/TDM Cables

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