My buying a Leica M6 from the UK DHL shipping experience

[Huss]

So I bought a new Leica M6 from the UK because it was $1800 cheaper than buying in the US.
It was shipped via DHL so, based on past experience, I knew that DHL would try to pull a fast one.
Lo and behold, DHL tried to stiff me for an extra $306 in import duties. And if I didn’t pay that in four days, they would send the camera back.
Ok, here we go.. call up DHL customer service and ask them to tell me exactly what that $306 was for. Well, they had decided to label the package as ‘camera parts and accessories’ which is charged a tariff. While ‘camera’ is not.

I pointed out their error, to which they said I had to send an email to duty_disputes@DHL.com. Now I wasn’t just going to send an email, I was going to base it on fact so included the HTS code for import duties for cameras.

link here: https://hts.usitc.gov/?query=9006.40.90

A week later, they sent a new bill for $46 for their paperwork efforts.. yeah, I already paid postage etc but I accepted paying $46 vs $306 as a win.

Would I go through this again? Most definitely. I saved a tonne of money and the shipment was only delayed by a week.
If you buy anything from the UK or elsewhere, use that HTS link to see if there are any tariffs on what you are buying. So you are prepared to deal with DHL.

FYI an example of savings - a Leica 50 APO M is $3000 cheaper buying from the UK than from the US.

 

[Pieter12]

Just curious, why did DHL fill out the customs papers rather than the sender?

 

[Marcelo Paniagua]

I would prefer to use something else besides DHL. Had some pretty nasty experiences including sending back the camera to Japan because they allocated the camera on a center 200 miles from my city and couldt make the travel there in time to go there and pick it up. Also, some pretty nasty import charges. Never had issues with either UPS or Fedex.

 

[Huss]

Just curious, why did DHL fill out the customs papers rather than the sender?

They didn't. The seller correctly filled out the commercial invoice. DHL interpreted it differently.

 

[Huss]

I would prefer to use something else besides DHL. Had some pretty nasty experiences including sending back the camera to Japan because they allocated the camera on a center 200 miles from my city and couldt make the travel there in time to go there and pick it up. Also, some pretty nasty import charges. Never had issues with either UPS or Fedex.

No choice, that is what the seller uses. In Europe it seems most of the shops use DHL.

 

[koraks]

In Europe it seems most of the shops use DHL.

Not necessarily. Depends a lot on the country. DHL is one of the major players though. It's basically a subsidiary of Deutsche Post, the German postal service.

why did DHL fill out the customs papers rather than the sender?

It's pretty common at least around here. Most sellers don't offer DDP, especially smaller ones.

 

[MattKing]

Just curious, why did DHL fill out the customs papers rather than the sender?

Because when you ship through a courier, they are the ones who are actually doing the importation, as your agent.
They are acting in the same way as a customs broker.
Some of the couriers offer that service as part of their more expensive, flat rate services - it is worth checking.

 

[mshchem]

I've had reasonable luck DHL from Japan. FedEx is far and away the best with customs, they send me follow up letters that show everything, they call if there's any question.

 

[GregY]

In Canada I've had super service by DHL both from Japan & Europe. No hidden charges & fast service. Fedex on the other hand always tacks on charges....

 

[mshchem]

So I bought a new Leica M6 from the UK because it was $1800 cheaper than buying in the US.
It was shipped via DHL so, based on past experience, I knew that DHL would try to pull a fast one.
Lo and behold, DHL tried to stiff me for an extra $306 in import duties. And if I didn’t pay that in four days, they would send the camera back.
Ok, here we go.. call up DHL customer service and ask them to tell me exactly what that $306 was for. Well, they had decided to label the package as ‘camera parts and accessories’ which is charged a tariff. While ‘camera’ is not.

I pointed out their error, to which they said I had to send an email to duty_disputes@DHL.com. Now I wasn’t just going to send an email, I was going to base it on fact so included the HTS code for import duties for cameras.

link here: https://hts.usitc.gov/?query=9006.40.90

A week later, they sent a new bill for $46 for their paperwork efforts.. yeah, I already paid postage etc but I accepted paying $46 vs $306 as a win.

Would I go through this again? Most definitely. I saved a tonne of money and the shipment was only delayed by a week.
If you buy anything from the UK or elsewhere, use that HTS link to see if there are any tariffs on what you are buying. So you are prepared to deal with DHL.

FYI an example of savings - a Leica 50 APO M is $3000 cheaper buying from the UK than from the US.

So we need to see some photos from this gem. I am in line, I've been saving my money, Ramen noodles etc.

 

[BradS]

So I bought a new Leica M6 from the UK because it was $1800 cheaper than buying in the US.
It was shipped via DHL so, based on past experience, I knew that DHL would try to pull a fast one.
Lo and behold, DHL tried to stiff me for an extra $306 in import duties. And if I didn’t pay that in four days, they would send the camera back.
Ok, here we go.. call up DHL customer service and ask them to tell me exactly what that $306 was for. Well, they had decided to label the package as ‘camera parts and accessories’ which is charged a tariff. While ‘camera’ is not.

I pointed out their error, to which they said I had to send an email to duty_disputes@DHL.com. Now I wasn’t just going to send an email, I was going to base it on fact so included the HTS code for import duties for cameras.

link here: https://hts.usitc.gov/?query=9006.40.90

A week later, they sent a new bill for $46 for their paperwork efforts.. yeah, I already paid postage etc but I accepted paying $46 vs $306 as a win.

Would I go through this again? Most definitely. I saved a tonne of money and the shipment was only delayed by a week.
If you buy anything from the UK or elsewhere, use that HTS link to see if there are any tariffs on what you are buying. So you are prepared to deal with DHL.

FYI an example of savings - a Leica 50 APO M is $3000 cheaper buying from the UK than from the US.

Thanks Huss. I was really curious if there would be some kinda gotcha. The price difference and savings just seemed too good to be true. I'm gonna hold on to this info incase of future needs/desires.

 

[Sirius Glass]

So I bought a new Leica M6 from the UK because it was $1800 cheaper than buying in the US.
It was shipped via DHL so, based on past experience, I knew that DHL would try to pull a fast one.
Lo and behold, DHL tried to stiff me for an extra $306 in import duties. And if I didn’t pay that in four days, they would send the camera back.
Ok, here we go.. call up DHL customer service and ask them to tell me exactly what that $306 was for. Well, they had decided to label the package as ‘camera parts and accessories’ which is charged a tariff. While ‘camera’ is not.

I pointed out their error, to which they said I had to send an email to duty_disputes@DHL.com. Now I wasn’t just going to send an email, I was going to base it on fact so included the HTS code for import duties for cameras.

link here: https://hts.usitc.gov/?query=9006.40.90

A week later, they sent a new bill for $46 for their paperwork efforts.. yeah, I already paid postage etc but I accepted paying $46 vs $306 as a win.

Would I go through this again? Most definitely. I saved a tonne of money and the shipment was only delayed by a week.
If you buy anything from the UK or elsewhere, use that HTS link to see if there are any tariffs on what you are buying. So you are prepared to deal with DHL.

FYI an example of savings - a Leica 50 APO M is $3000 cheaper buying from the UK than from the US.

I am happy that in the end you got what you wanted and saved money. You have shown the proof of concept that when the currency exchange is favorable and the the right product is available it is worth making the leap.

 

[Ian Grant]

Not necessarily. Depends a lot on the country. DHL is one of the major players though. It's basically a subsidiary of Deutsche Post, the German postal service.


It's pretty common at least around here. Most sellers don't offer DDP, especially smaller ones.

I've not seen a local DHL delivery van for some time here in the UK, it maybe they subcontract the smaller domestic parcels to another comany. DPD and Evri deliver in my street every day, and UPS fairly frequently.

Personally and for work I've never had a problem with DHL. We used DHL to have pallets of silver recovery machines shipped from NY State to the UK, but we had to fill out the Import forms and submit them to DHL. As Koraks says it may be just how DHL operate in the US.

Here in the UK/Europe we get hit hard buying from abroad, I notice B.S.Kumar posts this link to an EU page on Importing from outside the EU. Essentially we have to pay Import Duty on an item AND the shipping cost, then VAT on top of that, then later a handling charge when the item arrives to our countries, typically this adds around 33% to the cost.

If you do buy from the UK/EU from say the US then you don't pay VAT, 20% here in the UK, it varies slightly in EU countries, it's worth making sure that your purchase is VAT free.

Buying Internationally has become significantly more expensive in the last 2 or 3 years, so it's important to do the maths first.

Ian

 

[Huss]

@BradS @Sirius Glass thanks, yeah the key is to save that link I provided. It is a great reference as it removes any grey area of what should and should not have tariffs.
It is what I used for DHL to change their tune.

 

[Huss]

Buying Internationally has become significantly more expensive in the last 2 or 3 years, so it's important to do the maths first.

Ian

It actually has become much cheaper if you are in the US buying from the UK. Which was the whole point of this exercise.
Thanks to the weakening of the pound.

 

[ags2mikon]

I have had problems with them too. DHL= Damaged, Hijacked or Lost. To bad they don't go bankrupt.

 

[logan2z]

Curious how the UK seller deals with a product that has an issue out of the box. Do they pay return shipping to the UK and the cost to ship out a replacement? Given the savings, probably still worth the risk, although I'm curious how dealers abroad deal with this sort of issue.

 

[Huss]

Curious how the UK seller deals with a product that has an issue out of the box. Do they pay return shipping to the UK and the cost to ship out a replacement? Given the savings, probably still worth the risk, although I'm curious how dealers abroad deal with this sort of issue.

Leica warranty is international (unlike stoopid Nikon) so I would just take it to my local corporate Leica Store in West LA.
One could just send it back to the seller for a refund.

 

[logan2z]

Leica warranty is international (unlike stoopid Nikon) so I would just take it to my local corporate Leica Store in West LA.
One could just send it back to the seller for a refund.

Right, I know about the international warranty, but taking it to a US Leica store would probably just get you a warranty repair, rather than replacement. I'd expect the latter for something that's DOA.

Yes, shipping it back for a refund would be the other option. Again, it's not likely and probably worth the risk given the price advantage of buying from the UK.

 

[Huss]

Not sure how many things show up DOA, especially something like this MP I mean M6 that has been made for years now.
That is a risk with anything that you buy from abroad.

 

[armadsen]

I've never had bad luck with DHL. I buy things from Amazon Japan fairly often, and they ship using DHL, and are almost always at my door (in the western US) in two days. I bought a Summicron from the UK a few months ago, also shipped with DHL, and it was here similarly fast. They charged $60 for import duty, but lenses do have an import tariff (unlike cameras).

 

[Ian Grant]

It actually has become much cheaper if you are in the US buying from the UK. Which was the whole point of this exercise.
Thanks to the weakening of the pound.

That was actually my point the need to weigh up the costs, which you obviously did. I know we had that blip for a couple of weeks in late September, and the Pound almost hit parity, but the reality is overall the high value of the US Dollar compared to the Pound up around 10%, the Euro 8.4% and the Japanese Yen 17.6%, compared to a year ago.

Were you lucky enough to buy around the low point of that late September crisis ?

Ian

 

[mshchem]

Not sure how many things show up DOA, especially something like this MP I mean M6 that has been made for years now.
That is a risk with anything that you buy from abroad.

I should have ordered from UK. I ordered one of these from Samy's, day of the announcement, just got a reply email, Samy's doesn't expect anything until June, and I'm 9th on the list! I am reaching out to a couple Leica stores, I'm not impressed with Samy's, Leica Boutique doesn't mean anything.
It may be the universe telling me I shouldn't be buying anymore cameras

 

[Huss]

I should have ordered from UK. I ordered one of these from Samy's, day of the announcement, just got a reply email, Samy's doesn't expect anything until June, and I'm 9th on the list! I am reaching out to a couple Leica stores, I'm not impressed with Samy's, Leica Boutique doesn't mean anything.
It may be the universe telling me I shouldn't be buying anymore cameras

Just keep checking the Leica USA site several times a day. It may pop up there.

 

[Huss]

That was actually my point the need to weigh up the costs, which you obviously did. I know we had that blip for a couple of weeks in late September, and the Pound almost hit parity, but the reality is overall the high value of the US Dollar compared to the Pound up around 10%, the Euro 8.4% and the Japanese Yen 17.6%, compared to a year ago.

Were you lucky enough to buy around the low point of that late September crisis ?

Ian

I bought it at close to GBP's low point.


But if I look right now, I can buy a new MP for $4380 from the UK, while here in the US it is $5700.

it is simple arbitrage.

FYI people, Leica Manchester has the BP MP in stock!