Online Shopping, International Shipping and Customs

[_Cathy_]

Has anyone tried to purchase from an international site? How are the goods shipped? Does it pass through customs and claimed through the post office?

Normally when I purchase items from US online retailers (Amazon, Nordstrom or Saks etc), I have it shipped to a relative's US address, when my items are enough to fill a box, they send it through sea freight (LBC) which takes about a month to arrive in the Philippines. This is delivered directly to my home.

Recently I was offered free international shipping by a US online retailer which I want to take advantage of. Will the items pass through the post office or customs? I've heard so many horror stories on claiming items from the post office and customs taxing above the value of the items.

[skybison]

ganyan din ako minsan, i have them shipped to a friend/relative sa US and hand carried it pauwi sa pinas.

i have tried one buying from alibaba - alam na nila ang kalakaran sa pinas. they lower the declared value dun sa receipt naka insert sa box ng item mo. Kelangan lang alam mo yun value na nilagay nila(of course put that on your request upon purchase). Dumating yun item ko after 5-7days ata, me "claim stub" something on my mailbox at kelangan personal i-claim sa customs.

well, minalas lang siguro ako nun time ko (i spent 4hrs of waiting/claim - tinamaan pa ng lunch break. LOL)

at first, show your claim stub + identification. Then kukunin nila sa "bodega" yun item mo
(and remember hindi lang ikaw nandyan)
[this is ALL MANUAL procedures ha]
then once nakuha na nila yun item mo (me hila silang cart at nakapatong lahat dun ng mga kini-claim)
they're gonna place all the items sa isang pagkahabang lamesa't bubuklatin lahat nun.
there will be a person shouting your name to let you know nandyan na item mo at be ready to be called.
me isang inspector that checks the items, tatanungin ka how much is the value of your item then be-base nila yun customs duties, etc dun.
then pupunta ka na naman sa isang in-charge where isusulat yun "computation" ng babayaran mo....
then antay ka na naman tawagin ka for payment.
even the ORs are manually written. hehe
then balikan mo yun item mo - show your receipt (as gatepass sa releasing)


once pa lang nangyari eto sa akin, some friends are claiming mabilis naman sa kanila (so i gues weather weather lan talaga)

some are saying naman, bribe the "inspector" who calls for the pricing of duties & taxes... haha

and pays to have somebody who knows somebody din.


my two cents of experience. hehe

[ghosthunter]

Shipping of items can be a hit and miss... at least in my experience.

Shipping through FEDEX, DHL and similar are generally painless although sometimes you will have to pay certain import taxes directly to the shipping company. To minimize taxes to be paid, always ask the shipping to mention a low value for the declared value of the item(s) to be shipped.

EMS shipping can be problematic IF your item gets routed to the main post office branch in Paranaque. This branch seems to have the most expensive tax computation table for items shipped via EMS. I have other items arriving at my local area post office and taxes rarely exceed a couple of hundred pesos. Compare that to the P'que branch which sees taxes hitting four to five figures with every item passing through. If you are unfortunate enough for your item to pass through here, doing the undervalued declaration also helps... or better yet, ask the shipping NOT to include any receipts inside the shipment. When the post office customs inspector checks your item and asks how much is your item, mention a very very low amount. Example, if your item is $500 in value, mention $50 (or even less) as it's value.

And why does the post office customs also includes the shipping cost in computing the customs taxes to be paid??? "Shipping fee" is NOT an item!!

And make sure you have lots of time to burn because the p'que post office moves at a snails pace.

[chua_riwap]

Hey cathy.....nice to see you back.
Musta na?

[_Cathy_]

*thanks chua_riwap. Saan na si OB? :P

Everything ordered online from an International retailer will always pass through the post office or customs?

Or it depends on how the retailer will ship the the item? How should the items be shipped for it to be delivered to my doorstep?

[ghosthunter]

*thanks chua_riwap. Saan na si OB? :P

Everything ordered online from an International retailer will always pass through the post office or customs?

Or it depends on how the retailer will ship the the item? How should the items be shipped for it to be delivered to my doorstep?

In my experience, having it shipped outside the regular PhilPost system (that means FEDEX, DHL, LBC, AIR21, etc) will minimize your issues especially with bigger boxes. By the way, different shippers have difference policies with certain items like liquids, batteries, etc).

Smaller boxes (shoe bax size or smaller) seems to reach my local post office branch with no issues.

If you can wait, you can opt for alternative shippers:

Example (I haven't used them, just googled them for examples)
Manila Forwarder Balikbayan Box - Ship, Travel, Remit
International Shipping to Philippines
Pobox.ph - Philippine Online Box

[Monseratto]

I have my Amazon orders shipped to Johnny Air Cargo New Jersey, and then pick it up at their Megamall branch. No customs charges, only pay for the shipping charge which is based on the volume size. Sulit since Amazon shipping within the US is free. Also you can direct any online orders to Johnny Air Cargo if you want to avoid customs.

[ZENMasterTYL]

bought an item in ebay via USPS, so sa post office ko kinuha. kala ko nasa customs ako sa laki ng hinihingi

[Monseratto]

Saan na si OB? :P

You just missed him, na-banned ulit two weeks ago...

[_Cathy_]

I have my Amazon orders shipped to Johnny Air Cargo New Jersey, and then pick it up at their Megamall branch. No customs charges, only pay for the shipping charge which is based on the volume size. Sulit since Amazon shipping within the US is free. Also you can direct any online orders to Johnny Air Cargo if you want to avoid customs.

I've heard very good feedback about Johnny Air. I don't use their services though because it's still cheaper for me to send my items in a relative's US address until it is enough to fill an 18 X 20 box. It costs USD55 and 30 days to arrive in the Philippines. What's best is it's delivered in your doorstep. The only disadvantage is the waiting time - to have enough items to fill the box and one month shipping period.

I wanted to take advantage of the free international shipping that Saks Fifth Avenue offered so I could get my item right away. But if it means having to pick up the item at the post office or dealing with the customs. Wag na lang

[kotiko]

Ganto (experienced all of them):

USPS EMS Shipping - Arrives faster (3-5 working days): Arrives in Pasay Postal Office. Long line, hassle puntahan, custom officers inspect and value your item, either you go away paying only the storage fee or pay for a re-valued tax amount.
USPS Priority Mail and First Class- Arrives 2 weeks or more in your local post office. Customs officer also inspects and values your item, either you go away paying only the storage fee or pay for a re-valued tax amount.

In both, I was able to go away and pay only the storage fee. Either my items were declared samples and have no resale value, or items didn't look too expensive enough (range of $100 to $150) to tax.

DHL - Arrives to your door 3-5 working days. They will call you once your package arrives in Manila, inform you about tax due, (which is MOST OF THE TIME OVERVALUED) you try to contest and it doesn't get you anywhere but not receive your package on time which is the reason you get that service in the first place. You end up paying their overvalued tax rate when they deliver it to your door.

I always choose Priority Mail since our local post office guy is less of a threat in charging tax, and there isn't usually a long line. Problem is, you'll anxiously wait for the notice letter because there isn't any tracking. I'd avoid DHL and FedEx. They have in-house customs officers who always overvalue the item you're bringing in and you'll end up paying more tax with little chance of contesting it.

[shadow]

baka mail order groom sites yan C4Y...padalhan mo na lang ng ticket yun kano mas mabilis baka ma question sa post office meron tao nasa box

[CVT]

I have not tried shipping the items directly here Sis.CFY. I've heard some horror stories on that.

I usually have the items shipped to one of our friends/colleagues in the US. Then, when I visit our HQ/US or someone from our company visits our HQ/US or customers, or my American boss visits us, then I/they/he handcarry the goodies for me...

The items that I buy are mostly electronic items... They're 30% to 70% cheaper there...

17.3K:date:

[_Cathy_]

Thanks everyone.

Sobrang hassle pala talaga magpaship sa Pilipinas. Hassle na mahal pa. I forgot to take into account yun tax. Normally kasi negligible amount ng tax, even better sa Amazon walang tax. Even if the shipping were free, it would still be cheaper for me to buy the item here. The best option na pala to ship to a US address.

Eto total cost ng item:

Item: PHP8,620.00
Shipping: PHP1,808.00
Duty and VAT: PHP3,834.00
Order Total: PHP14,262.00

Almost 45% yung TAX!!! Here I was thinking Rustan's mark ups were immoral eh mataas naman pala talaga tax pag dating sa Pilipinas.

That specific item costs P10,950 at the store. If I pay in cash, I can use my discount card na 10% off so it would only cost me PHP9,855. Wala lang kasi yung kulay na gusto ko dito sa Pilipinas!

[uls]

pinakamura parin magparating via balikbayan box

bad trip lang yung waiting time

kung gusto mo mabilis you gotta pay the price

[boybi]

Problem with Amazon is most of the time, they ship your orders separately. And they put your small items in a very big box. So when you ship it through Johnny Air, ang laki ng volume weight computation nila.

[Monseratto]

pinakamura parin magparating via balikbayan box

bad trip lang yung waiting time

kung gusto mo mabilis you gotta pay the price

Baka by the time the item arrives via balikbayan box, laos na sa fashion...

[Monseratto]

Problem with Amazon is most of the time, they ship your orders separately. And they put your small items in a very big box. So when you ship it through Johnny Air, ang laki ng volume weight computation nila.

Minimum charge for a packet from Amazon is already Php 700++ sa Johnny Air...

[_Cathy_]

haha! Sobrang fashion forward mo naman *Monseratto. 30 days lang naman waiting time.

Aside from clothes, shoes and bags, mas mura kasi sa US supplements, snacks and toiletries. That could wait for more than a month naman.

[Walter]

You could invite people to share your box so it fills up faster.