Tariff/customs question?
06-01-26 | 04:21 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 800
Likes: 29
From: Minneapolis, MN
Tariff/customs question?
Has anyone in the USA had a recent, successful purchase from an EU bike shop?
I need to order 400 ALGI crank cotters. But since I am ALGI's only customer outside the EU, and only order every 2-3 years, they aren't set up for collecting tariffs at their end. If I order that many from a shop, hopefully I'll get a discount. If I can't get good cotters, it may not be worth $8K to have another batch of cotter press bodies and fixed cup tools made.
Mark Stonich; BikeSmith Design & Fabrication
5349 Elliot Ave S. Minneapolis, Minnesota 55417 USA
Ph. (612) 710-9593 BikeSmith Design and Fabrication
I need to order 400 ALGI crank cotters. But since I am ALGI's only customer outside the EU, and only order every 2-3 years, they aren't set up for collecting tariffs at their end. If I order that many from a shop, hopefully I'll get a discount. If I can't get good cotters, it may not be worth $8K to have another batch of cotter press bodies and fixed cup tools made.
Mark Stonich; BikeSmith Design & Fabrication
5349 Elliot Ave S. Minneapolis, Minnesota 55417 USA
Ph. (612) 710-9593 BikeSmith Design and Fabrication
06-01-26 | 05:14 PM
#2
My bike's better than me!
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 2,322
Likes: 520
From: Northern Colorado
Bikes: Moots Vamoots, 'Dale T2000, DB Response Comp, '98 G. Fisher HKEK, '89 Panasonic DX-6000, '88 Fisher Montare XT, '83 Nishiki Int'l, '72 MB GR, '75 MB GJ, '77 MB LC, '85 Centurion Ironman, '82 Miyata 710
I have -- an NOS Stronglight bottom bracket from Austria that arrived about a week ago -- ahead of schedule, no issues. But my transaction may or may not be representative of what you're trying to do.
What you're trying to do isn't particularly complicated if ALGI is willing to do it. DHL, FedEx, and UPS are All. Over. The. Place. Your bike parts seller only has to be willing to make this transaction happen and any one of the above "common carriers" can walk them through, and handle, the paperwork. Generally, if import fees can be accurately assessed up front, there's often an option to collect those fees up front (from the seller). It's also very common (probably more common, IMHO) to have the package clear US Customs, and then the common carrier -- serving as the importer of record and paying those fees on your behalf -- will hold your package hostage, Stateside, until you compensate them for duties paid on your behalf.
The big common carriers' systems are *well* set up for this. For them, the concept is anything but new. It's just a lot more chaos than usual.
It's virtually an errand on the part of the seller. Whether or not they'd be willing to go the extra kilometer for you? I'd surely ask.
Why not?
What you're trying to do isn't particularly complicated if ALGI is willing to do it. DHL, FedEx, and UPS are All. Over. The. Place. Your bike parts seller only has to be willing to make this transaction happen and any one of the above "common carriers" can walk them through, and handle, the paperwork. Generally, if import fees can be accurately assessed up front, there's often an option to collect those fees up front (from the seller). It's also very common (probably more common, IMHO) to have the package clear US Customs, and then the common carrier -- serving as the importer of record and paying those fees on your behalf -- will hold your package hostage, Stateside, until you compensate them for duties paid on your behalf.
The big common carriers' systems are *well* set up for this. For them, the concept is anything but new. It's just a lot more chaos than usual.
It's virtually an errand on the part of the seller. Whether or not they'd be willing to go the extra kilometer for you? I'd surely ask.
Why not?
06-01-26 | 05:55 PM
#3
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,914
Likes: 5,480
From: NW Burbs, Chicago
As Neil indicated, the shipping company, charges you the tariff and a fee to process the tariff. At least that is what happened with 3 shipments I got for FedEx. All 3 being the illegal tariffs. FedEx will get a refund, I won't.
06-01-26 | 07:35 PM
#4
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2023
Posts: 2,038
Likes: 1,260
From: "Driftless" WI
Bikes: 1972 Motobecane Grand Record, 2023 Specialized Tarmac SL7,'26 Spesh Diverge, '22 Kona Dew+
Haven't seen a check from 'em yet either, for the $25 for each of two shipments they processed earlier this year.
I'm not holding my breath....
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"Even at four, I knew that the war was ever-present....
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"Even at four, I knew that the war was ever-present....
And, allowing for pauses of varying lengths, some quite long, others not, I was right."
Mark Helprin, Elegy in Blue
