asmallsol

So with PBK Sidi sale, I bought some shoes along with a few other things totalling around 300ish. Check my mail today, and there is a postage slip that says I need to pay $41.83. I've bought tons of stuff from them before, including shoes, and never got hit with tariffs. Why now? Anyone else recently got hit by tariffs from them?

Grasschopper

What did you buy and how did they describe it? Bicycle components and tires should not be taxed but clothing and accessories should be. In the end it is all about how they filled out the customs form. I bought a Veloce groupo from Ribble and they put down Bike accessories so I wound up paying taxes.

Val23708

usually they somehow get away with none. i've done 2 pairs of sidi 5.5's with the latest being in May, and they were not hit.

DaveSSS 

It's hit or miss and sometimes the charges are wrong. They may charge a high rate for all items, even though half of them are obviously duty free, like tires.

asmallsol

I bought...

Sidi Shoes (around 250ish),
Cleats,
Chain,
multitool,
bottle cage,
arm warmers,
over shoes.

The thing is, I've order tons of cloths, a pair of shoes, and other apparel with no problem

AEO

the customs agent screwed up.

I'm not sure how you get your money back from customs, there must be a way.

thenomad

Biggest assumption of the day.

Good luck.

Val23708

which ones count as duty free?

exhibitx

don't know about in the states

but in canada on the back of the customs receipt there are instructions to get a correction done

i've done it, it was painless

dauphin

I have never been hit, but this is on the bottom of the page when I was ordering earlier...

Probikekit does not pay customs duty for your order. This means that you may be charged by your country's customs office when your order arrives. Please see our POSTAGE & SHIPPING page for further details.

poldis

Yesterday I received my Sidi Genius 5 Pro's purchased during the same sale from PBK. The Customs Declaration says "Cycle Accessories" and I wasn't charged any Customs fees.

alpha_bravo

I believe the manifest is the key - certain items such as textiles (shoes fall under textiles) have a very low exemption, and must be imported with a broker and pay duty. So if it is manifested as "Cycle accessories" the import specialist who reviews the manifest is not likely to charge duty. Something like "Cycling clothing accessories" is likely to catch their eye and lead to a duty applied.

If you're really interested, dig through the Harmonized Tariff Schedule and see if you can figure it out.

DrPete 

I always figured they were rolling the dice shipping all those "gifts" through customs...

Val23708

so i read through that all. basically, in most states, theres no import duty, however for textiles and shoes, there is. still, they always list it as cycling accessories, therefore, if they aren't lazy you may get hit

Flatballer

You mean they aren't actually friends with most of the cyclists in the US? I always figured they just knew it was my b-day present, all the time.

bikeybikebike

+1

Yay Canada!

sammy5001

You should have split up your orders. Shipments with higher values have a higher chance of getting audited.

patentcad

You never know.

timmyquest

You should have bought from an American retailer. Why do you hate American small business?

Val23708

Sidi Ergo 2:
Excel: 499.99 + shipping
PBK: 318.92

Sidi Genius 5 Pro
Excel: 269.95
PBK: 186.29

erliuic

touche

ProCycleGear

Sorry you were surprised with this customs charge. The US government has a system of tariffs in place on all sorts of items. They were originally but in place to protect US manufacturers. The amount vary by item. I am very familiar with the clothing tariffs. For a bike jersey the tariff is actually 32%. I know that sounds crazy but that is the law. One reason the prices are low on ProBikeKit compared to a US retailer is that they have not added the tariff. The USPS and postal carrier are responsible for collecting this fee. The may not always follow through but it is the law. It is a more of a problem on large orders where they collect it more rigorously.

exhumed

I returned an item to them July 3rd and they finally emailed me today that they received it. Month and 3 weeks from CA to UK. :[

timmyquest

Freedom isn't free.

anticlimbactic

The price of goods determines our freedom?