nhluhr

Evans didn't charge the fee. It does have nothing to do with them.

You effectively agree to pay tariffs every time you order goods from foreign countries. Those companies like ChainReaction and Evans have various ways of attempting to defeat these tariff rules since it's in their best interest that their customers don't have to pay them but be aware, that IS sidestepping the law.

FBinNY 

To be clear, the $25.00 is not a tarriff, VAT or tax of any kind. It's a brokerage (customs documentation) fee charged by the carrier's in house brokerage firm. I disagree that Evans isn't responsible. I did import and export plus plenty of domestic shipping both in and out for decades. It may not be the seller's responsibility to pay some of these fees, but it is the seller's fault for incurring them in the first place. As a retailer, they have an obligation to tell buyers what the shipping will cost, or offer a reasonable estimate, or CLEARLY warn of other costs that may be assessed.

Decades ago shipping was like phone service and airlines. It was highly regulated and it was easy to know what the cost was - high, low or otherwise. These days that's far from true, and the costs for an identical shipment could vary by almost 10:1 high/low depending on how it's routed.

Often my most contentious arguments with suppliers was over shipment routing, where if the shipper ignored my instructions, a freight shipment that should have cost me $150.00 ends up costing me over $750. Simple errors of carrier selection or documentation could increase costs by tremendous amounts.

Today, even the simple USPS rate structure needs thought. For example the much touted flat rate boxes which are a real bargain for most of the country, could cost almost twice as much compared to paying by weight if only mailing 200 miles or so.

IMO- Ebvans is 100% responsible for their stupidity in routing a $75.00 shipment via DHL, where they had to know there would be brokerage fees, when it could have been sent by the mails for about the same cost w/o additional fees.

Side note. What I suspect might have happened if this was a split shipment or backorder, is that the original shipment was flagged for DHL (based on the cost analysis) and when split, nobody corrected it.

I don't know if the OP will ever see a refund, but I don't blame him for being angry. His only recourse may be to deny future business.

fietsbob

thanks FB, just can add, Woe the 1st world Problems ..

the Custom Brokerage More than the 20% VAT if you bought it in the country the seller was In?