PSA: Important (bad) news re: DHL shipments to US
- Thread starter Jeff R
- Start date
KAGGR#1
Well-known member
Kube does ship DHL
However, I have never known him to declare the hammer price
as his value on the shipment
The only time that I ever had to pay was with Hermann
they declare full value
Steve
stuka f
Well-known member
it makes me laugh!!
I missed a 10k coming from Germany to Belgium, when it should have come to france, sender was in fault is this matter...
But then I send my first parcel to Poland (2 k value!) with DHL from France and again a it was lost....(in France!).
Never had any message despite my (several)messages to them....(both sender and delivery services....)
Never, ever I will be using any Dhl service again, and even not any postal service, for my use...
When I sell, l will use a auction house and let them mange it.
I missed a 10k coming from Germany to Belgium, when it should have come to france, sender was in fault is this matter...
But then I send my first parcel to Poland (2 k value!) with DHL from France and again a it was lost....(in France!).
Never had any message despite my (several)messages to them....(both sender and delivery services....)
Never, ever I will be using any Dhl service again, and even not any postal service, for my use...
When I sell, l will use a auction house and let them mange it.
michiel
Well-known member
What a sad story to loose twice a helmet, aren’t they insured and accountable?
KAGGR#1
Well-known member
Some of my collector friends have special collectors insurance which
includes sending packages and also receiving packages IF they are shipped
according to their instructions
One collector friend only uses Fed -X
to pay extra is better than to take 2 big hits
Like his site or not , Weitze ships only by Fed-X
I have bought a pair of shoulder straps from him
and they arrive by Fed - X
when he charges for shipping , I think it is 30 Euro
I just bought a glass framed item here in the USA
the seller turned it over to Fed - X
they packed it and shipped it for $90.00 US Dollars
worth it , as it arrived quickly and in excellent condition
Steve
dosty
Member
Here’s a caution about DHL shipping. A couple years ago I bought an expensive helmet from a French dealer. He sent it DHL. When it arrived in the U.S. it changed to FedEx. The FedEx hub in Kentucky contacted me. They told me I owed federal taxes. Because the item was over $5,000. I had 2 days to pay it before they sent it back. Fortunately, I was able to do it electronically.
Like a baby, nine months later the State of Connecticut delivered a letter claiming that I owed state taxes, PLUS extra late penalties. The feds had ratted me out to the state. It took two weeks to figure it out the state tax forms. Now CT has me down as an “importer.” An importer! Sheesh. Now I’m very careful with the mode of shipping.
Postscript: the French dealer’s website had a technology flaw that tried to ship the helmet to the U.S. Virgin Islands. I panicked, visualling a bikini clad person sitting in the sun wearing my Guard du Corps helmet. Fortunately I was able to get it corrected before he shipped. Double sheesh
A wiser Dosty
Like a baby, nine months later the State of Connecticut delivered a letter claiming that I owed state taxes, PLUS extra late penalties. The feds had ratted me out to the state. It took two weeks to figure it out the state tax forms. Now CT has me down as an “importer.” An importer! Sheesh. Now I’m very careful with the mode of shipping.
Postscript: the French dealer’s website had a technology flaw that tried to ship the helmet to the U.S. Virgin Islands. I panicked, visualling a bikini clad person sitting in the sun wearing my Guard du Corps helmet. Fortunately I was able to get it corrected before he shipped. Double sheesh
A wiser Dosty
southsando
Well-known member
Wow Dosty, that is crazy and unfortunate you had to deal with that. If that is the current level for imports, I find the bar for being labeled an importer to be rather low if they have you flagged as one.
cptbob
Well-known member
Since the helmet was an antique, you should have been able to get it in with no Customs Duties. I've had stuff held by FedEx, but was able to submit some forms stating that it was an antique. If you have the seller describe the item as an antique with a year, that seems to help the process, ie antique military helmet, circa 1900. Not sure about CT. Glad I don't live there anymore.
dosty
Member
You are correct, cptbob, as an antique I should have paid nothing. But it was the last few days of the fiscal year, not that it should matter. There was no time to dispute it. The seller did make clear that it was an 1898 piece although he didn’t use the word “antique.” Who screwed up. DHL, FedEx, Customs, the hub staff trying to close out the year?
The tax terr.r..ts had me cornered, so I paid up.
Have you seen the Euro-U.S. exchange rate this week? Should we add the new 10% tariff on top too?
Dosty
The tax terr.r..ts had me cornered, so I paid up.
Have you seen the Euro-U.S. exchange rate this week? Should we add the new 10% tariff on top too?
Dosty
Some real horror stories here! Fortunately, I have only bought one item from Europe/France an Anhalt M95 OR wappen. This arrived safely but initially, there was a problem with the auction company as they wanted payment in the "European Way" by bank transfer. This is very costly and complicated to do this from N. Am. After several email exchanges, I asked them..do you have an employee with a PayPal account? Subsequently, I paid them through him and all went well.
Jeff R
Well-known member
That's an excellent reminder Dosty! I work in finance, so have been watching the market implosion and dollar collapse in real time.
For any US collectors buying internationally, please keep a careful eye on exchange rates before pulling the trigger. The rate can take a real bite on any given day - the US Dollar Index is down over 9% for the year so far. Tariffs, shipping weirdness, and customs delays are on top of that.
KAGGR#1
Well-known member
Some time back the same thing happened to me with the State of Tenn,
Hermann listed an expensive helmet at full hammer value
Customs informed the State of Tenn and they sent me a State sales tax bill .
Steve
Jeff R
Well-known member
That's awesome Brian - I'll have to try that!
For all its faults, PP can be easier than most other methods for foreign transactions. I've had credit card issues when their fraud departments block international web transactions, which has never happened with PP.
KAGGR#1
Well-known member
Delivery company DHL Express is suspending business-to-consumer shipments of over $800 to U.S. customers until further notice because of delays caused by increased U.S. customs regulations.
The logistics giant recently announced the changes on its company website after President Donald Trump imposed stricter regulations on goods entering the U.S. worth at least $800, a decrease from the former $2,500 threshold.
“This change has caused a surge in formal customs clearances, which we are handling around the clock. While we are working diligently to scale up and manage this increase, shipments over USD 800—regardless of origin—may experience multi-day delays,” the DHL webpage reads.
The company’s temporary shipping pause went into effect Monday, more than two weeks after Trump’s new customs regulations began. It will be in place until further notice.
DHL’s business-to-business shipments for items valued over $800 will not be paused, but may still face delays. Business-to-business and business-to-consumer deliveries of products worth less than $800 will not be impacted.
DHL is part of German multinational delivery and supply chain company Deutsche Post. The company’s stock dropped slightly Tuesday and is down nearly 10 percent over the past month as markets continue reeling.
The logistics giant recently announced the changes on its company website after President Donald Trump imposed stricter regulations on goods entering the U.S. worth at least $800, a decrease from the former $2,500 threshold.
“This change has caused a surge in formal customs clearances, which we are handling around the clock. While we are working diligently to scale up and manage this increase, shipments over USD 800—regardless of origin—may experience multi-day delays,” the DHL webpage reads.
The company’s temporary shipping pause went into effect Monday, more than two weeks after Trump’s new customs regulations began. It will be in place until further notice.
DHL’s business-to-business shipments for items valued over $800 will not be paused, but may still face delays. Business-to-business and business-to-consumer deliveries of products worth less than $800 will not be impacted.
DHL is part of German multinational delivery and supply chain company Deutsche Post. The company’s stock dropped slightly Tuesday and is down nearly 10 percent over the past month as markets continue reeling.
Khukri
Well-known member
Lucky man.
Real fast!!
Jeff R
Well-known member
That's awesome Steve - Herr Appel and team know how to do it! Just got my box from Kube today, which he described as "an obsolete German military visor cap ca. 1914, over 100 years old" (in English, which I am sure helps) valued at 120 Euro (if only) and marked as a "gift" (again...if only). Seemed to do the trick though!
KAGGR#1
Well-known member
You did well
Yes , when Kube gets around to doing things
his shipping is the buyers favor
I have another package sending story to tell
I will relate it as little later
It happened to me today
Steve