http://blog.forret.com/2006/09/more-globalisation-please/ Tango, photography and whatever's bleeding edge Wed, 17 Mar 2010 02:53:04 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 http://blog.forret.com/2006/09/more-globalisation-please/comment-page-1/#comment-9465 Bart Tue, 12 Sep 2006 13:50:26 +0000 http://blog.forret.com/2006/09/more-globalisation-please/#comment-9465 A while ago I bought an Aibo on eBay. Because the value was quite high I took an insurancy. The insurance fee is a percentage of the total value. Because you take an insurance the value is written down on documents which makes it easy for customs to charge you on that amount. The 10 euros is a flat fee for smaller amounts, but if you import stuff with a value of >100 euro there is a percentage is used instead. Now, I've been thinking and didn't take an insurance on the total amount because the chance that it gets lost is smaller than the chance customs would charge me. So I took an insurance on the half of the value. The package was shipped by USPC (United States Parcel Service) and arrived in Belgium after a few days where it got stuck at customs. Nobody could tell me where in Belgium the package arrived. The tracking code stated "Belgium: customs". I started calling the major parcel services (UPS, DHL, TNT,...) and after about fifteen phonecalls I found out the package was at ABX in Antwerp. I drove to their office and finally got the package. I only had to pay 10 euros so I was lucky! I never received any form in my mailbox and I've never been told by USPS that ABX was handling my package in Belgium. This makes it an unpleasant, unreliable and medieval-style shipping experience. A while ago I bought an Aibo on eBay. Because the value was quite high I took an insurancy. The insurance fee is a percentage of the total value. Because you take an insurance the value is written down on documents which makes it easy for customs to charge you on that amount. The 10 euros is a flat fee for smaller amounts, but if you import stuff with a value of >100 euro there is a percentage is used instead. Now, I’ve been thinking and didn’t take an insurance on the total amount because the chance that it gets lost is smaller than the chance customs would charge me. So I took an insurance on the half of the value. The package was shipped by USPC (United States Parcel Service) and arrived in Belgium after a few days where it got stuck at customs. Nobody could tell me where in Belgium the package arrived. The tracking code stated “Belgium: customs”. I started calling the major parcel services (UPS, DHL, TNT,…) and after about fifteen phonecalls I found out the package was at ABX in Antwerp. I drove to their office and finally got the package. I only had to pay 10 euros so I was lucky! I never received any form in my mailbox and I’ve never been told by USPS that ABX was handling my package in Belgium. This makes it an unpleasant, unreliable and medieval-style shipping experience.

]]> http://blog.forret.com/2006/09/more-globalisation-please/comment-page-1/#comment-9457 Hans Leyten Tue, 12 Sep 2006 11:52:52 +0000 http://blog.forret.com/2006/09/more-globalisation-please/#comment-9457 For shirts you'll also have to pay the extra 10 EUR. The postman always catches me by surprise with this when delivering Threadless shirts :) For shirts you’ll also have to pay the extra 10 EUR. The postman always catches me by surprise with this when delivering Threadless shirts

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