Shipping Frustration!

Reports from Australia
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Chrome Aardvark
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Posts: 142
Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2010 8:33 am

Shipping Frustration!

Post by Chrome Aardvark »

A quick question for the board...

Last week I won a nice Fender Deluxe Reverb whose tube chart dates it at October '65. The guy I'm buying from in the US initially bills me $500 USD in shipping and then ups it to $565 USD. It arrives in Sydney today and I receive a customs bill for $502 AUD, which I'm expecting and another for handling and whatnot at the airport from the freight company for an additional $324, which I'm not.

I try to explain this to the seller, who told me shipping was all inclusive and he tells me it's customs duty and not his problem and then asks me to provide positive feedback on the 'Bay. I ask him nicely to split the bill for this extra cost and he starts getting argumentative and telling me he save money, despite telling me that Fedex could have done it for $750, as opposed to nearly $900. He is adamant this is a customs issue despite the bill coming from the freight company.

Where do I go next?
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manta
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Re: Shipping Frustration!

Post by manta »

Freight forwarders can usually charge what they want. It costs me about $125 to get a pallet of books from the port on Guam to my storage area. I am about 2 miles away and would love to be able to just get them myself with my truck. But no, I have to go through a forwarder. It pays to shop around for a reasonable forwarder prior to shipping to get the best deal. But if your forwarders are like the ones here, they nickel and dime and a $20 job becomes a $125 job. Not sure if there's a way around it. Not sure if it is his fault either. FedEx does grease things to avoid the middle man. I suspect you/he should have explored all options before sending it off.
Manta (Tim Rock)
http://www.mantaraymusic.com
1993 Plus FG, 730L-12, 4001FL, Danelectro 6/12, Storyboard Strat
Chrome Aardvark
Junior Member
Posts: 142
Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2010 8:33 am

Re: Shipping Frustration!

Post by Chrome Aardvark »

Hey Manta,

That's pretty much what's going down. I'd love to pick it up directly from the airport, but I have to go through these other guys. If it goes through one of the bigger companies at least all the costs are up front. I was a bit wary when he said he knew a guy who could ship it for cheaper than Fedex. I'll trust my "spider sense" from now on.
Chrome Aardvark
Junior Member
Posts: 142
Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2010 8:33 am

Re: Shipping Frustration!

Post by Chrome Aardvark »

I finally got the amp yesterday, after it was sitting on hold with the freight company in Sydney for three weeks:

After negotiations with the seller failed I filed a Paypal over the extra unsolicited shipping fees. The seller then went on a rant and issued a full refund, despite the amp being in Sydney already. He then had a change of heart and I phoned him in LA and negotiated a drop of $75 US on what I had paid and also managed to get the freight forwarding company to refund $55 AU from the fee. I then waited for the Paypal refund to hit my account before paying the seller the new negotiated fee. Two declined echeques and nearly 20 days later Paypal intervened and recouped my money - All the while he was hassling me to pay up, despite not yet receiving a refund. Amazingly, I was then able to pay him and pick up the amp within a 48 hour period.

The amp in great, though the footswitch input needs a bit of surgery. It really likes my 365, a beautiful clean sound with lush reverb and that breaks up nicely around 3 when overdriven with my Tubescreamer. I'm glad I bought it.

I have learnt a couple of valuable lessons though:

1. Be careful when someone says they are going to save you money.

2. If something sounds dodgy then trust your instincts.

3. Stick to the big shipping companies who are up front with their fees.

4. On cases like this go straight to the claim section of Paypal if the seller is unwilling to negotiate. It will save a lot of drama in the end.
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