At Least I'm Not Dead. (official Blog Update)

[hch]

not dead? suicide? tax problems?
the tone of this posting is really frightening.

sorry for not having any concrete suggestions, i just wish you all the best of luck. and a general piece of advice: in tax matters it's always beter to hire an expert and let them do their thing. the price tag might seem to be outrageous at first but in the end it is almost always the cheapest option.

 

[sold]

Now, here is the community involvement part - does anyone out there know the real way to deal with this? The real rules? As UPS just keep changing the story every time.

Another glaring admission of omission to perform BASIC research on the part of the OpenPandora team. They start a project which they *know* is going to involve importing and exporting parts from many countries, and they fail to learn the import/export rules for the countries involved.

Some countries, according to ED, allow you to do an temporary import thus avoiding import taxes. If the country does NOT allow this I believe that you're supposed to PAY the takes on import and claim them back on export.

But I'm no expert. Do some research.


Did what you posted there sound right to you in your head before you started to type what has essentially made you sound like a complete git? You try and shit-can the Open Pandora team, then you refer to something said by a member of the team, and finally you admit you know very little about imports/exports as it relates to their situation before telling a person who has clearly done more research than you to do some research. Nice one. Very helpful.

 

[EvilDragon]

Just googled a bit an came up with this link.

http://www.infoentrepreneurs.org/servlet/C...play&c=Regs

"All goods entering Canada, even those being imported temporarily or those goods which were exported temporarily, are subject to duty and tax on their full value, unless there is a provision in legislation or regulations to relieve the duties and taxes owing."

I think the same might be the case here. Default situation is pay full tax, but a refund should be possible I guess..

Also for Canada:

http://www.canadacustomer.fedex.com/ca_eng...mportbonds.html

Well, it's not going to Canada, it's going to US, though it should be the same for Canada.

http://www.shipnorthamerica.com/htmfiles/g...st_tempbond.htm

According to that site: " or an importer may wish to import merchandise and to further manufacture it and then export the finished product. "

Which is exactly what we plan to to.
A temporary bond is needed and then everything should be clear.

The other thing is (also from the site):
"Please contact your customs broker to obtain a listing of goods that may be admitted into the United States or Canada under a Temporary Import Bond / TIB."

The customs broker SHOULD be UPS in that case, as they handle all that customs stuff... so if they act up, the only way seems to persuade them to NOT act up.
Weird things.

Craig, try to recontact them and talk about the Temporary Import Bond. Maybe they just were missing that keyword (that's not unusual for such companies).
If that doesn't work, try to talk to the government or even better customs of UK, they should have some people who do know how to handle this and how to create that bond (I suspect it's just a view pages of papers that need to be filled out)

 

[EvilDragon]

not dead? suicide? tax problems?
the tone of this posting is really frightening.

Don't worry, craig has been sarcastic on some things as long as I do know him

He just wants to point out that there's so much annoying stuff to do for such simple things (shipping )

I can fully understand him, I also had lots of hazzles with german bureaucracy already, I think it should be called bureauCRAZY!

Just to be able to sell the GP2X did cost me a lot of money and tons of paperwork...

 

[BackAssward]

Edit: Nevermind, not worth my time.

 

[b._.o._.b]

Well, it's not going to Canada, it's going to US.

Yep, I knew that. Couldn't find a US link.

Exporting stuff can be a lot of trouble. Most (bigger) companies have a department that is only busy with export documentation. Every country has its own rules, can be very complicated.
There are a lot of examples of goods being prevented from shipping because of incorrect paperwork or tax issues.

 

[EvilDragon]

There are a lot of examples of goods being prevented from shipping because of incorrect paperwork or tax issues.

Exactly what I think is the case here. So the customs should be able to help out and provide the correct documents.

Geez, those are things I really hate. But in most cases, everything is easier for the next batches, as you then know how to do it...

 

[gp32rich]

B&Q[/URL] if Texas is giving problems?
(Man! I'm showing my age with jokes about Texas DIY stores.It's been ten years! "]

*Sarcasm Alert! Not a real idea Please, please please don't actually try this!

 

[craigix]

Now, here is the community involvement part - does anyone out there know the real way to deal with this? The real rules? As UPS just keep changing the story every time.

Another glaring admission of omission to perform BASIC research on the part of the OpenPandora team. They start a project which they *know* is going to involve importing and exporting parts from many countries, and they fail to learn the import/export rules for the countries involved.

Some countries, according to ED, allow you to do an temporary import thus avoiding import taxes. If the country does NOT allow this I believe that you're supposed to PAY the takes on import and claim them back on export.

But I'm no expert. Do some research.


We did, and we filled in the forms and declared it exactly as we were told to. Then they moved the goal posts claiming by putting the batteries in the device we were altering the batteries in some way. What a load of shit.

Anyhow, thanks for the suggestions so far, especially punkysfan who looks like he has registered just to help out with this

Sorting this all out is a priority for monday morning.

 

[Trevsweb]

...thats why Garfield hates Mondays.
do hope people can help with the issues but being out of the US I doubt you will get things sorted in a satisfactory manner

 

[WhiteBat]

According to that site: " or an importer may wish to import merchandise and to further manufacture it and then export the finished product. "

claiming by putting the batteries in the device we were altering the batteries in some way.

that doesn't make sense to me

edit: i wish i could help in some way, but i suck at legal stuff

 

[darkblu]

UPS need more class lawsuits against them. and i'm dead serious here.

 

[optional106]

Maybe a letter to the UPS Public Relations Dept. may help move things along?

Someone from the OP team maybe could try if they had some time.

I'm sure that letting UPS know in writing that you are unhappy with their service at present, and that future use of their service for shipping ( say for initially 4000 items worldwide, then another 4000... / small white lie ) may be with another more reasonable company.

Sure to them OpenPandora may seem like a small potato now, but its no reason to settle for sub-standard service.
Personally I think OpenPandora will go far, whether or not UPS wishes to come along for the ride I do not know.

 

[Username]

So the customs should be able to help out and provide the correct documents.

Sorry but not in the US. Customs is a bitch.

 

[WORMSXP]

bureaucracy already, I think it should be called bureauCRAZY!

Here in Spain, it is called "burocracia" but we think it should be called "BURROcracia" (burro => donkey).

 

[Pleng]

Did what you posted there sound right to you in your head before you started to type what has essentially made you sound like a complete git? You try and shit-can the Open Pandora team, then you refer to something said by a member of the team, and finally you admit you know very little about imports/exports as it relates to their situation before telling a person who has clearly done more research than you to do some research. Nice one. Very helpful.

I'm not shit-canning, as you like to put it. I am very supportive of what the OP team are trying to do. I am becoming increasingly bemused about the way they are going about it.

It's just one balls up after another at the moment. And the law of averages tells anybody that it can't always be somebody else's fault (despite the law of Craigx which clearly seems to state that it is ALWAYS somebody else's fault!)

I don't see the relevance of me referring to a member of the team? For sure, it highlights that ED may have known more about what to expect than ED, but that expertise hasn't been shared. I fail to see, however, how this strengthens your argument.

Clearly they have done only a little more research than I have on this issue.

And there's one big difference: I don't have close to a million pounds of OTHER PEOPLES money in my possession. If I was even THINKING of asking people to put that kind of trust in me I would make DAMNED SURE I had done my research on BASIC, inevitable things like how much import/export tax I would have to pay.

 

[ion]

That is why you use USPS International Express Mail for international shipping. By far its the best.

 

[stepp]

@ craigx where are the two videos that you said were on their way?

Thanks

 

[gilesjuk]

Surely there is someone you can call at the courier and ask what to do?

The couriers are just following rules so they must know the rules.

 

[EvilDragon]

Clearly they have done only a little more research than I have on this issue.

And there's one big difference: I don't have close to a million pounds of OTHER PEOPLES money in my possession. If I was even THINKING of asking people to put that kind of trust in me I would make DAMNED SURE I had done my research on BASIC, inevitable things like how much import/export tax I would have to pay.

Well, that won't always work. I had a lot of discussions with the WEEE in Germany some time ago about some things... it just turned out I did everything like it says on their guide, but they FORGOT to mention some things.

Sounds like the same here. If craig filled out all the documents correctly as needed, UPS or customs still can do weird things. It will most probably be solved within a few days, but it's always pretty annoying.