Hi all, well, it looks like I am the only one that had to pay import duties within the Cont. US.
Not the end of the world. About $60.00. But I am going to pursue this with UPS. For a complete explaination of this from their Brokrage and bill department. According to UPS, this is where I start.
I also asked Neural to look into this from their end, since they are the shipping.
WOW you Americans are lucky! An Axe FX III costs over $3.400 over here and if I import stuff myself I get charged roughly 30%! You pay around 5%? Why even bother to write about it 
I tell you why I would write about it. Because it doesn’t seem like anyone else in my country incurred these charges. Would you write about it if only you had to pay the duties and no one else?
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Not at all!! I received my neural in Florida 33185
No taxes asked
Did it arrive UPS?
No import duties here. Perhaps you were taxed for complaining so much?
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This is a forum for sharing infomation regarding the Quad Cortex.
Good or bad.
While still being respectful and mindful of our forum members.
People like you should be ban.
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Continuing the discussion from Just received a bill from UPS for import fees to US:
I know this is an old thread, but I am in the process of ordering a QC from Thomann in Germany, to be shipped to me here in the US (Wisconsin), and I am having a hell of a time finding an answer to what I will have to pay (if anything) for “import duties”. $60, though not ideal, isn’t terrible. I’ve seen wildly differing things posted form 0% of value to 37% of value. Until I find an answer to this my purchase is on hold.
$60 ?? - I could live with that if that’s all it is. I’d assume I’d end up paying the 5.5% tax here in Wisconsin eventually.
If you’re in the US, why order from Thomann? Why not order from Sweetwater?
The last I heard, Thomann won’t ship to US anymore because Sweetwater is the exclusive US dealer.
You’ll probably get hit with some sort of import fees because of the value of the item. I looked into this sort of thing when I was considering buying a guitar from a shop in Japan recently. The minimum threshold for it was much lower than I expected.
Thomann does offer a three year warranty on the unit, but you would probably have to ship it to Europe to even have them service it, or if you needed to exchange for a replacement.
If you’re trying to save money just call a retailer in the US and ask if they offer any discounts. They’ll always knock the price down a little since they’re desperate for reps to get the phone sale. Also sweetwater is frequently selling “demo” units for around 1600. They come with the same warranty, etc.
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It’s $220 cheaper through Thomann vs Sweetwater at the moment. That savings doesn’t really do me any good if I have to pay a lot in import fees though, and I was hoping that people in the US that ordered one from Thomann could tell me how much in extra fees they actually paid.
I think the fees for that stuff exist so people don’t do that. The QC isn’t made in the US, so you’ll most likely get hit with an import fee. I don’t think it would be worth it in the end and you’ll end up paying about the same as a retailer here + have a nightmare with any customer support through a retailer based overseas from you.
This stuff comes up a lot with people who buy guitars from shops in Japan or Chibsons. I got a Japan exclusive LP copy last year, but decided on finding one in the US because the import fee was going to be 1-200 dollars extra. There’s a reason why you see country of origin sticker on almost any music gear you buy. Esp because Thomann has to declare the actual value of the QC when they ship it here.
That’s not true AFAIK, and not according to Thomann. I have a pending order with Thomann right now.
So nobody here who lives in the US has purchased a QC from Thomann?? I know you’re out there somewhere…Clue me in, What did you pay in Import fees, if anything?
Not looking for opinions from people who have not done it, I’m really only asking for experiences from people who live in the US and HAVE actually purchased a QC from Thomann.
If you have, and don’t mind sharing, I’m all ears…
This post probably isn’t getting that much visibility for owners who purchased over seas from US. Also try posting in other forums and social media sites etc. Good luck!
Thanks. I guess you’re right. I have and still am posting / searching other places. Looks like a mixed bag with a few people saying they got hit with a substantial fee, but most say little or no “Import Fee” under $2500 value.
Not an easy question to get a straight answer to I guess…
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Be happy, you don’t live in Luxembourg. You buy from EU or US (no tax by default). But then your delivery in the very last moment is processed by Lux Post. You got few days of delay, and on top of that - operational costs, sometimes over 30 Euro (Achtung! - listed as “import fee”). Same thing had twice with UPS.
Maybe in your case UPS started to charge such operational costs. Times are hard 
(No I am not joking. Happened to me few times while buying things from StewMac or Amazon US). DHL and DPD never charged me anything additional.
My purchase of the QC was from sweetwater. That said, I believe I’m qualified to offer some clarity and insight without explanation.
Duties and import fees are not the same thing. A duty is revenue collected based on a specific commodity description.
Specifically chapter 85 of the HTUSA.
Broker fees (sometimes referred to as “import fees”) can include carrier fees (shipping) and the cost of processing paperwork with customs. Whether its amazon, walmart, fedex, ups, etc., without realizing they are importing on your behalf across the border (sometimes more than one).
Example- Finland shipped to England shipped to USA = complicated. Even if fees/duties paid are given back because of transit vs final destination (trans-shipment), the customer is gonna eat it. Everyone gets a cut. You pay and get your product. I guess it could have been worse. It could have been a microwave.
This wasn’t NDSP’s fault this time I don’t think. Someone fat-fingered an invoice is my bet. But The bottom line is it is all about greed. Whatever they can charge you for and get away with they (meaning just about everyone and everything) will. Property Taxes are a good example. Have you ever had that bill be less than the year before? The direct opposite of this is insurance companies. Whatever they can get out of paying for they will try to. Both ways/directions have high-dollar lawyers who charge lots of money to protect their interests and ways of doing this kind of business to us consumers. And that is why everything costs way more than it should for everyone, including our NDSP music gear. Twist this however you please but I’m not wrong. All that said, I don’t think you should have to pay this bill just because they billed you (and no one else) for it.