Customs

[lilwoggy]

350g of shisha stopped by customs, original price shipped to australia $50. Price after customs duties and tobacco tax FUCKING $200!!!!!!

Im fuming right now! From now on it looks like i'm gonna be buying inside Australia, it's not cheap but it's still better then that!

[bellydancerakn]

Gawd I love being an American citizen. We rarely have to deal with customs and when we do, we don't get charged 200.
I'm sorry man, that really sucks.
Can you buy stuff online and have it shipped to an american friends house where they can break up the order into smaller packages and mail it through the postal service in a few different orders spaced a few weeks apart?
Maybe smuggle it inside clothes or something? It will cost a wee bit more, but I seriously doubt it will be 200.

[bellydancerakn]

My sister is giving me ideas. She is in the Army and is trying to remember how everyone smuggled stuff during basic.
One thing I did was you have a friend go to walmart and have a friend buy undershirts and have them stick small thin boxes inside the folded up shirts and put them back in their packing.
Another thing she says is partially empty a shampoo/conditioner bottle and put air tight baggies in the bottle, messy but effective.
Also, soap boxes and tampon boxes.
Basically anything you can empty and refill without anyone being the wiser. To reseal the boxes one simply has to use a bit of rubber cement or a hair dryer.
Hope this helps!!!

[lilwoggy]

We'll i emailed them back telling them to return it to the sender (HookahCompany)
Hopefully i can discuss with them the chance of getting it refunded...

[ryno]

I know some people have had luck having it shipped to someone in the states, then having them send it as a gift.

[lilwoggy]

[quote name='ryno' date='01 June 2010 - 03:58 AM' timestamp='1275326902' post='470062']
I know some people have had luck having it shipped to someone in the states, then having them send it as a gift.
[/quote]

I'm currently trying this with Vegner at the moment (he's a stand up guy helping me out with all this! I don't know how many times i can thank him for it!) If my first parcel manages to come through i'll be doing this regularly.

[Arcane]

[quote name='lilwoggy' date='31 May 2010 - 05:33 AM' timestamp='1275320013' post='470048']
We'll i emailed them back telling them to return it to the sender (HookahCompany)
Hopefully i can discuss with them the chance of getting it refunded...
[/quote]
you shouldn't have ordered from any company if you couldn't afford to the actual price....

[the_cool]

[quote name='Arcane' date='31 May 2010 - 10:18 PM' timestamp='1275340701' post='470084']
[quote name='lilwoggy' date='31 May 2010 - 05:33 AM' timestamp='1275320013' post='470048']
We'll i emailed them back telling them to return it to the sender (HookahCompany)
Hopefully i can discuss with them the chance of getting it refunded...
[/quote]
you shouldn't have ordered from any company if you couldn't afford to the actual price....
[/quote]

what do you mean? I have ordered to the UK with no problems, i can afford normal prices, but unless you are RICH, no-one can afford custom charges on tobacco. If it happened to me, i would also try to return to sender and so the company can get their product back and i can get my money back! i usually spend around 100 quid or more, equating to 145 USD, which is a fair hit to take without getting the package

[Arcane]

it's seems unfair to the company to put in the effort and lose time and money, not to mention potential sales (if you happen to buy the last of a certain product) for an order that you will only accept if you don't pay what you legally owe....

well, i guess it'd be ok if they took a restocking fee....

[the_cool]

[quote name='Arcane' date='31 May 2010 - 10:43 PM' timestamp='1275342221' post='470086']
it's seems unfair to the company to put in the effort and lose time and money, not to mention potential sales (if you happen to buy the last of a certain product) for an order that you will only accept if you don't pay what you legally owe....

well, i guess it'd be ok if they took a restocking fee....
[/quote]

I dont think they would lose any money, as shipping wouldnt be refunded. If it was the last of a product, they would be getting it back and so they would be back in stock of that product (i guess the only downside is if someone wanted the product after it had been shipped). I think some places do have a restocking fee...

There is no other way to get shisha in the UK, at the moment, there is a big drought of AF as customs have cracked down and people cant mass import. As a result, prices have gone up, I recently paid 25USD (in pounds of course) for a 250g tub of AF orange. I still cant belive i paid it but it had to be done! However i did order some mizo, an alien phunnel and jumbo tongs from the US and it came thru ok...