New Shipping & Customs Rates to USA
With the upcoming removal of the de minimis threshold in the US on the 29th August we are in the process of updating our shipping to provide clarity and the cheapest possible option to get our products in the hands of our beloved customers in the States.
The Situation
The US is removing the $800 limit for waiving customs fees meaning that all shipments will now incur customs fees. Currently we send via Royal Mail to the US which enters the postal system (USPS) and if we continued to do this today each package would incur a £60/$80 flat fee. This flat fee is imposed until January so that USPS can implement a functioning service that calculates the rates correctly. This fees is far too high for our products so we are looking into other options.
The Changes We Are Making
For now, until the full customs fees are clearly available online with our couriers, we are implementing the following changes:
We have paused our free shipping option to the US for orders over £45.
We will now be shipping via a ‘Fast Courier’, (Fedex or DPD).
A flat rate of £15.99 shipping the US.
Potential customs fees for orders sent to the States.
Customs Fees
US customers should expect to be contacted by the courier in order to pay the required customs fees once the parcel arrives in State-side. Currently we expect this to be 13-15% of the order total (including delivery) and this will need to be paid in order to receive the parcel. Failure to pay the fee will mean that the parcel will be returned to us, or even destroyed!
Our Goal
Post 29th August we expect that all the fees will be readily available to us via the couriers website so that we can accurately calculate the fees. We hope to set up a DDP (delivered duty paid) system so that fees are paid upfront so there are no potential nasty surprise fees once the parcel arrives in the US. This will be more transparent and faster for our customers.
Post January, once USPS has implemented a proper service for collecting customs correctly, we will switch back to using Royal Mail so that the parcels enter the US postal service. This should be cheaper than using the ‘Fast Couriers’, will be transparent in terms of fees paid, and will be nearly as fast.
Thanks for your understanding
Thanks for your understanding while we navigate these changes. If there are any questions please get in touch: info@bowmanleather.co.uk
Happy shooting,
Charles