• Lobby
  • Shipping from abroad (share your experience)

Bullet wrote
thegodfatherdany wroteHello. I am ordering soon a dental rinse (same size as a Listerine bottle lets say) from a site in the US called iherb.com Considering the item is only 0.64kg with the packaging and costs 10$,the shipping fees on the site are 6$ for Airmail Premium and 4$ for regular Airmail.

What i am concerned about is the duty fees if any applied to my item once it arrives here. The site gives some rules and regulations regarding the destination of the product and it gave this for Lebanon :

Customs rules: Orders more than 60$ will be charged for a clearance fee that may fluctuate between 100$ to 250$ and less than 60$ will be charged for 25.85$ as a total customs fees (clearance + VAT + overtime customs) Personal experience caution: do not order a lot of products or they may hold the order.

Reading some of the posts above, i dont see any minimum cost at the duty office to pay for shipped items from USA so if anybody can help me now to know if such an item as mine is taxable or not.
I think Airmail and Airmail Premium are as USPS if i am not wrong so my item should not be taxable right ?

Thank you.

@thegodfatherdany did you get your shippment from iHerb ? and did they charge you anything ?
I bought an Omega 3 supplement once & they haven't charged duties . I shipped it with Airmail Premium because it has a tracking number & it is a little faster (by the way the 4 $ & 6$ options are done with Fedex airmail not USPS despite the logo shown initially is the USPS one) .
I recommend you use the premium (6$ option) if you buy from iherb to have a tracking number to be able to ask libanpost for it ;&because i read somewhere that iherb won't refund or resend you if you don't get your package so it isn't like aliexpress which has buyer protecrion ( but i'm not sure).
Techlover wrote[
I bought an Omega 3 supplement once & they haven't charged duties . I shipped it with Airmail Premium because it has a tracking number & it is a little faster (by the way the 4 $ & 6$ options are done with Fedex airmail not USPS despite the logo shown initially is the USPS one) .
I recommend you use the premium (6$ option) if you buy from iherb to have a tracking number to be able to ask libanpost for it ;&because i read somewhere that iherb won't refund or resend you if you don't get your package so it isn't like aliexpress which has buyer protecrion ( but i'm not sure).
do you have to go to libanpost to recieve the package with airmail premium or they bring it to your address ?
Bullet wrote
Techlover wrote[
I bought an Omega 3 supplement once & they haven't charged duties . I shipped it with Airmail Premium because it has a tracking number & it is a little faster (by the way the 4 $ & 6$ options are done with Fedex airmail not USPS despite the logo shown initially is the USPS one) .
I recommend you use the premium (6$ option) if you buy from iherb to have a tracking number to be able to ask libanpost for it ;&because i read somewhere that iherb won't refund or resend you if you don't get your package so it isn't like aliexpress which has buyer protecrion ( but i'm not sure).
do you have to go to libanpost to recieve the package with airmail premium or they bring it to your address ?
I don't know. Because i sent an email & asked to transfer it from the distribution center to a branch to be able to pick it by myself.
But i think that now libanpost delivers everything (but of course it can take a long time)
m0ei wroteJust a small note, ebay no longer requires payments via paypal.. Now you can use your credit/debit card directly without having a paypal account.
How ? I checked . It still requires paypal on every order :(
Techlover wrote
m0ei wroteJust a small note, ebay no longer requires payments via paypal.. Now you can use your credit/debit card directly without having a paypal account.
How ? I checked . It still requires paypal on every order :(
Didnt work for me as well.
On ebay.com, checking out from my account there is no credit card option, only paypal.
Also on ebay.com my friend's account had the credit card option we tried 2 lebanese credit cards and they were both rejected.
Anyone had any success with a lebaneae credit card on ebay ?
Aly wrote
Techlover wrote
m0ei wroteJust a small note, ebay no longer requires payments via paypal.. Now you can use your credit/debit card directly without having a paypal account.
How ? I checked . It still requires paypal on every order :(
Didnt work for me as well.
On ebay.com, checking out from my account there is no credit card option, only paypal.
Also on ebay.com my friend's account had the credit card option we tried 2 lebanese credit cards and they were both rejected.
Anyone had any success with a lebaneae credit card on ebay ?
tried to buy something .. while there is an option for buying with a credit card .. lebanon is not in the list of countries allowed for this option (and for how long that list was .. maybe the only one not allowed) .. this option was introduced for people with no paypal access to buy from ebay .. but not lebanon
Then, this turned to be useless for Lebanese :(
Guys, I've ordered an item from AliExpress and it says this on mtytrack.com:

2016-01-06 15:15:05 Your parcel is delivering right now
2015-12-31 15:04:03 Your parcel arrives in destination country, please wait for dispatch in your local post office
2015-12-28 14:48:13 Your parcel arrives Airport Terminal Processing Center
2015-12-27 14:37:06 Your parcel is in the process of international dispatch, please wait patiently
2015-12-23 12:29:28 Your Parcel arrives in the Post Office Processing and Sorting Center waiting for sorting
2015-12-21 22:36:32 Your order has been shipped out
2015-12-21 21:02:31 Your order has been picked up and packed in our warehouse ready for shipping
2015-12-21 17:17:15 Your order has been printed out
2015-12-19 23:32:58 Your order is processing right now
2015-12-19 07:14:54 Your order has been submitted, please wait for our system to confirm

Does "delivering" means it's available at the nearest libanpost or what?
Your best option is to track it in libanpost website.
If "no data found" call Libapost.
15 days later
Guys,
I'm planning on ordering a couple of chandeliers from Aliexpress. The wrapping box is a bit big. I'm planning on using DHL shipping instead of the normal shipping which takes 2 months to get here.
I'm a bit worried about the customs here. Has anybody ordered a package that big ? How is custom calculated ? Do you recommend DHL or any other fast courier such as UPS or are they all the same? Would like to hear from you any previous or similar experiences.
Thanks
El-magnifico
Regarding the pricing of the courier (DHL-UPS), you will pay it directly to the seller.
But as you said,your concern will regard the customs,
From what i know, if your items are less than 200k LBP i dont think they will charge you with anything.
Although seeing that its DHL or UPS, they might take customs clearance fees, and if they do take that, i have no doubt that the customs will hesitate to make you pay tax and such also even though their value is less than 200k lbp.

So i would prepare an amount of money on the side for this reason if i was you.
I ordered a small package with UPS once.
Cost 150$
They wanted 70$ for customs
Rip off.
@AVOlio
I can talk to the seller in China and ask him to provide a lower value invoice, since the chandeliers are > 200k LBP.
But if I decide to use the normal shipping procedure (which takes up to 2 months), will that spare me the additional fees that DHL or UPS might charge ?

@Georges00
The problem is there's no clear document on the charges you may expect. I think it all depends on that customs employee and whatever rolls into his mind. He can just add any taxes he wants and that's what worries me. I wish there was a clear scale so to know what to expect. A rip off ? Of course, and what would you expect from a place ruled by crooks. I bet those 70$ went to his pocket.
2 months later
Hello. I am planning to buy a perfume from fragrancex.com since what i am looking for is not available here. Seller ships with DHL or USPS Express. I just would like to know if someone previously ordered such item and how did it go with the procedure and fees upon handling. Thank you in advance.
8 days later
thegodfatherdany wroteHello. I am planning to buy a perfume from fragrancex.com since what i am looking for is not available here. Seller ships with DHL or USPS Express. I just would like to know if someone previously ordered such item and how did it go with the procedure and fees upon handling. Thank you in advance.
It's best to contact UPS/DHL Lebanon via email and inquire accordingly. They can send you a sample-bill of how much you'd need to pay in total. For some reason the Borderlinx calculator is saying that perfumes may not be shipped by them to Lebanon. Maybe UPS/DHL are more flexible, because I know for a fact that they can since I've been delivered perfume as a gift. From Washington DC to be exact (it wasn't obama smh.)

What I've learned is that it's always, ALWAYS best to just have somebody bring it over with them. But then again... ما حدا لحدا. Email UPS/DHL.
On a side note, can anyone confirm or deny whether or not it's possible to have high voltage electronics in your luggage? EU regulations might be a bit pesky.

I might ask a friend flying here from Greece to grab me [visionstudio DOT gr/prodinfo.asp?id=41511&cat=17] which is a really good PSU (XFX 750W TS3X).
Is it just me or are orders from china shipping really fast at the moment? I've had 3 orders from aliexpress shipped and delivered to my house in 20-25 days. All small electronics and with free shipping.
Jerome wroteIs it just me or are orders from china shipping really fast at the moment? I've had 3 orders from aliexpress shipped and delivered to my house in 20-25 days. All small electronics and with free shipping.
Good to hear as I am waiting for my stuff from AE now.

About Lebanese Customs: If you buy from a US shop and choose US Mail instead of fast courriers like DHL and UPS, does that mean it will be delivered by Libanpost and so I won't have to pay customs fees?
vegetaleb wrote
Jerome wroteIs it just me or are orders from china shipping really fast at the moment? I've had 3 orders from aliexpress shipped and delivered to my house in 20-25 days. All small electronics and with free shipping.
Good to hear as I am waiting for my stuff from AE now.

About Lebanese Customs: If you buy from a US shop and choose US Mail instead of fast courriers like DHL and UPS, does that mean it will be delivered by Libanpost and so I won't have to pay customs fees?
Libanpost: Yes
Custom fees: Gamble
Georges00 wrote
vegetaleb wrote
Jerome wroteIs it just me or are orders from china shipping really fast at the moment? I've had 3 orders from aliexpress shipped and delivered to my house in 20-25 days. All small electronics and with free shipping.
Good to hear as I am waiting for my stuff from AE now.

About Lebanese Customs: If you buy from a US shop and choose US Mail instead of fast courriers like DHL and UPS, does that mean it will be delivered by Libanpost and so I won't have to pay customs fees?
Libanpost: Yes
Custom fees: Gamble
I thought anything coming to Libanpost is free of customs, no?