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  • Shipping from abroad (share your experience)

NuclearVision wroteI meant what was he intending to build : )
then your question wasn't clear when you said " whats the boards' use "
anyway they are used for many projects , he mentioned micro-controllers and relays maybe some automation , that's just a guess unless @nuclearcat has something specific.

anyway the seller has nothing to do with the a-hole customs we got in lebanon
Maybe they thought you're gonna build a robocop or something !
MohammedSF wroteMaybe they thought you're gonna build a robocop or something !
Indeed, that's exactly what i thought! they raised the proce a little bit.
But really customs in lebanon are a real pain.
Specially for electronics. One would better not buy expensive items, but rather small gadgets.
I might understand consumer products or some factory grade equipment. But hobby tools and prototypes? Thats plainly stupid.
a month later
Anyone who bought from Newegg with a prepaid internet card like Esurf from Lebanon??
I am hesitating to buy Asus board from Newegg or Republic of Gamers that gives 1 year warranty but is more expensive by 50$
vegetaleb wroteAnyone who bought from Newegg with a prepaid internet card like Esurf from Lebanon??
I am hesitating to buy Asus board from Newegg or Republic of Gamers that gives 1 year warranty but is more expensive by 50$
Newegg refuses to accept non-american CC, even if you managed to get it they'll refuse to ship to an address different than the one registered with the card "american/card holder address"..

The same thing goes with Tigerdirect/CompUSA but they went too far blocking international access to their website.
Thanks!
I can use the ''Concierge'' thingy with Borderlinx then for Newegg but as I understood they will take about 25$ commission.
Do you know if the website ''Youbizmart'' accept international cards?
The Concierge thing is useless because they need 48h to place an order, the product I want is coming and going from the Stock every hour!
It's really a pity that only Tigerdirect and Newegg have the item I want in Stock and I can't use my Lebanese card.
Amazon is like in a coma since black Friday, the items I want disappeared completely.
My only choice is Youbizmart and I don't know why I don't trust this website.
Is it available on Best Buy? A few weeks ago, I was about to buy an item on Best Buy and found this http://www.bestbuy.com/site/help-topics/international-orders/pcmcat204400050019.c?id=pcmcat204400050019. Though I haven't tried it yet to see if it actually works. I also asked several other places and most of them tell you to directly contact the sales department. So you can also try that. They might make an exception for you since the current systems that force billing and shipping addresses to be the same are just for extra "security".
11 days later
UPS
Item: Raspberry Pi B+ Starter Pack
Item Price: $109.95
Item Weight: 1.63 lbs (0.739 kg)
Seller & Country of Origin: AdaFruit.com | USA
Shipping Method: UPS Worldwide Expedited
Shipping Cost at Checkout: $29.71
Shipping Duration: Approx. 1 week
Fees Charged upon Delivery: $41
Seller's Invoice
Note: A "Black Friday" discount of $16.49 was applicable at time of purchase.
Tracking
Customs and UPS Invoices
Note that UPS charged me an additional $15.20 for its local services and taxed that value an additional $1.52
Total Shipping Costs: $29.71 (during checkout) + $41 (on delivery) = $70.71

Pros:
  • Detailed, timely tracking
  • Called to inform me of additional costs and confirm delivery location and time
  • Gave me the original customs invoice
Cons:
  • Charged me an additional $16.72 for no apparent reason ("Disbursement Fees")
  • Package was sent through customs
------

FedEx
Item: Arduino Starter Kit
Item Price: $99.64
Item Weight: 1.9 lbs (0.86 kg)
Seller & Country of Origin: Arduino.cc | Europe
Shipping Method: FedEx International Economy
Shipping Cost at Checkout: $28.70
Shipping Duration: Approx. 5 days
Fees Charged upon Delivery: $21
Seller's Invoice
Tracking
FedEx Invoice
Note that FedEx did not charge me any additional fees like UPS's "Disbursement Fees"
Total Shipping Costs: $28.70 (during checkout) + $21 (on delivery) = $49.7

Pros:
  • Tracking
  • No additional fees other than the mandatory airport customs and VAT
    (UPS charges "Disbursement Fees", and DHL apparently charges "Clearance Fees" from previous posts)
Cons:
  • I wasn't phone-called about the package
  • They didn't give me the original customs invoice like UPS did
  • Package was sent through customs
------

UCS Netshopper
A service provided by UCS, the authorized UPS service contractor in Lebanon
ucslb.com - fb.com/NetShopperUCS

Item: Sandals
Item Price: $63.96
Item Weight (specified by seller): 2 lbs (1 kg)
Item Dimensions (specified by seller): 12.6 x 7.9 x 4.7 in.
Seller & Country of Origin: Amazon.com | US
Shipping Method: UCS Netshopper service
Shipping Weight (specified by shipper): 5.5 lbs (2.5 kg)
Shipping Duration: Approx. 2 weeks
(Note: they receive all shipments on 2 or 3 fixed dates each month)
All Fees Charged by Service: $65.79 (upon pickup from Ashrafieh office)
Note: I picked it up myself since they charge extra for delivering to your address (through Aramex I believe)
Seller's Invoice
Tracking
The provided tracking number is only for the shipment to UCS's US warehouse
UCS Netshopper Invoice
The fees are pretty ambiguous and clearance seems to be a min. of $10, even if 10% of the item price is less than $10.
Not clear which fees are the mandatory airport fees and taxes and which are UCS Netshopper service fees.
The one on the left is an estimate of costs before shipping. The one on the right is the actual invoice after shipping.
Total Shipping Costs: $65.79 (paid upon receiving package)

Pros:
  • Can perform the online payment, including through PayPal
  • You receive a custom US address to ship to, which is useful for items that only ship within the US
Cons:
  • Ambiguous fees
  • Not very useful tracking (there might be a way to track packages on their site though it's not very clear)
14 days later
Seller & country of origin : Amazon.com | USA
Service & Carrier: DHL
Item bought: book(cisco CCNA in 60 days)
Item price:63.65$
Item weight: 3.7 pounds
Shipping duration: 5 days
delivery option : Priority International Courier (averages 2-7 business days)
order placed:
order1 bbcode test
tracking details :
order2 bbcode test

order3 bbcode test

order4 bbcode test


total: 63.65 + 49.98 +37 = 150$
total: 63.65 + 49.98 +37 = 150$
Wow fadel, that clearance cost sounds too high.
On customs.gov.lb I don't see any significant customs on books.
If that $37.08 receipt is from the local DHL, I assume they charged you a fee for clearance too.
I'd call the local DHL office and ask them to break down and explain the "Clearance Charges" in terms of what amounts were taken as Customs, VAT, and DHL additional fees.

Also, note that Librarie Antoine can usually get you a book from abroad if they don't have it for a whole lot less extra charges -if you're willing to wait over a month.
That's a complete ripoff... Fuck DHL. You shouldn't have payed any sort of customs on books.

if you went with Shop and Ship (Aramex), you would have payed around 45$ for a 5 pounds book ~= 2.5kg, that's around 45$. I ordered books multiple times using Shop and Ship, I have never paid a single dime on customs or clearances. (Ordering books using Shop and Ship isn't a good idea given that books are a bit heavy)

Also, I'm pretty sure Antoine sells CCNA books, a friend of mine bought one some time ago.
I had four items shipped from amazon by dot.com.lb "sorry for not having pictures":

1) Msi gtx 970 gaming 4g (estimated on site for 360$)
2) Poker shuffler (estimated on site for 15$)
3) ARCTIC Freezer 13 Limited Edition (estimated on site for 40$)
4) Dual docking station that works offline (estimated on site for 35$)

Grand total "from amazon": 450$
Grand total paid "at dot.com.lb": 555$
150$ was paid down payment

The order was confirmed on the 24/11/2014, he actually forgot to notify me when the package arrived, so upon further investigation, his container arrived to lebanon and cleared the customs on 15/12/2014, but for this misunderstanding i got my package "not a scratch on them" on 22/12/2014.

All in all it was good, if you have a lot of time on you, and you don't care for tracking the package, i highly recommend dot.com.lb
16 days later
I've been ordering from Amazon for a few years, in fact, I'm an Amazon Prime member, but one thing still pisses me off, it's that there is no way to tell how much Customs will be charging you for a particular item.

I mean, if you use Shop n Ship, you can figure out the charges, but does ANYONE at all, in all their experiences have some sort of way to accurately foresee or calculate how much Customs will be charging you upon arrival? And their website doesn't really help because it's like it hasn't been updated since 1992.

Any information on this matter will certainly be appreciated.
9 days later
NAM wroteI had four items shipped from amazon by dot.com.lb "sorry for not having pictures":

1) Msi gtx 970 gaming 4g (estimated on site for 360$)
2) Poker shuffler (estimated on site for 15$)
3) ARCTIC Freezer 13 Limited Edition (estimated on site for 40$)
4) Dual docking station that works offline (estimated on site for 35$)

Grand total "from amazon": 450$
Grand total paid "at dot.com.lb": 555$
150$ was paid down payment

The order was confirmed on the 24/11/2014, he actually forgot to notify me when the package arrived, so upon further investigation, his container arrived to lebanon and cleared the customs on 15/12/2014, but for this misunderstanding i got my package "not a scratch on them" on 22/12/2014.

All in all it was good, if you have a lot of time on you, and you don't care for tracking the package, i highly recommend dot.com.lb

You didn't pay customs?
NO EXTRA PAYMENTS ... Everything was included in the prices given .. so what i paid was 555$ minus 450$ (the actual price on amazon) = 105$ is the difference for shipping and customs and TVA .. i think this is the best deal if you can handle not tracking your stuff

I don't really know how they calculated the 105$ charges but i am very satisfied :)
NAM wroteNO EXTRA PAYMENTS ... Everything was included in the prices given .. so what i paid was 555$ minus 450$ (the actual price on amazon) = 105$ is the difference for shipping and customs and TVA .. i think this is the best deal if you can handle not tracking your stuff

I don't really know how they calculated the 105$ charges but i am very satisfied :)
Thanks!
How do you about ordering? Yesterday I contacted them on their email inquiring as their isn't anything relevant on their website, at the time of this post, their's no reply.
I went there and i talked to Mr. Charbel Abou Zeid (email: charbel@dot.com.lb) he usually opens his email late at night about 11-12 pm.
I think it is better to go and talk to him directly and put a down payment on the merchandise, then you can call him at 7-8 pm upon confirming your items on email just to "remind" him (number: 009613778997).

It is not that you are harassing him .. it is just you want to make sure your items are purchased on time from amazon (cause prices on amazon fluctuate if i waited till the next day to order the gtx 970 it would have become 399$ instead of 360$)
I bought an iPhone charging chip from eBay using iShip.me . They buy the item using their paypal account and ship to a US address then after 10-15 days it arrives to Lebanon (as shown in their website). You just place a buy for me order they ask you the the link to the item,name,approximate weight, price and although not used your username and password. The order was on December 23. On January 2 i called them and they said that it arrived at the US address and it needs 10-15 days to arrive "at your doorstep". I checked my online account but it didn't show that my product arrived or provide and way of tracking. Tried to call them few times after 4 since my classes end late but no one answered. Today i called, and the man was like your package has arrived 2 weeks ago and we tried calling you more than 100 times ' aktar mn meet marra' but you didn't answer so I asked when will I receive it and they re-asked for my address(it was provided when I signed up) and then he said there will be a 12$ delivery charge since I'm not in Beirut plus the minimum they charge for shipping and hopefully customs + VAT 15$. (My item costs only 9$ on eBay and it's probably 0.1 kg only). I'll post a picture of the package and a summary of all costs when it's received.