I find myself falling prey to the cdjapan points trap. You have some points in your account to use up and order one item. Then realize you can add a second item because the shipping charge doesn't increase. Once those are shipped, you have some more points added to your account as bait!
Wait for the customs, than you will fall prey... I did the same as you and forgot I purchased much more (4 SHM-SACDs) for a worth than the maximum sum of money (€22) allowed to import in the EC without being taxed.... (**selling my appartment**)
I have been getting charged an additional foreign transaction fee by my credit card company for each and every purchase made. They add up after awhile, enough to take notice! As far as I know, there are no import customs duties on music imported from Japan to USA. Has anyone been charged by customs here in the USA?
I had the same problem once when the seller of the Gold CD Roger Waters - Amused to Death, wrote the price that I paid for the CD on the package. That cost me an additional 20 bugs or so. Fortunally, the music is priceless...
I never have, but a friend of mine in the UK just got socked today with a $40.00 customs fee! That's bloody outrageous! I've never had one charge from them myself, though. And yeah, those gift points are tough to ignore - they keep sneaking in more to my account to entice me!
I used FedEX for the first time on the last CDJapan order. Three Platinum SHM CDs and a SHM-SACD. A couple of weeks after getting my order I received an envelope from FedEX with three pages of info. It said that it was not a bill and was for informational purposes only. There were my four items described as Music CD and the price that I paid for them and a Customs charge of $0.00. The interesting part of the letter was something like "In the interest of expediting delivery, FedEX pays the Customs charges for the packages it delivers." The wording sounded like if the Customs charge would have been a money amount then FedEX would have payed that and I would not have been charged. (I may have gotten the wrong impression though.) (BTW, I used the most expensive FedEX service this time and I live in the U.S.A..)
Yeah Fedex pays it for you then charges you not only the customs charge but a processing fee on top of that. FedEx is not a benevolent organization.
I always use EMS and have not encountered a problem yet. If I order on a Monday, I usually have it by Friday.
Thanks for clearing that up, chaz. The wording was confusing to me. Since the Customs charge was $0.00 I could not tell for sure. I know a couple of employees. From the many stories I've heard, they are quite ruthless to their workers.
I've always been charged transaction fees by my bank but I've yet to see any charge from Customs (knock on wood).
I just ordered a Platinum SHM from cdjapan. My first one from there. Thanks for the info. I will examine the transaction very carefully and decide my future purchases. http://www.sa-cd.net/library/8761/1
I've had my American Express card since 1989, and I've seen fees recently. The fees aren't high, but I may call about them. While you can use PayPal with CD Japan, I wouldn't do it on pre-orders because they will charge your card immediately.
I have the type of personality that allows me to sweet talk my way out of many situations. I've had the same Chase credit card for probably over 20 years. Whenever I call about some issue, they always help me out. But they refused to budge one iota on the transaction fees. I finally met my match
Why not? Some people like to order early. Order and forget about it until it's released. Just don't use PayPal.
I had over $14 in transaction fees this month between CDJapan and HMV purchases. I never have checked on the exchange rate issue, hopefully we are not being gouged on that too.
Very true, I have been amazed on a number of occasions where orders placed using EMS arrive as fast as they do. For sure I pay for it, however I receive the service I'm owed.