berninicaco3
10 µW
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2020
- Messages
- 5
Ordered an HT1000 in December, it was finished in March (Chinese new years and covid, makes sense). It finally arrived yesterday! and ready for pickup next week! I did the group buy where they all shipped in March, but it's taking a long while to get here.
shipping was originally $300 for the group buy-in, raised to $600 because it had to go further to where I live,
but there's a $92 ISF fee I just paid 2 weeks ago,
$189 to pick it up from the shipping forwarder,
and now I have to get a 'surety bond' just to pay the customs fees-- I can't just self-file.
If I hire a customs broker it'll cost $180, even though customs fees themselves are only $40.
That would bump total shipping to $1060, a surprise $460 that I really wasn't expecting. Over $1000 to ship a $2000 bicycle, I'm pretty pissed about the whole situation. When it was supposed to be $300 back in December when I placed my order.
So I'm trying to do my own customs to at least save the $180 broker fees, though there's nothing I can do about the $92 ISF or the $189 shipping forwarder bill, and I've called two dozen places to try to get this surety bond (customs bond). I went to the customs office downtown on Friday and they directed me to this list:
https://www.fiscal.treasury.gov/files/surety-bonds/list-certified-companies.pdf
But most of the companies won't do business with me, they want me to hire the $180 broker.
In the meantime, I'm filling out the 6 pages of "create importer identity form" to become a formal importer just so I can pay customs, just so I can pick up the bike. Man this is a lot of paperwork.
This is getting a little ridiculous.
I know other people have bought bikes from Frey here, and I know other people must have done the group buy-in from March. When you did your ISF and Customs and all that, where did you go to for your surety bond when you did the customs filing?
Thanks for the help!
Bernard
PS to help the next guy out, these are the codes you need for customs for ebikes. the HTS code is universal for the united states, if you bought an ebike or a battery pack from germany or japan or wherever. the exemption #s are specifically for coming from China.
It's split up because one battery is installed on the bike, so it falls under the first HTS code. anything that gets installed onto the bike is taxed under the bike code, but any extra or spare parts have to get itemized separately and fall under different codes.
HTS 8711600090 for the ebike
china tariff exemption # 99038817 (may expire in august!)
HTS 8507600020 for my spare lithium ion battery pack
china tariff exemption # 99038849 (may expire in august!)
HTS 8714995000 for the extra derailleur hanger I bought, this is a general code for bike parts
china tariff #99038815, no exemption, subject to 7.5% at present (but it was $20 so whatever)
shipping was originally $300 for the group buy-in, raised to $600 because it had to go further to where I live,
but there's a $92 ISF fee I just paid 2 weeks ago,
$189 to pick it up from the shipping forwarder,
and now I have to get a 'surety bond' just to pay the customs fees-- I can't just self-file.
If I hire a customs broker it'll cost $180, even though customs fees themselves are only $40.
That would bump total shipping to $1060, a surprise $460 that I really wasn't expecting. Over $1000 to ship a $2000 bicycle, I'm pretty pissed about the whole situation. When it was supposed to be $300 back in December when I placed my order.
So I'm trying to do my own customs to at least save the $180 broker fees, though there's nothing I can do about the $92 ISF or the $189 shipping forwarder bill, and I've called two dozen places to try to get this surety bond (customs bond). I went to the customs office downtown on Friday and they directed me to this list:
https://www.fiscal.treasury.gov/files/surety-bonds/list-certified-companies.pdf
But most of the companies won't do business with me, they want me to hire the $180 broker.
In the meantime, I'm filling out the 6 pages of "create importer identity form" to become a formal importer just so I can pay customs, just so I can pick up the bike. Man this is a lot of paperwork.
This is getting a little ridiculous.
I know other people have bought bikes from Frey here, and I know other people must have done the group buy-in from March. When you did your ISF and Customs and all that, where did you go to for your surety bond when you did the customs filing?
Thanks for the help!
Bernard
PS to help the next guy out, these are the codes you need for customs for ebikes. the HTS code is universal for the united states, if you bought an ebike or a battery pack from germany or japan or wherever. the exemption #s are specifically for coming from China.
It's split up because one battery is installed on the bike, so it falls under the first HTS code. anything that gets installed onto the bike is taxed under the bike code, but any extra or spare parts have to get itemized separately and fall under different codes.
HTS 8711600090 for the ebike
china tariff exemption # 99038817 (may expire in august!)
HTS 8507600020 for my spare lithium ion battery pack
china tariff exemption # 99038849 (may expire in august!)
HTS 8714995000 for the extra derailleur hanger I bought, this is a general code for bike parts
china tariff #99038815, no exemption, subject to 7.5% at present (but it was $20 so whatever)