DavidS Posted August 11, 2006 Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 My Deluxe OTB delivered to Wichita, Kansas was $144.00. The freight line wanted more than that to delivery it to Newton, 25 miles north of Wichita. I picked it up and cooked butts for the friends that helped unload. I am totally happy with the unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlinder Posted August 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 Yeah...that really does suck! Is this the first really big thing you've had shipped from overseas? If not, did you not have those weird charges on some of the other stuff? How on earth do you anticipate those charges and prepare yourself? Is there a way? Oh well, when you pull off that first big chunk a meat, it'll start to matter a little less...I hope. I often ordered small things (T-Shirts, DVDs) and once I ordered a recumbent bike in Poland, but this one was also only 8kg. With all this things I always had only to pay VAT and Importing charges. All the other taxes are new to me. I did not anticipate this charges and am really annoyed, but I guess after the first chunk of meat I do on this grill I will forget very fast about this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlinder Posted August 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 I got now the final bill for the following things: harbor charges importing duty charges importing customs charges cash on delivery charges VAT Importing charges The total is 307 $. That is actually 40 $ more than the whole shippment and fumigation! it's really sick! But you guys have socialized health care, low or no cost universities, more vacation... We don't have socialized health care. Every Swiss citicen has to have a health insurance and this you can only get from private companies. I pay at the moment aprox. $ 400.- per month for wife, son and me. If you earn below poverty level you get extra payment from the government to finance the health insurance. Swiss universities are cheap because our goverment spends the money rather on education instead on tanks, bombs and war. That's because we don't really have mineral resources, so well educated people is our most important resource for our economy. About the holidays: normally you have 4 weeks in Switzerland. I guess that is very average for Europe. I don't know how it is in the States. The Skiing that Curly mentioned is of course true One more thing: 1kg of good quality beef is $ 50.- or more in Switzerland. Do you really think that life is so way better here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeDJ16 Posted August 11, 2006 Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 I got now the final bill for the following things: harbor charges importing duty charges importing customs charges cash on delivery charges VAT Importing charges The total is 307 $. That is actually 40 $ more than the whole shippment and fumigation! it's really sick! But you guys have socialized health care, low or no cost universities, more vacation... We don't have socialized health care. Every Swiss citicen has to have a health insurance and this you can only get from private companies. I pay at the moment aprox. $ 400.- per month for wife, son and me. If you earn below poverty level you get extra payment from the government to finance the health insurance. Swiss universities are cheap because our goverment spends the money rather on education instead on tanks, bombs and war. That's because we don't really have mineral resources, so well educated people is our most important resource for our economy. About the holidays: normally you have 4 weeks in Switzerland. I guess that is very average for Europe. I don't know how it is in the States. The Skiing that Curly mentioned is of course true One more thing: 1kg of good quality beef is $ 50.- or more in Switzerland. Do you really think that life is so way better here? Aw dude, you just had to go and burst someone's bubble - hehe. Next I guess your gonna tell us all Swiss women aren't beautiful??? -=Jasen=- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curly Posted August 11, 2006 Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 Aw dude, you just had to go and burst someone's bubble - hehe. Next I guess your gonna tell us all Swiss women aren't beautiful??? -=Jasen=- Don't you wake up to a beautiful woman yodeling every morning? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkchop Posted August 11, 2006 Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 while tempted at first to feel sorry for our Swiss brother and the expense of beef, portage, etc. Then I remembered: 1) BEST cheese in the world 2) BEST chocolate in the world 3) BEST bakeries in the world (Germany #2, France a distant #3) 4) the BEST amalgam of German and French cooking traditions and FINALLY good cheese FONDUE! i can just see DJ wandering thru the street of chocolate... cheers, tlinder!!! don't bother with the beef; just buy that good german PORK and get cooking! sausages, good bread, some cheese, good mustard, and a few tall BEERS!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leejp Posted August 11, 2006 Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 Do you really think that life is so way better here? Not better/worse... just different. The european priorities are just different compared to life i n the US. I don't think anyone is in the position to judge what's more important. I didn't realize that you had such health care premiums. I thought most of Europe was socialized. The cost of a University education is $10,000~$35,000/year here in the states. There are scholarships, aid, loans availble. Most professional jobs start you off at 2 weeks vacation (we have less national holidays in the US as well), one gets extra days with with years of service. But your meat prices!!! Yow!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samantha Posted August 11, 2006 Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 food costs A friend of mine in agriculture tells me the US has one of the lowest food costs relative to average gross income. Japan one of the highest. the US produces such a surplus of food its farmers are dependent upon export business which pays more than domestic. Foreign consumers are more willing to pay for the top grade of produce than the US consumer. The extra charges at the harbor may have to do with trade agreements between the originating (Shipping) country and the receiving country, or type, weight, and size of the product. Or, I don't know if they have unions in Switzerland, but they may have something to do with the harbor, unloading fees. There may be special gov't fees for improvements and maintenance or repairs to the harbors. Regardless....ouch I feel for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlinder Posted August 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2006 Re: food costs A friend of mine in agriculture tells me the US has one of the lowest food costs relative to average gross income. Japan one of the highest. the US produces such a surplus of food its farmers are dependent upon export business which pays more than domestic. Foreign consumers are more willing to pay for the top grade of produce than the US consumer. The extra charges at the harbor may have to do with trade agreements between the originating (Shipping) country and the receiving country, or type, weight, and size of the product. Or, I don't know if they have unions in Switzerland, but they may have something to do with the harbor, unloading fees. There may be special gov't fees for improvements and maintenance or repairs to the harbors. Regardless....ouch I feel for you. Thank you! Now the grill is on the balcony and it looks lovely. I'm going to use it the first time this evening and I will sure forget about this extra costs after the first chunk of meat. I think this extra costs are not really goverment related. The company that transports the stuff from the harbour in the Netherlands to Switzerland just rips off their clients completly because there is not really a choice. Nobody asked me, which company should do this stuff. It just happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samantha Posted August 13, 2006 Report Share Posted August 13, 2006 shipping I'm glad you have it and you like it. I have never had a shiiping company try to reaise the shipping on me, but I have had the originally contracted shipper sub out the delivery before to a very unreliable shipper. I was on staqndby for delivery all day, and when I started calling around 4:00 p.m. the driver said he was running a little late. When I started calling at 5:30 p.m. I was told he ran out of time and had returned to his terminal and that I would be the first delivery the next morning. By 11:00 a.m. the next morning I still did not have a delivery. The driver gave me his location that was 45 minutes away, but did not tell me he had 4 deliveries to make before mine. So I spent two days tied up waiting on a delivery which they had instructed me to be sure and have people there to do the unloading (it was wood flooring). It seems there was a different driver and he was not told of the problem and the product had been loaded to be the last delivery. He told me the driver from the previous day was known to rarely finish his deliveries and this was a common problem with that driver. Then the rest of them get his left over load and very angry people. So even though they did not increase the delivery fees, I lost an extra day waiting for the delivery. Once you step into the game, you never know what cards you will be dealt. Maybe that is why I don't play cards....I'm not a good loser! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisLinkletter Posted August 14, 2006 Report Share Posted August 14, 2006 Sorry about the surprise slap. harbor charges importing duty charges importing customs charges cash on delivery charges VAT Importing charges The total is 307 $. That is actually 40 $ more than the whole shipment and fumigation! it's really sick! Yikes... My guess is that the harbor charges there must be per BOL as opposed to charged by value of item. And of course duty varies dramatically to and from country to country. I'd love to know what the actual breakdown breakdown was. I import lots of items here and sometimes really get burned.. Sorry about the surprise slap.. If you pro rate it over years it comes down to pennies a day.. Once again, I'm sorry about the unexpected charges.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeDJ16 Posted August 14, 2006 Report Share Posted August 14, 2006 ????PICS??? Ok tlinder, let's have some pics!! hehe -=Jasen=- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlinder Posted August 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2006 Re: Sorry about the surprise slap. harbor charges importing duty charges importing customs charges cash on delivery charges VAT Importing charges The total is 307 $. That is actually 40 $ more than the whole shipment and fumigation! it's really sick! Yikes... My guess is that the harbor charges there must be per BOL as opposed to charged by value of item. And of course duty varies dramatically to and from country to country. I'd love to know what the actual breakdown breakdown was. I import lots of items here and sometimes really get burned.. Sorry about the surprise slap.. If you pro rate it over years it comes down to pennies a day.. Once again, I'm sorry about the unexpected charges.. Here is the breakdown in Swiss Francs: harbor charges 119,00 importing duty charges 90,00 importing customs charges 10,00 cash on delivery charges 35,00 VAT: 70,00 Goverment Importing charges: 57,00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlinder Posted August 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2006 Re: ????PICS??? Ok tlinder, let's have some pics!! hehe -=Jasen=- I allready have quiet an amount of photos of the grill and sourroundings, but I lost my USB-Cable for the camera and have to get a new one first. This evening I will do a beercan chicken with sweet corn and potatoes as sides. It's sure going to be lovely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curly Posted August 14, 2006 Report Share Posted August 14, 2006 Sounds like you're already over it That didn't take long Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
