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Ordering from the US: Difficult times ahead?

Dan 57

Well Known Member
We know some companies simply don’t ship outside the US. But encountering restrictions whilst using my US letterbox address is a novelty to me...
Ordered 2ea quick release pins for my RV’s canopy, order went thru, couple of days later received the following mail:

Hi Dan,

Thank you for considering McMaster-Carr for your purchase. However, we will not accept orders from your facility due to the cost of complying with US export regulations. Those regulations apply whether the products are shipped directly outside the US or somewhere within the US for later transport.

We cancelled your order.

Patti


Until now, ordering items from the US to my place was linked to high shipping fees, handling/customs/tax fees on import, and now this... Is this a foreshadow of things to come?
 
Naah... McMaster-Carr was always like this...

They did not even send my gas strut for the baggage door to the crewhotel of a airline friend of mine (who would have taken it to Switzerland for me)..

Luckily it`s the only company which I had this experience.

Cheers,
Yves
 
If you know someone with a business address try having it in their business name and shipping address.
 
McMaster went from having no problems shipping to Canada, to cutting off everything north of the 49th. They would only ship to companies that they already had a history with, no individuals. That was due to the high amounts of fraud that were occurring at the time (this was the early/mid 2000's). A number of years later, they started to open up a bit, and would consider allowing new companies in Canada, and a few years later they started allowing individuals to order again. Since about 2015 it's been smooth sailing, i've ordered under my employer's company, my personal business, and individually without issue since then.

The last time I had to talk to them was when I changed the billing address on my credit card from my residence to my employer's address. That was so I could order things online and have them shipped to the office, where I am during delivery hours. It got flagged in McMaster's system and they called me. Apparently they still have a problem with out-of-country fraud and are wary of people using drop boxes and shipping forwarders to hide fraud. You may have better luck if you call them and talk to them in person.
 
Have a friend in the states get them for you and mail/UPS/FEDEX to Switzerland. NOt a big deal, other than the shipping costs.:eek:

Tom
 
Same Experience

This is an interesting discussion. When I was stationed in Germany about five years ago I ordered some rubber seal material from M-C using my US Army postal address. Which is nothing more than sending it to NY. They wouldn’t send the product until I explained to them what I was planning to use it for. It seemed very odd at the time but this discussion sheds some light on the issue. I’m with Tom, get someone here is the US to get it for you. We can mail, through our postal system, most anything with a value less than $3000 US dollars overseas without the the normal import/export restrictions/procedures. I’ve done it many times and it’s quite easy.
 
When we send UPS international, they want to see the invoice. My personal thought is that its none of their business what the cost of a product is---thats between us and the client.They only need to know that its not something destructive or hazardous.
Yes, UPS has actually asked if som eof the materials were made in China----which they are NOT---but they asked anyway. So we email them a copy of the invoice and they clear it through customs. Problem, again for me personally, is the significant cost increase to ship either Fed Ex or UPS international. Alot more than what it used to be. USPS is still reasonable, of you can wait alittle longer. (Typically 20 days to Australia, or the same time it takes to ship to Alberta.)
I dont know thw solution, but for our international clients, we realize its tough.
Tom
 
Dan, if only you knew someone from the US who has a sister in Texas who could forward the occasional package, if only... :D
 
Thanks guys. This thread ain’t a call for help (pins were ordered from another provider) but rather to ascertain an eventual trend. Hopefully not...

I understand a private seller, say from eBay, not willing to put up with additional paperwork and refusing out of the US sale/shipping. But now imagine that a company such as ACS would go that way?
 
Thanks guys. This thread ain’t a call for help (pins were ordered from another provider) but rather to ascertain an eventual trend. Hopefully not...

I understand a private seller, say from eBay, not willing to put up with additional paperwork and refusing out of the US sale/shipping. But now imagine that a company such as ACS would go that way?
The challenge seems to be fraud as previously mentioned. The US market is so huge, many businesses just decide to avoid the hassle of "international". Even in very large companies, "international" is seen as painful, and while they like the money, they constantly moan about the "hassle".

I think a business opportunity would be to rent a shipping warehouse right next door to a company like mcmaster-carr and only handle international. You get an order, walk over, get the parts, and ship them.
 
When we send UPS international, they want to see the invoice. My personal thought is that its none of their business what the cost of a product is---thats between us and the client.They only need to know that its not something destructive or hazardous.
Yes, UPS has actually asked if som eof the materials were made in China----which they are NOT---but they asked anyway. So we email them a copy of the invoice and they clear it through customs. Problem, again for me personally, is the significant cost increase to ship either Fed Ex or UPS international. Alot more than what it used to be. USPS is still reasonable, of you can wait alittle longer. (Typically 20 days to Australia, or the same time it takes to ship to Alberta.)
I dont know thw solution, but for our international clients, we realize its tough.
Tom

Tom, when I buy junk from China or India it is really, really cheap shipping, what is the cost driver, other than these specific companies - any insight? That stuff even gets shipped direct in their package to my mailbox.
 
I am with BillL, what the heck.
A couple of years ago I had ordered some small 2 dollar part from E-bay and it shipped direct from China within 3 days for no freight.
I just sent a warranty fuel pump back to Andair and UPS charged my $167 dollars and it took a month.
 
I think a business opportunity would be to rent a shipping warehouse right next door to a company like mcmaster-carr and only handle international. You get an order, walk over, get the parts, and ship them.
Export restrictions would still kill that business, as McMaster would probably not sell to it. When you buy there you check off a declaration that the parts won't be exported. If an individual does that McMaster can reasonably conclude that the individual wants them for their own use, and their due diligence is met. When you buy them as XYZ Exports, do you check off that declaration and then ship in violation of it?
 
He's the problem: I have been trying to spend my hard-earned money in the US. I continue to have supply chain problems because many US vendors don't know how to deal with Canadian customers.

In one case it was because their e-commerce site rejected any orders that used Canadian issued credit cards (Note: even with a shipping address in the USA and denominated in US dollars).

In another case, it was pure laziness: a $300 FEDEX charge for $60 worth of parts that could have been shipped for $10 by USPS.

In another case, the vendor demanded to collect California taxes on a $7000 shipment sent to a freight forwarder in Washington State that trans-ships to Canada (this is a government issue on destination taxes).

One vendor messed up my avionics order so much that I have spent $hundreds to ship stuff back and forth across the border for an order that was "free shipping". Each problem required me to clear customs yet again.

Yet, I just received an order of assembled circuit boards from China that took less than a week to arrive. I paid $15 in shipping, plus a $10 FEDEX handling charge to collect the taxes owing at importation. Easy peasy, arrived right at my door.

I think that the USA is looking inwards so much that it has forgotten how to sell stuff to the rest of the world. China is just the opposite.

I have spent time trying to help vendors understand our pain, but in the end, it seams that they just prefer to sell domestically. Sad story.
 
...
Yet, I just received an order of assembled circuit boards from China that took less than a week to arrive. I paid $15 in shipping, plus a $10 FEDEX handling charge to collect the taxes owing at importation. Easy peasy, arrived right at my door.

I think that the USA is looking inwards so much that it has forgotten how to sell stuff to the rest of the world. China is just the opposite.

I have spent time trying to help vendors understand our pain, but in the end, it seams that they just prefer to sell domestically. Sad story.
I agree - I work a lot with China and those guys are extremely motivated to knock down barriers to making money. It's a delight to work with them. No comment on all the problems that exist in China, but getting Chinese companies to make stuff and to do stuff and to sell stuff and ship stuff is, in my experience, painless.
 
et, I just received an order of assembled circuit boards from China that took less than a week to arrive. I paid $15 in shipping, plus a $10 FEDEX handling charge to collect the taxes owing at importation. Easy peasy, arrived right at my door.
This ^^^. I can order electronics or pcbs from China and pay $2-3 in shipping, or order it from one state away and pay $5-$10. How does that make sense?
 
How does that make sense?
Another oddity, AFAIK, Chinese shipping is heavily subsidized by the state, giving them another competitive edge.

To come back on the subject, heard a few years back that Vans sales were close to 30% outta US. Though that figure now seems pretty hi... Just hope they will continue to serve the international market...
 
When we send UPS international, they want to see the invoice. My personal thought is that its none of their business what the cost of a product is---thats between us and the client.They only need to know that its not something destructive or hazardous.
Yes, UPS has actually asked if som eof the materials were made in China----which they are NOT---but they asked anyway. So we email them a copy of the invoice and they clear it through customs. Problem, again for me personally, is the significant cost increase to ship either Fed Ex or UPS international. Alot more than what it used to be. USPS is still reasonable, of you can wait alittle longer. (Typically 20 days to Australia, or the same time it takes to ship to Alberta.)
I dont know thw solution, but for our international clients, we realize its tough.
Tom

UPS want the invoice because they want to act as customs brokers which is a huge scam on their part. Never send stuff internationally via UPS Ground since they will typically tack on a extra $100 or so. This wont happen if you choose air service like Worldwide Saver which has a higher up front cost but ensures that the customer isn’t dinged in the rear end (yes, that can be taken two ways and both are apt).
 
How does it work the other way, from international to a US address? Any issues? I know US Customs can put things on hold, but usually big ticket items, not smaller stuff. I say usually because I've had an eBay purchase valued at less than $10 stopped for a week in US Customs coming from China.
 
Hey Dan, We've got a McMaster Carr here in Atlanta. I know the canopy quick release pins you're taking about, got a pair for myself at McMaster years ago. If you like, I'll get you a pair and ship them to Switzerland for you, no charge.
(Sent a rearview mirror to a guy in Ireland about a year ago--no charge. Just an RV guy looking out for another RV guy):):)

Hey, any RV guys reading this, when I went to Google to check the McMaster Carr address, Google is in "gigantic mode" on my computer. Makes it really difficult to read stuff. Anyone know how to get the writing back down to normal size??
 
I avoid UPS like the plague. Shipping price looks good, but there's always a "customs fee" or something that shows up in the mail a few weeks later. FedEx is almost as bad. USPS is my preferred for stuff coming to Canada even though it's so much slower. For 1/3rd the price, I'll be patient.

I believe the 30% of Van's sales being exports. They're quite popular up here with us Canucks too.
 
I avoid UPS like the plague. Shipping price looks good, but there's always a "customs fee" or something that shows up in the mail a few weeks later. FedEx is almost as bad. USPS is my preferred for stuff coming to Canada even though it's so much slower. For 1/3rd the price, I'll be patient.
...
Same here. I always request shipment via USPS but some suppliers confuse USPS with UPS or just ignore me. I always enjoy getting the shipment, but dread the letter that comes a few days later with the "fees" from UPS.
 
donaziza, thanks for your offer, and congrats on the spirit :cool:
I ordered different pins elsewhere, and I’ll have to see how they work.

A lot of private eBay sellers don’t ship abroad, refusing to put up with hassle of customs declaration, etc, understandable. For those I use my letterbox address in Sarasota FL, which works perfect.
Just surprised that a big company refuses internal US shipping on vague grounds.
 
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