I've figured out that I CANNOT pre-pay the VAT Taxes and that the $800 no tariff in mailing to the USA is no longer in effect, there are basically tariffs on everything... So I contacted the Customs & Border Protection to understand HOW(?) I can pre-pay the tariffs ahead of time.
I want backers to see that I'm doing my best to SIMPLIFY the process and ensure that when your package arrives there are no fees (in the USA) to pay.
We'll see what they have to say. TBH ... I'm hoping since the unit cost is rather low that they will NOT charge ANY tariffs for the dice. We shall see what the US has to say about this...
I will keep you all posted as to the news regarding Tariffs to the USA.
Sincerely.
Comments
After much debate, analysis, trial and error...
I have made two (2) very different conclusions:
This is valid for the UK and EU.
So instead of charging $20 CAD for Shipping, it will be $15 CAD.
One example for the UK (London): $15.62 CAD to ship and $7.12 CAD to pay.
One example for the EU (Italy): $14.37 CAD to ship and $7.56 CAD to pay.
So for some destinations the COST to ship is over $15.00 CAD and for others it is under by less than $1.00 CAD. The VAT Taxes are over $5.00 CAD but we're trying to be as simple to manage the process by reducing shipping to the UK and EU by $5.00 CAD.
It's a sorta compromise that results in a Subsidy for VAT Tax payment. It is much too complicated to have an International "Intermediary" that lives in the UK or EU and that will act as a representative of the company, etc. etc. Too much trouble when something simple can be offered.
I'm still not sure about this... I will do more research over this LONG Weekend to see what is the difference between the APP and WEBSITE. I honestly prefer to deal with a Website rather than use my Cellular Phone to pay for "parcels" as this is a PERSONAL phone and NOT a business one.
I decided to change my Campaign Duration from 21-Days to 30-Days just to buy me some more time to figure out what my options are for handling packages to the USA. I'm also NOT guaranteeing that US Backers will receive their orders first most likely because of the Tariffs ... This will allow me to research and solidify the rules for shipping to the USA and to be congruent on all Shipping Websites especially the one endorsed by Kickstarter.
I still have some time to figure out things and shipping times to USA and Canada are like 6 to 10 business days. So I should have ample time to ensure I get all things right and that the Tariffs are paid in full such that US Backers don't need to pay more.
The extra $5.00 CAD in shipping, I am hoping covers the 10% reciprocal Tax for China since the pre-order of dice were made in China and if we fund... All of the dice will be imported into Canada First and then mailed off one-by-one by myself as I am going to handle the shipping burden myself.
No remote warehousing in the USA or UK. No flooring fees, etc. etc. Things will be processed directly from my home and that will be all orders.
Honestly... If we get 100 Backers I will be SHOCKED. I'm thinking more along the lines of HALF that much (50 or so) will probably help fund the campaign.
But I'm not sure... So we'll have to wait and see... Within the first week of the campaign and to see how it goes...
That's all the news for the moment. I will continue to check on various banners (for BGDF.com during the launch and live campaign) and any KS Banners too which might set goals as to how well the campaign is doing.
Cheers all ... And I hope some of you get a chance to get your very own Custom Dual Dice!
Here are some of my conclusions (after even more research)!
I will ship the everywhere but the USA First. This will mean USA orders will be the last ones to ship. Why? I am hoping that the process of handling USA Declaration IDs and so forth gets taken care of BECAUSE it seems like there is some kind of Canada Post method using Zonos which is FREE for Canadian Sellers.
I'm not 100% sure about this. And I doubt the US Customs & Border Protection get back to me SOON... They said like 6 to 12 Business days.
Zonos and the Declaration ID... Is still not 100% sure. Especially if it is FREE for Canada Post customers (not sure). I will probably WANT to use the recommended shipping website and see how EASY it is to use.
Their pricing is very competitive and instead of using Canada Post, I'd like to use the Kickstarter preferred partner since the PRICING looks good. It's about $15 CAD around Canada and $20 for the USA plus tariffs (10% reciprocal on Chinese imports...) so it's not the end of the world... And globally the VAT subsidy (or reduction) allows to offset paying VAT at your door or Local Post Office.
We shall see... One thing at a time. First LAUNCH and then email blast update for my Backers and we'll see who is interested and who is not!
Keep you all posted ... We're about 24-Hours until LAUNCH so... SOON!