Free delivery for iHerb orders over $40.00! Ends June 30th.

rustyzip

Woohoo, love when they do free delivery!

Free delivery for iHerb orders over $40.00! On orders under 4 pounds. Ends June 30th.

CuppaCocoa

Where do you see that? I have €71 worth of products in my shopping cart but it's telling me that shipping is €8?

rustyzip

lilybarlean wrote: »

Where do you see that? I have €71 worth of products in my shopping cart but it's telling me that shipping is €8?

It it under 4 pounds?
Should come up under all the other shipping options

CuppaCocoa

Doh, was looking at DHL express which is the default delivery option! International Airmail is free but can take up to 4 weeks to arrive. I used this option once and waited ages for the parcel. Last time I used DHL and had it in 3 days! Might spend the extra €8 for faster delivery.

bazwaldo

International Airmail — $4.00

Free for orders over $40.00! Ends June 30th.
Orders up to $80.00, and 4 pounds (1814 grams)
Usually Takes 1-4 weeks, 10 days to Europe and Pacific
2-12 Weeks to Brazil
Reliable, But No Tracking & Non-refundable
Estimated Delivery Date: July 10, 2014

I've always used this method for shipping and usually had the order after 1 week. Always within 2.

loopymum

lilybarlean wrote: »

Doh, was looking at DHL express which is the default delivery option! International Airmail is free but can take up to 4 weeks to arrive. I used this option once and waited ages for the parcel. Last time I used DHL and had it in 3 days! Might spend the extra €8 for faster delivery.

Did DHL charge you customs?

CuppaCocoa

loopymum wrote: »

Did DHL charge you customs?

No. Good point though. If I go for free delivery I may be caught!

bazwaldo

loopymum wrote: »

Did DHL charge you customs?

They shouldn't as supplements are meant to be duty free (except for sports supplements).

CuppaCocoa

bazwaldo wrote: »

They shouldn't as supplements are meant to be duty free (except for sports supplements).

They're not all supplements though. I have some grocery items and some ointments in my bag.

loopymum

Iherb say on their website that you are least likely to attract customs using the free method

rubadub

loopymum wrote: »

Iherb say on their website that you are least likely to attract customs using the free method

Orders going through DHL or UPS have tracking information, and are delivered a lot quicker than International Airmail.
Orders going through International Airmail are scrutinized less by customs in your country and subject to less custom duties, but have no tracking information, and take longer for delivery.

A few reasons for this. Standard post costs less, when valuing an item to see if its over the limit they include the postage costs, so if you have high postage costs it might bump you up over the limit. An post anecdotaly seem to ignore the postage costs when checking to see if its over the limit, but if over the limit they do include the postal costs when calculating VAT.

Second reason is that the couriers often charge the max allowable handling charge, I think it is up to €15. An post only charge €6 or so. An post anecdotaly have limited staff to process all the parcels, so tend to go for higher value items, seeing as they are more likely to cooperate with a government body trying to maximize tax income. Couriers are more likely to worry just about themselves and so want to get the fees even if someone is barely over the limit.

e.g. if you got a pen worth €10 couriered for €100 a courier might charge €15 handling and 23% VAT on €110. An post might not bother at all. If the pen was €100 and post was €10 then the courier charge the same, and an post would charge €6 handling and 23% on €110

Some iherb products might be seized too.

Fries-With-That

I just paid €24 in charges on an iHerb delivery today. Package was labeled Health & Beauty supplements.

The items had an assessed value of €77.

rustyzip

Fries-With-That wrote: »

I just paid €24 in charges on an iHerb delivery today. Package was labeled Health & Beauty supplements.

The items had an assessed value of €77.

THat shouldn't be. I thought it was €100 and under that you could get away with?!

Customs in Ireland seem to just do what they like!

cruhoortwunk

I have had about 4 deliveries form iherb over the last 2 years and never got hit with customs fee

shakedown

I had to pay €28 customs on a €82 order the other week.

rustyzip

shakedown wrote: »

I had to pay €28 customs on a €82 order the other week.

I placed three separate orders all under €60 I think, so hopefully I won't get stung.

What were you buying?!

rubadub

rustyzip wrote: »

THat shouldn't be. I thought it was €100 and under that you could get away with?!

Customs in Ireland seem to just do what they like!

The limit is €22 for VAT to be applied, many iherb things might be zero rated for VAT too. Duty only comes into effect at €150

However customs officially state they will not bother collecting below €6 in fees, there for the real effective limit on items at the current 23% VAT is €26.08

Some iherb stuff might not be 23% or 0% either, not sure.

rubadub wrote: »

I emailed revenue about the €22 limit, in some old threads I was saying the limit is higher than €22 in most cases and they confirmed it. €26.08 at the current 23% VAT rate. The limit was higher when VAT was 21%

Hi,
I was reading on revenue.ie that the limit is €22 until something is applicable for VAT when importing from online shops

http://www.revenue.ie/en/customs/leaflets/pn1179.html

Consignments not exceeding a total customs value of €22 may be imported without payment of VAT.

However it goes on to say

Where the customs duty on a consignment of goods amounts to less than €10 it will not be collected. Similarly, VAT liability amounting to less than or equal to €6 will not be collected.

So on typical imported items like a DVD the VAT is 23%, so if the DVD is €25 it is above the €22 threshold limit, but the VAT would only be €5.75 so is below the €6 limit. Am I right in thinking that this in effect means the real threshold value for non-excise items at 23% is €26.08 -since only items above this value will have VAT equal or above €6.

Thanks

Dear ***,
Your calculations in the example you quoted are correct but do remember that, if the freight costs or the VAT rates increase, the €22 threshold will produce a different result. This threshold is set in European Law, while the €6 de minimus limit is just a local practice based on administrative expedience.

Regards,


****
Customs Division

I have seen customs officials on RTE news a few years back saying the limit was €45, this is the limit for gifts, however back then it was rare to hear of people being charged VAT on parcels below €45 which came via normal post.

If you get 3 deliveries on the same day from the same place, all under €26 they can in theory add them all up and treat it as a single consignment, never heard of it happening though.

Esel

Airmail is the best option if worried about extra charges. They DHL to Germany then post from there.

shakedown

rustyzip wrote: »

I placed three separate orders all under €60 I think, so hopefully I won't get stung.

What were you buying?!

4 boxes of quest bars. They're all just over 2lbs each, so you can't even split the order which is annoying.

lilhedda

Same thing here I have been placing regular monthly orders for years and have only paid customs when the order has been high value over €120. I paid €22 in charges for an order of about €60. A friend was charged €16 a week later on a €40 order so it looks like they are out to charge people at the moment. By the way €10 of the cost is a DHL admin charge as they send out an invoice after payment. I've switched to airmail delivery for now.

Thargor

Bah, thought someone had found a decent weed delivery service.

SMI

lilhedda wrote: »

Same thing here I have been placing regular monthly orders for years and have only paid customs when the order has been high value over €120. I paid €22 in charges for an order of about €60. A friend was charged €16 a week later on a €40 order so it looks like they are out to charge people at the moment. By the way €10 of the cost is a DHL admin charge as they send out an invoice after payment. I've switched to airmail delivery for now.

My brother and I unknowingly put in two separate orders on the same evening, they were delivered on the same day. We both got stung for €28 each.
I'll be buying in smaller orders in future, opting for the airmail instead of DHL. Pity, it was a great service. Like others, I've been using it for years without any trouble.

Jnealon

Same here €17 on a €30 order, 10 euro to DHL and 7 in vat

Zardoz

Has anyone been charged customs on Airmail orders recently or is it primarily DHL orders that are being hit ?

Compak

To the best of my knowledge what is happening here is 100% illegal and nothing is being done about it.

Yes for many dietary supplements VAT is now applicable, but according to Revenue eBrief No. 70/11, standard dietary supplements are still 0 VAT, and are so in pharmacies etc;

"Food supplements that may benefit from the Zero rate must fall within the ordinary and everyday meaning of “food” and not be equivalent to any of the items specified in the Table. The supplement must encourage the maintenance of health, through the sustenance derived from a normal, healthy diet, to meet the social reasons criteria that apply to goods benefiting from the Zero rate. The key consideration is whether the food supplement is one that forms part of a person's normal diet for the purposes of sustenance as opposed to enhancing a person's diet with a view to achieving a particular aim.
The Zero rate applies to the following substances, whether they are marketed as food supplements or not, provided they are formulated to make good the potential shortfall from the nutrition required for a normal, healthy diet:

Vitamins and minerals in solid form, such as capsules, tablets, pills or lozenges, intended for oral consumption without further preparation;"


After being charged VAT on an order that met this criteria I rang DHL to complain.

They informed me that they have been instructed by airport customs that all orders for iHerb (regardless of what they contain) are to incur custom charges at full value. After contacting Airport customs, they gave me details for Revenue.

I've contacted Revenue and they just pass it between departments without reply yet.

This is out and out robbery, I really hope anyone charged fees on standard vitamin and mineral preparations joins me in emailing complaints, or contacts their TDs.

former legend

@ compak, you're confusing VAT with customs charges.

bazwaldo

Ordered 3 weeks ago and selected the free international airmail and still haven't received it. Very unusual to take this long so its either an post are working out charges or it's been nicked. I'll wait another bit before contacting iherb.

rustyzip

bazwaldo wrote: »

Ordered 3 weeks ago and selected the free international airmail and still haven't received it. Very unusual to take this long so its either an post are working out charges or it's been nicked. I'll wait another bit before contacting iherb.

Yep, me too.
I got the two DHL orders a few days after placing order (with horrible charges)

I placed the airmail order same day - 26th June and no sign

tk123

I always split my order and aim for around €22-23 with airmail and no probs. Last year i put an order in and DHL said some of the stuff couldn't come into the EU - dog treats which the sell in the EU already and gave me the option of having it destroyed or sent back :mad:

rustyzip

rustyzip wrote: »

Yep, me too.
I got the two DHL orders a few days after placing order (with horrible charges)

I placed the airmail order same day - 26th June and no sign

Got my delivery today... doesn't look like it was even opened by customs so it just took an extra long time!

camz09

May I ask what company delivers the International Airmail option? Is it An Post?? Thanks.

tk123

camz09 wrote: »

May I ask what company delivers the International Airmail option? Is it An Post?? Thanks.

Yep An Post

camz09

tk123 wrote: »

Yep An Post

Thanks! So will they bring my package in the local depot to collect if I'm not home? (Just 'cause there's a chance I'll still be abroad and no ones at home, if they deliver it earlier than 10 working days.

bazwaldo

I believe An Post will keep in depot for you to collect but only for 3 working days. If its any consolation, my last iherb order took 4 weeks to arrive so should be safe.

BTW, the order was around $60 worth of vits and there was no VAT/duty charges.

camz09

bazwaldo wrote: »

I believe An Post will keep in depot for you to collect but only for 3 working days. If its any consolation, my last iherb order took 4 weeks to arrive so should be safe.

BTW, the order was around $60 worth of vits and there was no VAT/duty charges.

Thanks for the info. Yeah, my last order was in March through DHL, very quick as always and no extra charges from customs. But seeing posts lately that times have changed. I presume the Intl Airmail would be less likely to be taxed, don't mind waiting 4 weeks so hopefully I'm good!

camz09

camz09 wrote: »

Thanks for the info. Yeah, my last order was in March through DHL, very quick as always and no extra charges from customs. But seeing posts lately that times have changed. I presume the Intl Airmail would be less likely to be taxed, don't mind waiting 4 weeks so hopefully I'm good!

UPDATE: Order came August 12, ordered and shipped July 31. By International Airmail. No tax/customs charges received. Item worth about $45, QuestBar, bio deodorant, stevia, psyllium powder.

cruhoortwunk

Are iherb orders still being targeted for customs fees?

tk123

cruhoortwunk wrote: »

Are iherb orders still being targeted for customs fees?

Choose the $4 postage and keep the order iunder €25 (including postage) and you'll be fine

cruhoortwunk

tk123 wrote: »

Choose the $4 postage and keep the order iunder €25 (including postage) and you'll be fine

Keep the order under €25 or $25?

tk123

cruhoortwunk wrote: »

Keep the order under €25 or $25?

€25

rubadub

cruhoortwunk wrote: »

Keep the order under €25 or $25?

You will hear people say €22, but if VAT on items is 23% then the actual limit is higher. As I said before

-I emailed revenue about the €22 limit, in some old threads I was saying the limit is higher than €22 in most cases and they confirmed it. €26.08 at the current 23% VAT rate.

I might email revenue and ask if they know about iherb, and what could be done to prevent all these issues of wrongly applied VAT.

rustyzip

rubadub wrote: »

You will hear people say €22, but if VAT on items is 23% then the actual limit is higher. As I said before

-I emailed revenue about the €22 limit, in some old threads I was saying the limit is higher than €22 in most cases and they confirmed it. €26.08 at the current 23% VAT rate.

I might email revenue and ask if they know about iherb, and what could be done to prevent all these issues of wrongly applied VAT.

Hahahah! Good luck, I have spent hours emailing and phoning some of the revenue people, both in head office and at the airport. To be honest, I think they know about as much as we do!

rubadub

rustyzip wrote: »

Hahahah! Good luck, I have spent hours emailing and phoning some of the revenue people, both in head office and at the airport.

But was this just about trying to claim money back?

I am talking more about the offical procedures. I have found they always responded well to emails before -like the one I posted confirming the actual cut off point.

rustyzip

rubadub wrote: »

But was this just about trying to claim money back?

I am talking more about the offical procedures. I have found they always responded well to emails before -like the one I posted confirming the actual cut off point.

Both.
One guy was helpful and said that me contacting him re certain products like 'cacao nibs' etc to see if they were vat exempt was helpful as they will know for again... but now he ignores my emails!
He said that procedure is changing every week and it's hard to keep up!

muggles

I placed an order on 18 Aug. Shipped 20 Aug. Estimated delivery date 02 Sept. No sign of it as of yet and to be honest I'm kinda losing hope.:(
Order came to $25.78 & I chose International Airmail in the hope of it not being stopped by customs. Now I'm sorry I just didn't order the $80 or so worth I initially wanted, put in on tracked delivery and cough up VAT if required. At least I might have the product.:(

eqwjewoiujqorj

muggles wrote: »

I placed an order on 18 Aug. Shipped 20 Aug. Estimated delivery date 02 Sept. No sign of it as of yet and to be honest I'm kinda losing hope.:(
Order came to 20€ ($25.78) & I chose International Airmail in the hope of it not being stopped by customs. Now I'm sorry I just didn't order the 61€ ($80) or so worth I initially wanted, put in on tracked delivery and cough up VAT if required. At least I might have the product.:(

My orders usually take 12 working days, today was the 11th wd for your order, so you should get it in the next couple of days.

Probably goes to Germany first and then on to Ireland.

muggles

Cheers eq.....(I'm not going to attempt your user name!!:P)
I'll renew my hope so for another couple of days. I was so looking forward to those apple pies.:D

muggles

eqwjewoiujqorj wrote: »

My orders usually take 12 working days, today was the 11th wd for your order, so you should get it in the next couple of days.

Probably goes to Germany first and then on to Ireland.

Finally arrived this morning!! I'd want to place my next order now if it's to arrive before this box runs out.

kisugem

Iherb is offering again free delivery on orders over $60.

Airmail should be fine, just don't use the DHL.