How I bought on Amazon worth more than € 200
Last November, on Black Friday, I made an order for Amazon, bought a fashionable bluetooth Jambox speaker, because of a good discount. As a New Year's gift. Plus, a little upgrade for laptop - a couple of memory dies, HDD and SSD. It turned out noticeably more than € 200, I did not know then that this was an important figure, and I had about € 400 and I was sure that there would be no problems up to € 1000.
By the way, the UPS site clearly states that they do not deliver packages of more than € 200, except for Moscow, St. Petersburg, Krasnodar, Vladivostok, Stavropol, Novorossiysk and Nizhny Novgorod. See www.ups.com/content/ru/ru/resources/ship/customs/import_ship.html I have Omsk, here they don’t have to deliver the idea at all. But in the case of Amazon, they seem to have no choice, they had to.
I will not tell the whole story in detail, it’s too long to read, really. Just describe theses highlights. And the story, by the way, is still not over.
- the parcel reached Moscow in 2-3 days, lay for several days, then came the sms that the parcel needed to be cleared
- UPS provides the services of a customs broker, paid by Amazon, you need to fill out the paper and send scans
- the papers are quite simple, but you should pay special attention to the document “Transfer of goods”. I indicated both HDD and SSD as “hard disk”, I didn’t want to frighten customs officers with complex names like “solid state storage device”, as it later turned out to be in vain
- I recommend that you immediately call after sending an email to clarify everything. Otherwise, they will call me only in 2 weeks and say that something else is needed.
')
For the first time, the girl on the phone didn’t know anything, they only said that some codes were needed, but she couldn’t explain where it was and where to get it. I, googling, decided that these are codes of TN VED TS, this is such a classification of goods. A terrible thing, I tell you. Computers, for example, are located in the section “ Nuclear reactors, boilers, equipment and mechanical devices; their parts, ” would you guess to look there?
In fact, it turned out that they didn’t need these codes, but I recommend to take a look, at least in order to understand how to write the “Translation of goods” correctly. There are several sites with examples of declaring by code. You can search for these examples without codes, by keywords (“hdd”), but due to inexperience I went a long way. By the way, if you search by keyword, it becomes clear that the classification has problems - there are a lot of examples with different codes for the same product, and it is unclear which is more correct. At this stage, for example, I found out that there is a separate code for SSD, completely in a separate branch of the classification. And what you need to write exactly "solid state storage device." I had to rewrite the “goods transfer” for UPS
As it turned out, customs officers pay special attention to computer electronics. And besides them, the FSB is also, because you can’t just import cryptographic and radio transmission equipment. Here the most interesting begins:
- there is a white list of electronics for which “notifications in the FSB” have already been issued. Taking into account the fact that every serious manufacturer updates the model line every six months or a year it is a lot of work, and thousands of people are endlessly engaged in useless work. You can google the "notification of the FSB", a whole world of incomprehensible businesses.
- special attention is only to internal devices. Therefore, there are no questions to the Jambox, although it works via Bluetooth (which means it is a radio transmitter and has encryption)
- but they require permission, including for memory, since it is an internal device. This is the key point.
- for me it should be strictly the opposite. Any computer can use software encryption, without any coordination with the FSB. And modern operating systems can encrypt the entire section. What is the point then? At the same time, a walkie-talkie, for example, is easily imported with encryption. Although here, probably, there are already the troubles of a specific customs officer who does not want to understand. And yes, it would be interesting to know how many terrorist attacks the FSB has prevented from wrapping up purchases from Amazon.
So, there is a base with Notifications, if the FSB has already been notified about the product from your list, then you need to find it and report the number (for example, RU0000016174). The notification is usually on the model range, and something like “ARTICLE - WDxxxxBEKX-yyyyyyy”. We'll have to search by manufacturer and read the text of all notifications. I found the notification on the HDD, found not the first time, and spent about 3 hours. I did not find the rest. I had to talk for a long time with representatives of UPS, convincing that these goods do not pose a threat to national security. I even had to attach a statement that the SSD will be used as an external device, attaching a photo of the SATA-USB box and a check for its purchase. Did not help. But it helped that the SSD is formally a “flash drive”, it is no longer a “hard disk”. And on the flash drive, they do not ask for a notification. I also agreed with the memory that there is nothing to encrypt.
By the way, by this time I already got used to call up with them several times a day. Need to call, do not expect that they themselves will do something. It is worth asking the internal number and name. Another problem is that in 95% of cases the number will either be busy or will not pick up the phone. There is no waiting on the line, you will have to sit and re-dial this number manually for 15-20 minutes (I’ll clarify that this is an internal number, it will not help you to dial). Often the operator is simply not in place, so you have to switch to a new operator.
Apparently, they do not record the results of conversations, so each operator has to tell the whole story from the very beginning. Keep this in mind. Sometimes he says that everything is OK, everything is already being finalized, nothing is needed from me. But after a couple of days, a letter arrives from the new one, which again asks for notification. And it turns out that the last operator has forgotten everything, lost everything, and so on. And so in a circle. Each time, in the end, it turns out that everything I have already sent, and that’s all. So recheck everything, call back, demand a specific answer.
In my case, exactly 50 days have passed since the moment of the order, but it's still there. This week, on Monday, they sent a message that all the documents are there, I don’t need anything, and the package will arrive soon. Today is Friday, but judging by the tracking, nothing has changed. It would be easier if they returned the parcel, I would have ordered again.
Findings:
- do not order more than € 200, this comes with delivery. If you order multiple items, then split the order into multiple packages. Shipping cost depends on weight, so grouping into one package does not make much sense. But the main thing is that they come on different days, otherwise the cost is summed up. So order on different days.
- if you order electronics, then it is better to check on the basis of Notifications. But not the fact that the presence of a notification somehow speed up delivery.
- All this also applies to DHL. Therefore, oddly enough, but it is easier to order via regular mail (yes, Russian Post ), possibly via EMS. Amazon really does not allow to change the delivery, there is only UPS. This is me about eBay, etc.
- if they impose a limit of € 150, then even through the Russian Post it will not work
- And Amazon will return the money to you if the package is not delivered in a reasonable time. I have already returned. And I even managed to make another order, this year already, and for a smaller amount. Everything came without problems.
References:
- classification of goods - www.tks.ru/db/tnved/tree
- examples of declarations - www.tks.ru/db/tnved/goods
- notification base - www.tsouz.ru/DB/ENTR/NOTIF/Pages/default.aspx
PS Later in the internet I found a bunch of reviews, as soon as the amount is more than 200 euros, everyone has a problem with getting it, or a refund or the process stretches for a couple of months. I don't know, maybe this is a sabbath, maybe it's just a mess in the customs department. UPS itself, by the way, works like a clock. Do not be surprised if this department is headed by someone from the Post of Russia, you feel the hand of a professional :)
By the way, the UPS site clearly states that they do not deliver packages of more than € 200, except for Moscow, St. Petersburg, Krasnodar, Vladivostok, Stavropol, Novorossiysk and Nizhny Novgorod. See www.ups.com/content/ru/ru/resources/ship/customs/import_ship.html I have Omsk, here they don’t have to deliver the idea at all. But in the case of Amazon, they seem to have no choice, they had to.
I will not tell the whole story in detail, it’s too long to read, really. Just describe theses highlights. And the story, by the way, is still not over.
- the parcel reached Moscow in 2-3 days, lay for several days, then came the sms that the parcel needed to be cleared
- UPS provides the services of a customs broker, paid by Amazon, you need to fill out the paper and send scans
- the papers are quite simple, but you should pay special attention to the document “Transfer of goods”. I indicated both HDD and SSD as “hard disk”, I didn’t want to frighten customs officers with complex names like “solid state storage device”, as it later turned out to be in vain
- I recommend that you immediately call after sending an email to clarify everything. Otherwise, they will call me only in 2 weeks and say that something else is needed.
')
For the first time, the girl on the phone didn’t know anything, they only said that some codes were needed, but she couldn’t explain where it was and where to get it. I, googling, decided that these are codes of TN VED TS, this is such a classification of goods. A terrible thing, I tell you. Computers, for example, are located in the section “ Nuclear reactors, boilers, equipment and mechanical devices; their parts, ” would you guess to look there?
In fact, it turned out that they didn’t need these codes, but I recommend to take a look, at least in order to understand how to write the “Translation of goods” correctly. There are several sites with examples of declaring by code. You can search for these examples without codes, by keywords (“hdd”), but due to inexperience I went a long way. By the way, if you search by keyword, it becomes clear that the classification has problems - there are a lot of examples with different codes for the same product, and it is unclear which is more correct. At this stage, for example, I found out that there is a separate code for SSD, completely in a separate branch of the classification. And what you need to write exactly "solid state storage device." I had to rewrite the “goods transfer” for UPS
As it turned out, customs officers pay special attention to computer electronics. And besides them, the FSB is also, because you can’t just import cryptographic and radio transmission equipment. Here the most interesting begins:
- there is a white list of electronics for which “notifications in the FSB” have already been issued. Taking into account the fact that every serious manufacturer updates the model line every six months or a year it is a lot of work, and thousands of people are endlessly engaged in useless work. You can google the "notification of the FSB", a whole world of incomprehensible businesses.
- special attention is only to internal devices. Therefore, there are no questions to the Jambox, although it works via Bluetooth (which means it is a radio transmitter and has encryption)
- but they require permission, including for memory, since it is an internal device. This is the key point.
- for me it should be strictly the opposite. Any computer can use software encryption, without any coordination with the FSB. And modern operating systems can encrypt the entire section. What is the point then? At the same time, a walkie-talkie, for example, is easily imported with encryption. Although here, probably, there are already the troubles of a specific customs officer who does not want to understand. And yes, it would be interesting to know how many terrorist attacks the FSB has prevented from wrapping up purchases from Amazon.
So, there is a base with Notifications, if the FSB has already been notified about the product from your list, then you need to find it and report the number (for example, RU0000016174). The notification is usually on the model range, and something like “ARTICLE - WDxxxxBEKX-yyyyyyy”. We'll have to search by manufacturer and read the text of all notifications. I found the notification on the HDD, found not the first time, and spent about 3 hours. I did not find the rest. I had to talk for a long time with representatives of UPS, convincing that these goods do not pose a threat to national security. I even had to attach a statement that the SSD will be used as an external device, attaching a photo of the SATA-USB box and a check for its purchase. Did not help. But it helped that the SSD is formally a “flash drive”, it is no longer a “hard disk”. And on the flash drive, they do not ask for a notification. I also agreed with the memory that there is nothing to encrypt.
By the way, by this time I already got used to call up with them several times a day. Need to call, do not expect that they themselves will do something. It is worth asking the internal number and name. Another problem is that in 95% of cases the number will either be busy or will not pick up the phone. There is no waiting on the line, you will have to sit and re-dial this number manually for 15-20 minutes (I’ll clarify that this is an internal number, it will not help you to dial). Often the operator is simply not in place, so you have to switch to a new operator.
Apparently, they do not record the results of conversations, so each operator has to tell the whole story from the very beginning. Keep this in mind. Sometimes he says that everything is OK, everything is already being finalized, nothing is needed from me. But after a couple of days, a letter arrives from the new one, which again asks for notification. And it turns out that the last operator has forgotten everything, lost everything, and so on. And so in a circle. Each time, in the end, it turns out that everything I have already sent, and that’s all. So recheck everything, call back, demand a specific answer.
In my case, exactly 50 days have passed since the moment of the order, but it's still there. This week, on Monday, they sent a message that all the documents are there, I don’t need anything, and the package will arrive soon. Today is Friday, but judging by the tracking, nothing has changed. It would be easier if they returned the parcel, I would have ordered again.
Findings:
- do not order more than € 200, this comes with delivery. If you order multiple items, then split the order into multiple packages. Shipping cost depends on weight, so grouping into one package does not make much sense. But the main thing is that they come on different days, otherwise the cost is summed up. So order on different days.
- if you order electronics, then it is better to check on the basis of Notifications. But not the fact that the presence of a notification somehow speed up delivery.
- All this also applies to DHL. Therefore, oddly enough, but it is easier to order via regular mail (yes, Russian Post ), possibly via EMS. Amazon really does not allow to change the delivery, there is only UPS. This is me about eBay, etc.
- if they impose a limit of € 150, then even through the Russian Post it will not work
- And Amazon will return the money to you if the package is not delivered in a reasonable time. I have already returned. And I even managed to make another order, this year already, and for a smaller amount. Everything came without problems.
References:
- classification of goods - www.tks.ru/db/tnved/tree
- examples of declarations - www.tks.ru/db/tnved/goods
- notification base - www.tsouz.ru/DB/ENTR/NOTIF/Pages/default.aspx
PS Later in the internet I found a bunch of reviews, as soon as the amount is more than 200 euros, everyone has a problem with getting it, or a refund or the process stretches for a couple of months. I don't know, maybe this is a sabbath, maybe it's just a mess in the customs department. UPS itself, by the way, works like a clock. Do not be surprised if this department is headed by someone from the Post of Russia, you feel the hand of a professional :)
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/209418/
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