Theory of buying from abroad
Preamble
About a month ago I decided to finally buy a netbook, via the Internet. Why via the Internet? Yes, just decided to get a buying experience, for the future, plus save a little. I collected information about purchases from abroad in my personal blog (I don’t give you a link for obvious reasons) from both Habr and other resources. It mainly concerns eBay purchase, but is generally true for any online store.
Why theory?
Because a few days ago my native aunt from NY called me and offered to buy me some brand jeans as a gift. I judged that I absolutely didn’t need jeans, but help in ordering a laptop from abroad is quite appropriate. As a result, we agreed that I would transfer her money to her daughter, and they would send me an Asus EEE PC 1000 HE by mail, a 2Gb memory bar and a cool bag. You can congratulate me, I am almost happy owner of these devices. Native memory bar on 1Gb by the way is not needed by anyone cheaply? :)
Disclaimer
Since the information in different sources is fragmented and sometimes contradictory, I spent a lot of time organizing it and bringing it to a general view. It is possible that somewhere I am wrong, somewhere - I misunderstood the essence of the question, therefore I will gladly answer and add to all amendments and additions with them if it is necessary. I ask you to treat with understanding, for the most part it is still a theory, collected on the Internet.
There is a lot of text under the cut, but it is formatted as far as Habr's capabilities allow.
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Content
1. About banks and cards (on the example of “VTB24” and “Revival”)
2. About PayPal
3. About eBay
4. About shipping and customs
5. About freebies
Useful links on the topic:
eBay's largest forum: www.ebay-forum.ru
VTB24 does not accept transactions from PayPal via Visa Classic: forum thread www.ixbt.com
the text that served as the impetus for writing this (in many respects this article is similar, but it is corrected and supplemented): an article on Habré
in inbox, user Vo1 talks about buying from UK: made a comment
Acknowledgments
eBay (on Habré)
Laptops (on Habré)
Netbooks (on Habré)
Iron (on Habré)
Blog them. YoungSkipper (on Habré)
www.warhel.ru
And the rest of the internet :)
UPD: and all commentators to this post (and those who wrote in a personal)
1. About banks and cards.
I decided to issue the card in two banks at once.
The reasons:
1. There is a backup option (the cost of servicing cards is a penny), since, judging by the reviews on the Internet, some banks have problems (and this was confirmed);
2. I want to have a choice in service;
3. One card was made for settlements in $ (VTB24), the other - in rubles (Revival);
Features of banks.
Revival
- time to complete the card 2 weeks ;
- the maximum amount of settlements on the card per month is not limited (by default, $ 300, this is if the application does not explicitly indicate the amount, but personally the manager helpfully indicated this moment);
- card type: VISA Virtuon ;
- the card is made for a year , the payment is 75 rubles. ;
VTB 24
- card execution time is less than a week ;
- the maximum amount of payments on the card per month is not limited (judging by reviews on the Internet -
- card type: VISA EC @ rd ;
- the card is made for six months , the payment is 60 rubles. ( comments: 1 , 2 );
Impressions
Revival
I did not like everything. The points:
1. Long done.
2. You can only deposit money through the deposit management department (you can go to the VTB24 through the cashier, and they don’t care that there is no magnetic strip on the card) => extra time, because there is usually a queue, and at the end of the operation you still have to go to the cashier.
3. The Internet banking system is a paid service.
4. The card for some reason did not want to activate in paypal. Most likely this is my blunted, but nonetheless ( comments: 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ).
There is one small plus sign - it was brought to my salary account. The result - I have access to money through a regular debit card.
Conclusion: put off the map until better times. So far, only useful to pay for my domain.
VTB 24
Overall impression: everything suits me.
Receiving is even easier than making ( comments: 1 ): a list and date on receipt of receiving a card, a call from your own phone to customer support to activate the card (to tell the truth, you don’t need a call in Revival) and you can already transfer funds to your account . As in rubles (the exchange rate is then taken by the domestic banking, which seems to differ little from the Central Bank), and in dollars.
At the first payment, the prescribed $ 2 (60 rubles) for its use will be removed from the card. Do not forget to immediately put a few more dollars to verify the card in the payment systems. Specifically for PayPal it is $ 1.95. They will return after the card activation code is entered on their website, we get it in the bank statement, in the comments to the transaction.
The so-called “Telebank System” (in the Moscow region at the moment it combines Telebank and Teleinfo, at least on the login page from the main page of the site, the Telebank login is written, and from the St. Petersburg portal - Log in in the system “Telebank” and “Teleinfo” ) allows you to monitor the status of the account via the Internet ( and not only ). It connects with a call to the same customer support service, the first three months of use are free, then - 300 rubles per year (I mean using the notification via SMS, as I understand it, access via the Internet is not paid as a separate service) ( Comments: 1 )
Funds for confirmation of a card in PayPal are written off a little more than a day after the request, at the bottom there will be a line like: Retail LUX 1111 PAYPAL– * EXPUSE , 1111 - this is exactly the same code. After confirmation, $ 1.95 is returned to the bank account ( comments: 1 ).
Do not forget that you cannot directly withdraw money from payment cards of the types mentioned above. At least, with Visa E @ Card this problem exists - you cannot withdraw money from it, just close the card and get the rest (according to rumors, this is not the fastest operation). But, as far as I understand, on the same account as the card, you can take a different type of card, VISA Classic for example, and withdraw funds through it ( comments: 1 ).
2. About PayPal
PayPal has a so-called sending limit - the maximum amount that can be sent via paypal before a bank card is confirmed. At the time of writing, this amount is $ 500.
Pros and cons of PayPal
pros:
- no interest is taken from the buyer on the transaction (only from the seller);
- works in Russia , there is a Russian interface (translated and help and registration);
- for quite some time now on gmail it is possible to enable the option that will show that the letter is really from paypal (protection against phishing, link ).
minuses:
- it is necessary to issue a bank card which he will accept . as far as I figured out at the moment in the question - VISA Electron and MasterCard Maestro will not work ( comments: 1 )
Terms paypal
verified account - indicates that the card has passed verification (it happens this way: paypal removes a small amount from the card indicating a specific code, which can be found in the bank statement. upon subsequent purchase of goods, this amount will be credited)
verified adress - for Russia is not yet available (available so far only for USA, UK and Canada)
Pitfalls paypal
- if a bank card is a dollar or euro, then the system will by default first transfer funds into your “native” currency (at the rate of paypal), therefore it will transfer to the currency you need to pay (at the rate of your bank card) and only after that it will pay for the goods. This will happen even if the currency on the card is the same as the one you need to pay. Disabling the option in setting paypal'a ( comments: 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ).
3. About eBay
Ebay terms
refurbrished - reconditioned machinery ( comments: 1 )
refund - a refund if it is impossible to make a deal
partialy refund - partial refund, for example, when it is impossible to complete an order
confirmed - a sign of the delivery address, reports that the address is confirmed
like as ... copy ... fake ... in style .. - if this is found in the product description, then it is a fake (copy, etc.), as the seller directly states
brand new, 100% authentic, auth, new with tags - this in turn is a sign that the product is what it seems at first glance
Up to $ XXXX in buyer protection - the amount that is ready to be reimbursed in case of a fraud
Worldwide (Shipping) - Worldwide Shipping
Only confirmed address - only confirmed addresses, about them below in ebay pitfalls
Included in S & H - the cost of insurance is included in the shipping cost (shipping and handling)
online auction addresses
ebay.com - USA
www.ebay.co.uk - UK
www.ebay.de - Germany
www.ebay.it - Italy
Pros and cons of ebay
pros:
- recently, the buyer is always right ( link ). if someone is familiar with the auctions, then he knows that there is a rating system, when both the buyer and the seller can give each other feedback (optionally mutual). in ebay, now it’s physically impossible to deliver a negative (or maybe positive, but this is almost unimportant) feedback to the buyer;
- definitely attractive prices and a wide choice among sellers, the possibility of adequate assessment of sellers by viewing their rating (by the way, if anyone has a bad conversation with spoken English - I advise everyone to use the Client for Google Translate utility to read foreign sites with pleasure;
- the goods are insured;
minuses:
- it is not always possible to save on delivery when ordering two or more things, as the sellers are likely to be different (which means that everyone will have to pay for the delivery separately);
- As a rule, the seller on eBay is not at all of the same level as on Amazon, not to mention macmall-type independent stores;
Ebay pitfalls
- when you click on “Buy Now”, the lot is paid immediately (comments: 1 ), provided that the card that is registered on ebay has money. This is fraught with the fact that you can not get along with the seller about the delivery for example;
- if the address specified during registration at paypal does not match the delivery address, the latter is considered unconfirmed. This problem is solved by calling paypal and clarifying this problem. but most likely ebay doesn’t care about this address at all, the sign of the conformed address is just an indication that the delivery address matches the address from the credit card, and the problem is created by the sellers, since ebay refuses to insure such a transaction (by the way, paypal belongs to ebay, so I don’t have any particular problems when trying to make friends);
- in the case of a refund via paypal, they will come back to the card, not to the paypal account;
4. About shipping and customs
Types of delivery services
Parcel Post - regular mail. delivery time is unpredictable, because usually - by steamer. but if the parcel is small, I can send it via AirMail;
AirMail - delivery by plane. term - from a week to a month;
Delivery service
private (carriers): DHL, FedEx, USP, Foreign Air Express, TNT
government (postal services): USPS (USA), Royal mail (UK), Deutsche Post (Germany), Russian Post
USPS
This is one organization, but you can send through it in many ways.
Top running USPS:
- USPS Priority mail - delivery time: 1-2 weeks. at least 4 days. BUT! since the parcel via Priority Mail after customs gets into the Russian Post - the parcels of this service go around Russia longer than they travel from abroad. total transit time without customs from America is 14-23 days. it is possible to track the movement of goods through a special service of USPS in the territory of America, and through a similar service of the Russian Post in Russia;
- USPS Express mail international (EMS) - the most expensive of the reasonable, but the most sane service. depending on the sending state and the weather (no joke :)) appears in Russia on the 2nd or 4th day. immediately queued for customs. after customs, the next day gets up in the courier shipment to your address (this is about Moscow). very rarely delayed at this stage for two days. by number it is tracked all the way, either on the EMS website or from the operators of the Russian Post (by phone 8 800 2005 055, round the clock). according to reviews - nothing is ever lost. This service in many countries is called EMS POST. in China and many “attractive” countries for purchase, it is and is searched for by country name and the phrase EMS (Express Mail Service). Show the local EMS site to the seller and ask to send this service. Germany is not, there is DHL;
- USPS First class mail is almost the same as USPS Priority Mail, as applied to Russia (what the creators of the Priority Mail did not work in Russia, therefore it’s the same). will not be slower, but cheaper;
Tariffs and travel time of all the above packages from America can be viewed on the USPS website in the “Calculate postage” section .
Real transit times ( comments: 1 ), but do not take into account the Russian customs and the Russian “last mile” of our mail, which in all cases, except USPS Express Mail, leaves much to be desired. Most sellers have a calculator on the product page. Depending on the country chosen, he will calculate the amount of the delivery. And when you pay, PayPal will automatically add this amount to the account based on your shipping address registered in the system.
In all three cases, tracking will be issued (the number by which you can see where the package is now). All three options, after crossing the border, turn into Russian Post. EMS can bring the goods to your home, in other cases you need to pick up at the post office.
Freight services (DHL, FedEx, USP, Foreign Air Express, TNT)
Parcels go three days, but there is a nuance. All of them - "carriers", and not "postal service". Therefore, the items brought by them do not fall under the preferential rules for customs clearance of mail items for individuals and are cleared at predatory tariffs. That is, the CCD, the customs rate by product code, and then VAT. Depending on the product code, this is usually ((“price of the goods” + “shipping price”) + 15%) + VAT. The customs clearance procedure takes 4 hours (many), you must go personally to customs.
Amazon, by the way, judging by the reviews, includes the cost of delivery (S & H) in the price of the goods (in invoice).
customs value - by law, this cost includes the cost of the purchase, plus the cost of insurance of the goods, plus the cost of delivering the goods. the cost of the purchase is determined on the basis of the invoice that goes sticky tape to the box with your purchase.
Determine the price at customs in three ways:
1. The seller will indicate on the box the so-called invoice. In this case, seasoned people say that you can ask the seller to specify a price that is obviously less than the maximum amount of duty-free importation, of course, in the currency of the country where you are buying, and customs will easily miss your purchase.
Universal phrase with a request to underestimate the invoice: "Please do not enclose any papers, advertising materials, or anything except an invoice for $ 399.95." Otherwise, they can write on the package that it costs $ 400, and inside put the estimate on $ 5000 and prospectuses.
If the shipment is lost, the seller will not receive insurance more than is written in the assessment of the shipment. Accordingly, you will not want to refund the amount greater than the invoice was written ( comments: 1 , 2, ). This explains the reluctance of many sellers to do it. After all, if you pay via paypal, then you can demand the full amount of payment. Therefore, many large sellers in the rules say that they do not underestimate the amount of invoice. Opinion from the audience: In one of the cases, buying an expensive trinket, I persuaded to lower the invoice only in this way - I offered to pay two sums from the paper. $ 400 "for the goods", and the remaining several thousand "for the services." Thus, I deprived myself of the ability to demand money back and reassured the seller.
2. A notification will be received from customs that you need to clarify the amount of goods in some way (in the case of USPS Express Mail, dispatchers will tell you this by phone), since it is obviously more than the amount of duty-free importation. For disassembly, you must bring a printout from E-bay, a printout from PayPal about payment and a free-form statement.
The list of documents is on the website www.emspost.ru in the "documents" section. The procedure is short - a few windows and usually a small tail line. If you underestimate the cost of the invoice and the parcel is delayed, then you will not be planted. Write in the application the real cost, write - “hell knows why the sender pointed it out to it” and after paying the due fees you are released with the parcel. Customs in Moscow has a queue for the "passage" or "detention" of parcels through it. In normal time 3 days a week. On New Year's Eve - up to two weeks. This period must be added to the postal.
In one place I read that it is enough to send a screenshot of the screen from the auction, where the price of your purchase will be indicated. I also read a review that customs notifications can get lost and then, if you do not prompt yourself and after a while do not call them, the goods can be sent back.
3. Customs "put with the device."
As the reading of the Internet showed, all three options are equally possible.
ATTENTION! Some sellers in the graph in the invoice write Gift (donation). So, if the seller (online shopping does not suffer from this, but sellers on eBay - very often) decided to "help" you, then it will come to you sideways ( comments: 1 ).
The fact is that in our legislation the notion of Gift (donation) is missing, therefore the price is determined independently by the customs officer. This price can be determined on the basis of catalogs (usually outdated), the market price on the Internet, or simply you will be required to extract your bank card to confirm expenses (and there - payment for the goods + delivery).
Options for customs duties
- when sent via postal services (USPS, Royal mail, Deutsche Post, Russian Post) - up to 10 thousand rubles. not charged ( comments: 1 ). You can receive a package for the above amount no more than once a week. the fee is paid on the amount that is received in excess of the permitted amount of 30% of it, the amount of delivery is not included in the price of the goods (you need to know it separately, depends on the seller. if the shipping cost is included, asking the seller to exclude it is almost useless, say the reviews. can not avoid the inclusion of shipping costs in the purchase price);
- when shipped via a cargo delivery service (DHL, FedEx, USP) - up to 5 thousand rubles. everything else is similar to the postal services + CCD, the customs rate for the product code, and then VAT. depending on the product code, this is usually ((“price of goods” + “shipment price”) + 15%) + VAT (the goods brought by them do not fall under preferential rules for customs clearance of mail items for individuals and must be cleared in full). But here I didn’t figure it out to the end, it’s possible that the CCD and VAT are only for legal entities. individuals. (most likely the way it is);
Receiving a parcel
The process is not as simple as it seems, do not sign anything until you inspect the packaging, if it is damaged (the goods are broken), or broken (stolen), you can not sign anything and leave quietly, the parcel will go back, and if you paid via paypal a chance to get money back, if everything is fine at first glance we sign and receive, if all the same a jamb came out, call the mail worker and draw up an act. But you have rights, if something went wrong (broken, stolen, etc.) is not enough, so it is better to cross your fingers for 2 weeks and wait calmly.
In case of delaying the package there are three options:
- send the parcel back;
- go to customs in Domodedovo;
- use the services of a delivery company for customs clearance (2-3 thousand rubles);
What can not be transported through customs:
( comments: 1 , 2 )
- perfume;
- weapon;
- knives;
- valuable antiques;
- tobacco and alcohol;
About freebie
On Habré there was a PR of one remarkable service . In short, it allows him to save a small part of the money when buying through: eBay, Amazon, Skype, Boutique.ru, GoDaddy. What's the catch? There is no dirty trick, by visiting (and doing all the actions there) above the indicated resources through a certain banner we can get a part of the profit from the affiliate program of this service. When registering (and subsequent purchase within 7 days) of your ebay account through their banner, you can get free $ 15 plus everything.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/66801/
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