Warning and advise for Danish DIY’ers

**Snowball** · 08-02-2015, 06:20

I know there are other Danish members in the forum hopefully more to come so a little help and a warning.

If you are new to hammock DIY you will quickly learn you have to import some of the materials because its only available in the US (the good stuff

). I have only good things to say about the US vendors I have used!

If you order stuff and it amounts to 80kr or more ( $ 11.76 august 2015) you have to pay tax and import fees. So be it we can’t change that like it or not

The fee is currently 160kr ($23.50) and then you have to add tax for whatever you bought.
If you are like me and get impulsive and want to start a project quickly or you have a deadline you are in for a disappointment. It can take forever to get the stuff you ordered and it’s not the vendors fault.
I have imported stuff several times and for the most part it takes 2 weeks or more before you get it.
If you order on a Thursday or a Friday chances are your shipment will be stuck over the weekend and won’t move until Monday. I am not sure why but think it’s because of customs paperwork (USPS).
The next hurdle is when it arrives in Denmark. As far as I can tell Post Danmark (Danish postal service) does not handle customs shipments in the weekends so it will be stuck there as well depending on when it arrives.
It is not unusual it will take 4-5 days to clear customs. Thinking back I can’t remember any of my shipments was cleared in less than 4 days.
When you get the notification it has cleared customs pay your fee and the tax as fast as you can and then you will have it the day after.

When you get the package or envelope at the counter at the post office check if it has been opened for inspection. They use special tape to close it again. I can only remember one shipment they did not open for inspection so I guess it’s normal.
If for some reason there is anything wrong take pictures and complaint while you are in the post office and get anything in writing. If it ends up in a complaint case do it in writing and demand answers in writing. In my experience they will give you the runaround over the phone. They tried with me but I think they will regret that

I won’t go into details but I have an ongoing complaint case. It was an envelope from Dutch with some hooks and when I got it the envelope was empty. They (Post Danmark) “forgot” to close it (no tape) after customs inspection. Long story no ending yet.

Currently I am waiting for a shipment from Ripstop by the Roll. It has been stuck in customs for 8 days and it will take at least 2 more before I get it because of the weekend

It may sound all negative but it is not. You will get most deliveries in respectable time but not over night.

It is fun to DIY and I won’t stop because of some negative experiences but I will advise to plan ahead. Make sure you order all your stuff the first time. If you forget something important it can cost you 2 weeks delay + kr/$. You have to pay the customs fee every time you order.
It is cheaper for you to order in bulk. You can make a hammock for the same price as the fee!

It is not a secret I am no big fan of Post Danmark’s customs department so if you distrust them and are in a hurry maybe you should consider alternative transport if you can and are willing to pay for it.
In my job I frequently ship things all over the world. As an example and to my surprise 5 days from Denmark to China including customs handling with a courier service. Go figure. They know how to do it.

Don’t blame the vendors for delays caused by something that happened after shipping, they are the nice guys.

Have fun and DIY

**geneaut** · 08-02-2015, 16:14

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

**Snowball** · 08-07-2015, 04:53

I have found an alternative way to ship purchases to Denmark and it is legal and you still have to pay taxes.
I have never used them and found them online today by coincidence so I can’t speak for the quality or speed but according to TrustPilot they are ok.

It is called Shopusa (link)

If any of you US vendors reading this have positive or negative experiences dealing with them feedback would be appreciated.

The setup is something like this as I understand it:

You make an account with Shopusa and then you get an US mail address (Virginia Beach)
You buy whatever and get it shipped to that address in the US.
They will take care of the customs and ship it to you.
You can shop in different places and get one shipment delivered to your home in DK.

What appeals to me is they use GLS to distribute in DK. To this date GLS have never failed me something I cannot say about PD.

Is it free? No its not but what is. What I hope it does is getting purchases home faster and with less hassle.

If you are Danish and have used this approach I would like to hear about it good or bad.

As I wrote I do not know this company but to me it looks like they found a business model we the common consumer can benefit from.

**Dutch** · 08-07-2015, 08:45

That soundsike a great service.

**gunner76** · 08-07-2015, 09:04

Good article. Sorry to hear about the hassle you have to go thru to get stuff

**Caminante** · 08-07-2015, 11:24

That stinks. Sounds like banding together to do a group order would at least help defray the 160kr fixed fee and probably the overall shipping cost. I used to fly in to Copenhagen a lot for work, but I don't work for Ericsson anymore or I'd volunteer to be a mule for you. Surely would be less risky than the alcohol the Swedes wanted me to bring...

**Snowball** · 08-07-2015, 14:55

Originally Posted by Caminante

That stinks. Sounds like banding together to do a group order would at least help defray the 160kr fixed fee and probably the overall shipping cost. I used to fly in to Copenhagen a lot for work, but I don't work for Ericsson anymore or I'd volunteer to be a mule for you. Surely would be less risky than the alcohol the Swedes wanted me to bring...

We all have our problems and needs and apparently you got in contact with some of our neighbors

The grass is always greener on the other side, we think. Not so in real life.
I don’t mind paying taxes but within reason. We get benefits in the other end. What I don’t like is the fee. It’s too much and it’s a cash cow. If the handling time reflected the price…. but it doesn’t.
What annoys me most is the handling time because I am impatient. In my book if the average handling time is 4-5 days they are behind all the time and its likely to get worse.

It is actually worse at the moment. The package from RSBTR I mentioned was released today. 12 days in customs!

I paid the fee and tax this morning(Friday) and if all goes well I get it tomorrow. If not first chance is on Monday.
The sad part is I would most likely have been hanging in the woods right now in and under new gear if this package arrived when I expected it

Update Saturday.
The weekend is saved

I finally got my delivery.
This time customs (PD) did not open the delivery.

**IRONFISH45** · 08-07-2015, 18:30

Thank you for the post, a well written warning to people who want to import merchandise. I hate fees, I wish they would call them what they are a TAX.

I ship to the UK and Canada a lot, the fees for UK are very high, I think. Canada is reasonable and it is possible to argue the import duty. I do that a lot and the duty is normally lowered. I allow at least a week for delivery, two weeks is not unusual. Maybe because we are so far North.

**xxl_hanger** · 08-08-2015, 10:39

What Snowball described is not a specific Danish problem. It matters almost all European DIY'ers the same way. Only the tax rates can be a bit different.

I hate it to collect imported goods at the custom office and to pay taxes and duties there even on shipping expenses, which are already much too high - especially for products bought in the US, imo.

What I can say. Time is not the most important thing. I could wait if the shipping expense would be much lower. But the situation is different. I'm most of the time supposed to pay the highest prize for first class international shipping and can expect to get the worst service then. "The good DIY stuff" which some US vendors undoubted sell is (most of the time made in China and) including taxes, duties and especially shipping expenses too expensive in Europe. There are cheaper European buying alternatives ... not always, but most of the time. The difference in quality, godliness or the range of colors is often undoubted existent but not always as important as discussed here in this forum.

Time to change something? I don't think so. The European market for DIY outdoor products is still too small, imo. My demand is already covered and if I would do all my DIY projects again I would decide most likely similar and order only some cheap sewing accessories tax and duty free in the US.