Changes in shipping prices

[Otis]

Yesterday the shipping costs to Finland were $18 for the standard DVD. Today they`re $16,75.
Oddly, the deluxe edition shipping costs were over $35 yesterday, but today the shipping of deluxe edition is only $15.
Im quite confused now. How come the shipping costs for the deluxe edition have dropped about $20, but that its cheaper to ship the deluxe edition than just the standard DVD?

[moronic50]

There seems to have been some internal wrangling going on at TT due to the fact a large number of people have complained that the shipping costs where to high for a single DVD. Also coupled with this TT are trying to stop incredibly high shipping cost (like the $35 for the deluxe edition) since it's absurd and has something to do with the shipping company they are using.

Judging by your posting on the shipping charges they are still working out the details. I suspect that this is probably the biggest shipping job they've ever done given Monkey Islands popularity and they weren't quite prepared for it. Still you can't plan for everything.

Expect that a single dvd will set you back $17/18 for shipping from now on though since TT want to have tracking available on all discs. i suspect too many have gone missing in the post which is costing them much more money by having to resend items.

If the cost of shipping spikes massively email TT and maybe they'll be able to do something.

[NHJ BV]

$16 to ship a single DVD is ridiculous though, that is half the price of the episodes themselves.

[PainDealer]

Just add some more stuff in your shopping cart and you'll get the shipping for free. For example pre-order the new Sam & Max or some of that other Monkey Island stuff with it

[NHJ BV]

Yes, I just figured that out, I don't visit this site very often anymore. I'll probably get my total over $50 some way, but currently all the preview pictures for tshirts and stuff seem to be down, and I'd rather see what I'm buying

[cmc42]

Originally Posted by PainDealer

Just add some more stuff in your shopping cart and you'll get the shipping for free. For example pre-order the new Sam & Max or some of that other Monkey Island stuff with it

I wish I could do it like that but three words: UK import taxes.

The minute I spend over £18 I then have to add 17.5% in import tax if it gets stopped by customs, plus a further £10.01 for parcelforce's clearence fee.

So potentially if I spent the amount needed for free shipping the total cost for me would actually be nearly £50.

I'm probably better off just getting the dvd and paying the postage. (Though I've not checked the postage cost either yet. Sounds like neither are that viable for the UK )

[PainDealer]

Originally Posted by cmc42

I wish I could do it like that but three words: UK import taxes.

The minute I spend over £18 I then have to add 17.5% in import tax if it gets stopped by customs, plus a further £10.01 for parcelforce's clearence fee.

So potentially if I spent the amount needed for free shipping the total cost for me would actually be nearly £50.

I'm probably better off just getting the dvd and paying the postage. (Though I've not checked the postage cost either yet. Sounds like neither are that viable for the UK )

Damn! That sounds harsh! Before the yule holidays I ordered stuff worth almost $100 and I had to haul it in through the customs. There was 8% VAT for literature and 22% VAT for DVD and it was less than 10€ in total and it got automatically pardoned. So I suggest you get a friend in Finland to do the laundry for ya

[cmc42]

Originally Posted by PainDealer

Damn! That sounds harsh! Before the yule holidays I ordered stuff worth almost $100 and I had to haul it in through the customs. There was 8% VAT for literature and 22% VAT for DVD and it was less than 10€ in total and it got automatically pardoned. So I suggest you get a friend in Finland to do the laundry for ya

LOL. Still... stupid import taxes. I've heard (though don't know for certain) that UPS charge an even higher clearance fee than parcelforce do. I'm probably better off not getting anything. Unless I ask someone in the US to buy it for me and then ship it here? As parcels marked as gifts are not subject to import tax unless their value is more than £40 LOL.

Still... it's a lot of faffing around.

[Wolfstar27]

Yikes i bought mine with the free shipping to be sent to the UK, i forgot about customs...i pray that they dont charge...but if they do, then theres nothing i can do, i guess theres no point crying over spilt milk lol...but hopefully it aint too much....i still want the statue from lucasarts website, but there shipping is damn expensive....i need an American Penpal to help me with shipping lol

[a3HeadedMonkey]

The shipping for this DVD is fucking ridiculous! I was really looking forward to getting this "free" DVD. But at those prices there's just no way I'm paying that.

For shame TT, for shame!

[Hassat Hunter]

That sounds horrible. Never got that here in NL though, even with far over those prices. Odd.

Anyway, you can get S&M Season3. Being that's a digitial purchase it wont be shipped, thus added to the cost, but still counts to the $50, so all that remains is $15.

[Emily]

For shame TT, for shame!

Blame the post office, not Telltale. They've been raising their rates to compensate for the fact that fewer people send mail due to the popularity of email, and that the economy sucks. Telltale's already taking a loss by offering a DVD for free, you can't expect them to take a loss on shipping as well.

I'm about to buy a tiny gear to replace one that broke in my printer. It's about 3" large and costs three dollars. The cheapest shipping I can find for it is $11, and that's within the US, it doesn't even have to go across an ocean...

[Otis]

I think that the limit is 50 euros for items that get stuck in the customs in Finland. However, I`ve heard that they necessarily dont check each and everyone of the packages, so its partially a game of luck I guess.
Plus, if the packages are marked as "gifts" they dont get stuck in the customs, even if that 50 euros limit is exceeded. But then you might have to separate the shipping address and the billing address and inform the company that the items you bought are "gifts".

[Jen Kollic]

Originally Posted by Otis

Plus, if the packages are marked as "gifts" they dont get stuck in the customs, even if that 50 euros limit is exceeded. But then you might have to separate the shipping address and the billing address and inform the company that the items you bought are "gifts".

Marking the packages as gifts would make them exempt from customs and VAT etc, BUT it would be illegal and Telltale could wind up getting fined for it, so I wouldn't expect them to do it. The bottom line is that these items are merchandise, so marking them as gifts would be fraud.

And yeah, most of the time I've been charged VAT on imports, the bloody clearance fee has cost more than the VAT charge...

[Hayden]

Originally Posted by Wolfstar27

i guess theres no point crying over spilt milk lol...but hopefully it aint too much.

Yes, too much spilled milk could be worrying.

[apenpaap]

Originally Posted by Hassat Hunter

That sounds horrible. Never got that here in NL though, even with far over those prices. Odd.

Neither did I. Perhaps it's got something to to with the euro.

[Otis]

Originally Posted by Jen Kollic

Marking the packages as gifts would make them exempt from customs and VAT etc, BUT it would be illegal and Telltale could wind up getting fined for it, so I wouldn't expect them to do it. The bottom line is that these items are merchandise, so marking them as gifts would be fraud.

And yeah, most of the time I've been charged VAT on imports, the bloody clearance fee has cost more than the VAT charge...

I didnt mean that Telltale should do that. I meant that people, whose orders exceed the customs limit may want to ship the order maybe to their friends house and make everyone think its a "gift" and then go to your friends` and grab your order. This way people might be able to avoid the customs charges.

[Leak]

Originally Posted by cmc42

I wish I could do it like that but three words: EU import taxes.

The minute I spend over £18 I then have to add 17.5% in import tax if it gets stopped by customs, plus a further £10.01 for parcelforce's clearence fee.

See, that's the nice thing about S&M Season 3 - it counts towards free shipping, but it isn't sent in the package, so it doesn't show up on the invoice with the disc at all...

np: Bizzy B - Slow Jam (Retrospective)

[cmc42]

Originally Posted by Jen Kollic

And yeah, most of the time I've been charged VAT on imports, the bloody clearance fee has cost more than the VAT charge...

Ditto. I wouldn't mind paying the extra £10 or so for the import VAT. It's the darn clearance fee that parcel delivery firms charge that are a pain. Last time I imported something it cost £18 more in import VAT and Parcelforce clearance fee.

[moronic50]

My last couple of DVD's from TT came through valued at $1 each. That was a sneaky way to get around it i thought. Give the DVD's just a token value and put the real value on the digital download. Smart thinking TT. Ergo my order should only carry a value of $16 ($1 dvd + $15 for the deluxe extras.) when it comes through the post. Pity that idea wouldn't work for any of the other merchandise though.