Shipping to Norway?

[bonchie123]

How do their crazy customs fees get paid? I'm a little confused as to if I have to prepay those and charge accordingly for them or if the buyer pays them on delivery.

Also, as far as I can tell USPS allows 108 total inches length + girth to Norway (most countires its 79 inches), which is enough to ship a guitar. Anyone had any trouble with them?

Opinions needed about the best way to go about it.

[bonchie123]

- I had a guitar shipped to me in Norway a few months ago with Fedex. (I actually shipped it myself as I was living in LA at the time). They send you a bill for the customs fees etc a little while after you have recieved the package. They take care of it for you and then charge you for it.

I have another guitar on the way here as we speek, shipped with usps. I'm not sure about how they deal with this issue. I should recieve the guitar within a few days. I'll let you know how it works out if you're interested and can wait.

I believe Fedex is more expensive than usps but my experience with them was hassle free.

So they bill the buyer who is recieving the guitar for the customs fees? In other words once I pay to ship it, I'm done with it and its all in the buyers hands at that point as far as customs goes?

[bonchie123]

- Yes, at least that's how Fedex did it.

Thanks, thats all I needed to know really. I have no problem helping out you guys from Norway (I know how ridiculous guitar prices are there). Just wanted to make sure I didn't get screwed in the process somehow.

[bonchie123]

- Cool, thanks for helping us out over here! The prices up here are wild, and the dollar is worth about half what it was 6 years ago so alot of people are buying from the states these days.

I'm pretty sure you should be fine, but as I said I'm not sure yet how usps deals with this issue.

I'd assume its the same way. It wouldn't make much sense for the Norwegian gov't to charge people in the United States customs fees for items that aren't theres.

[jeffwith1f]

I can confirm this, I sent a guitar over there and the buyer paid the customs fees based on the declared value, not something the seller needed to worry about, just getting the instrument safely in a box so that it will survive the transit.

I sent mine around late november, it took about 3 or 4 weeks to arrive. most of it spent sitting in Customs

[Knucklehead]

I shipped a Historic '07R9 VOS over to a repeat buyer in Norway a couple months ago using FedEx International Global Priority. Shipping with full value insurance was not cheap: almost $550.USD, but the guitar arrived there in about 5 days. It would have been sooner, but there was a snowstorm that affected delivery.
FedEx acts as a broker for the Customs clearing, so the Seller does not have to get involved aside from declaring the instrument's value on the shipping documents. I've had good luck with FedEx on a number of international shipment and would use them again.

[Super Locrian]

There is a 25% VAT on almost all products and services here in Norway (one notable exception is books and other printed matter which are VAT exempt, and foodstuffs which have a lower VAT of 12,5%). The buyer has to pay VAT on imported goods with a value exceeding 200 NOK (about 30 USD). This limit has been unchanged since the mid seventies, and many are quite irritated that the tax authorities always seem to "forget" to adjust it according to inflation. And quite a few question the fairness of having to pay VAT if they buy a used product from a private individual (quite relevant issue for Norwegian Gear Pagers).

Yes we are swamped by taxes here, but thanks to the generally high standard of living most put up with it...

[Krank]

I shipped a Historic '07R9 VOS over to a repeat buyer in Norway a couple months ago using FedEx International Global Priority. Shipping with full value insurance was not cheap: almost $550.USD, but the guitar arrived there in about 5 days. It would have been sooner, but there was a snowstorm that affected delivery.
FedEx acts as a broker for the Customs clearing, so the Seller does not have to get involved aside from declaring the instrument's value on the shipping documents. I've had good luck with FedEx on a number of international shipment and would use them again.

What was the insured value?

[treeofpain]

I have shipped USPS Priority Mail to Norway. It arrived in 2 weeks just fine for about $120 usd. The buyer pays the VAT - the seller doesn't get involved in that.

I agree that 25% VAT is excesssive. It's not like Norway has a roaring guitar industry to protect, right?

[trazan]

I have shipped USPS Priority Mail to Norway. It arrived in 2 weeks just fine for about $120 usd. The buyer pays the VAT - the seller doesn't get involved in that.

I agree that 25% VAT is excesssive. It's not like Norway has a roaring guitar industry to protect, right?

We pay the same 25% on most everything bought within the country too, except food. Nothing protective about it, just generally a pretty expensive place. On the other hand, education and health care is free, so it probably evens out. But that's another story :JAM