WP34S USB and IR board release

[Harald]

OK, we have enough orders for me to make new PCBs.

But another problem has arrisen. I just checked into how I can ship stuff. I used to send these in a standard letter. I think that cost 1,45€ last time I sent anything. However as of 01/01/2019 Deutsche Post does not allow goods in letters anymore. It seems a bad idea to try shipping the kits regardless, as apparently Deutsche Post does pick up on that farily frequently.
The only alternatives Deutsche Post has come up with are
a) "merchandise shipment", which is only available to businesses, and
b) "small package international" wich is untracked, uninsured and 8,89€

Does anyone know what the limit for import duties is in the US (in Germany anything below 22€ is free)? I am wondering if it would be best if I send the kits to someone in the US who could then forward them to people at a more reasonable price then the 8,89€ I can do.
Is anyone happy to help out?

Cheers,
Harald

[jpcuzzourt]

(10-04-2019 03:48 PM)Harald Wrote:  OK, we have enough orders for me to make new PCBs.

But another problem has arrisen. I just checked into how I can ship stuff. I used to send these in a standard letter. I think that cost 1,45€ last time I sent anything. However as of 01/01/2019 Deutsche Post does not allow goods in letters anymore. It seems a bad idea to try shipping the kits regardless, as apparently Deutsche Post does pick up on that farily frequently.
The only alternatives Deutsche Post has come up with are
a) "merchandise shipment", which is only available to businesses, and
b) "small package international" wich is untracked, uninsured and 8,89€

Does anyone know what the limit for import duties is in the US (in Germany anything below 22€ is free)? I am wondering if it would be best if I send the kits to someone in the US who could then forward them to people at a more reasonable price then the 8,89€ I can do.
Is anyone happy to help out?

Cheers,
Harald

I would be willing to forward the boards/kits to other US folks for this run.
I'd also like to increase my order to qty (3).
Looks like most people are requesting populated boards, and I'd prefer that as well, but I'd do a kit if the price difference is very significant.
I'm checking into the tariffs/duties.

Thanks much!
JP

[jpcuzzourt]

(10-04-2019 03:48 PM)Harald Wrote:  OK, we have enough orders for me to make new PCBs.

But another problem has arrisen. I just checked into how I can ship stuff. I used to send these in a standard letter. I think that cost 1,45€ last time I sent anything. However as of 01/01/2019 Deutsche Post does not allow goods in letters anymore. It seems a bad idea to try shipping the kits regardless, as apparently Deutsche Post does pick up on that farily frequently.
The only alternatives Deutsche Post has come up with are
a) "merchandise shipment", which is only available to businesses, and
b) "small package international" wich is untracked, uninsured and 8,89€

Does anyone know what the limit for import duties is in the US (in Germany anything below 22€ is free)? I am wondering if it would be best if I send the kits to someone in the US who could then forward them to people at a more reasonable price then the 8,89€ I can do.
Is anyone happy to help out?

Cheers,
Harald

Anything under $2500 should be free of import duties as far as I can tell.
These can come in as an "informal entry" import.
Attached is a report I ran at SimpleDuty.com with some sample values and quantities.
Since these are for personal use of members and not for retail sale in the US, no one should have to pay any taxes on them either.
I think DHL might be a suitable shipper to consider too.
I don't have any experience doing any of this, I'm just basing it off info I read at https://importdojo.com/us-import-duties-...mport-tax/

If anyone has more knowledge on the subject, please chime in.

My previous post hasn't passed moderation yet, so I'm just going to repeat that I'd be willing to help with mailing out everyone's boards if Harald wants to ship the whole US order to me.
It's the least I can do to contribute to this project.
JP

[PANAMATIK]

(10-04-2019 03:48 PM)Harald Wrote:  .... However as of 01/01/2019 Deutsche Post does not allow goods in letters anymore....

I had or still have the same problem. Even worse - from 01/01/2019 to 04/15/2019 the only way to send a small board with tracking with Deutsche Post to the US costs 37,90 Euro (and other companies like UPS Fedex had even higher prices) until they finally offered 13,90 Euro. Is this the end of globalization?

Bernhard

[Jaco@cocoon-creations.com]

(10-04-2019 06:08 PM)PANAMATIK Wrote:  

(10-04-2019 03:48 PM)Harald Wrote:  .... However as of 01/01/2019 Deutsche Post does not allow goods in letters anymore....

I had or still have the same problem. Even worse - from 01/01/2019 to 04/15/2019 the only way to send a small board with tracking with Deutsche Post to the US costs 37,90 Euro (and other companies like UPS Fedex had even higher prices) until they finally offered 13,90 Euro. Is this the end of globalization?

Bernhard

I am in South Africa and would gladly forward to anyone over here, even though I don’t expect a rush. I would like assembled units if possible, kits are the second best option. The EU13.90 option sounds good to me - it costs what it costs to get it over here, and we pay import duty, and tax on the duty...

[SammysHP]

You can use "Warenpost International" starting at 3.20 €. To use it you have to register for a business account and send at least five mails per quarter. No consequences if you don't fulfill that requirement, though (except your account might be suspended).

[Harald]

(10-04-2019 07:04 PM)SammysHP Wrote:  You can use "Warenpost International" starting at 3.20 €. To use it you have to register for a business account and send at least five mails per quarter. No consequences if you don't fulfill that requirement, though (except your account might be suspended).

The website specifically says you need to have a business. Do they not ask for any prove of that? I suppose Bernhard can use it, as he actually does run a business

Cheers,
Harald

Most orders are from the US, so I would accept JPs offer to forward the kits. I probably still won't find time to populate and test boards. How much does it cost to forward a kit? It fits in a small padded envelope.
Alternatively, if anybody in the US is willing populate the boards, that might be worth considering, too.

Cheers, Harald

[Eric Rechlin]

€8.89 postage to the US is a bargain. To send a small padded envelope (like for a single USB drive or a small circuit board) the other way would cost $14.25.

That said, in the US, virtually no packages are subject to import duties. Your little envelopes would never cost anyone anything in customs. I order packages from overseas to the US regularly, and the only time I ever had to pay import duties was for a bicycle (coincidentally, from a German brand, Cube), where I was charged I think 3% of the declared value, so even that was negligible.

[Harald]

(10-04-2019 09:05 PM)Eric Rechlin Wrote:  €8.89 postage to the US is a bargain. To send a small padded envelope (like for a single USB drive or a small circuit board) the other way would cost $14.25.

That said, in the US, virtually no packages are subject to import duties. Your little envelopes would never cost anyone anything in customs. I order packages from overseas to the US regularly, and the only time I ever had to pay import duties was for a bicycle (coincidentally, from a German brand, Cube), where I was charged I think 3% of the declared value, so even that was negligible.

Well, the way I saw it is that it would increase the total for a kit from 10€ to 17,50€.

In Germany we pay 0% on anything below 22€ (goods plus shipping), 19% on anything from 22€ to 150€ and above that a rate depending on what is imported is added to the 19%. I think that can be anything between 0% and 100%.
It's all very weared and wonderful

Cheers,
Harald

[jpcuzzourt]

(10-04-2019 07:44 PM)Harald Wrote:  

(10-04-2019 07:04 PM)SammysHP Wrote:  You can use "Warenpost International" starting at 3.20 €. To use it you have to register for a business account and send at least five mails per quarter. No consequences if you don't fulfill that requirement, though (except your account might be suspended).

The website specifically says you need to have a business. Do they not ask for any prove of that? I suppose Bernhard can use it, as he actually does run a business

Cheers,
Harald

Most orders are from the US, so I would accept JPs offer to forward the kits. I probably still won't find time to populate and test boards. How much does it cost to forward a kit? It fits in a small padded envelope.
Alternatively, if anybody in the US is willing populate the boards, that might be worth considering, too.

Cheers, Harald

I'd be willing to populate and test boards, assuming I'm capable of doing a competent job of it. I haven't looked at the design yet - I'd only read the procedure for installing it in the 34S. If it's mostly through-hole soldering, I'm up to it. If there's a lot of smd work, I don't think I'd volunteer for that because I'm not well equipped for it, and the results would probably be ugly.
Mailing the kits out would probably be about $1.50 for a 1st class padded envelope within the US.
JP

[jpcuzzourt]

(10-04-2019 07:44 PM)Harald Wrote:  

(10-04-2019 07:04 PM)SammysHP Wrote:  You can use "Warenpost International" starting at 3.20 €. To use it you have to register for a business account and send at least five mails per quarter. No consequences if you don't fulfill that requirement, though (except your account might be suspended).

The website specifically says you need to have a business. Do they not ask for any prove of that? I suppose Bernhard can use it, as he actually does run a business

Cheers,
Harald

Most orders are from the US, so I would accept JPs offer to forward the kits. I probably still won't find time to populate and test boards. How much does it cost to forward a kit? It fits in a small padded envelope.
Alternatively, if anybody in the US is willing populate the boards, that might be worth considering, too.

Cheers, Harald

I'd be willing to populate and test boards, assuming I'm capable of doing a competent job of it. I haven't looked at the design yet - I'd only read the procedure for installing it in the 34S. If it's mostly through-hole soldering, I'm up to it. If there's a lot of smd work, I don't think I'd volunteer for that because I'm not well equipped for it, and the results would probably be ugly.
Mailing the kits out would probably be about $1.50 for a 1st class padded envelope within the US.
JP

[jpcuzzourt]

(10-04-2019 09:29 PM)jpcuzzourt Wrote:  

(10-04-2019 07:44 PM)Harald Wrote:  The website specifically says you need to have a business. Do they not ask for any prove of that? I suppose Bernhard can use it, as he actually does run a business

Cheers,
Harald

Most orders are from the US, so I would accept JPs offer to forward the kits. I probably still won't find time to populate and test boards. How much does it cost to forward a kit? It fits in a small padded envelope.
Alternatively, if anybody in the US is willing populate the boards, that might be worth considering, too.

Cheers, Harald

I'd be willing to populate and test boards, assuming I'm capable of doing a competent job of it. I haven't looked at the design yet - I'd only read the procedure for installing it in the 34S. If it's mostly through-hole soldering, I'm up to it. If there's a lot of smd work, I don't think I'd volunteer for that because I'm not well equipped for it, and the results would probably be ugly.
Mailing the kits out would probably be about $1.50 for a 1st class padded envelope within the US.
JP

Now having looked at the board as shown in the 3.1 manual, it is all smd work. I would not be comfortable offering to build these boards for others. I'm still interested in 3 kits for myself, and would be happy to repackage and ship board and kit orders to users in the US for the cost of a padded envelope+postage.
JP

[Christobaldo]

(10-04-2019 03:48 PM)Harald Wrote:  OK, we have enough orders for me to make new PCBs.
...

Fantastic news ...
How do we confirm that we are interested by those boards , and the number we would like to order ?

Regards

C.Dubreuil

[jpcuzzourt]

(10-05-2019 10:01 AM)Christobaldo Wrote:  

(10-04-2019 03:48 PM)Harald Wrote:  OK, we have enough orders for me to make new PCBs.
...

Fantastic news ...
How do we confirm that we are interested by those boards , and the number we would like to order ?

Regards

C.Dubreuil

Attached is a document with all the kit requests I see in the forum since I first posed the question.
(Initially I assumed everyone wanted the boards+all components, including the 32.768 kHz crystal and caps.)
Anyone should be able to comment on the google sheet and suggest additions or changes.
Sometime soon, (perhaps next Monday 10/21), I suggest we release the final request to Harald to order boards and components if necessary.

For the US orders, Harald will send one package to me, and I will repackage the kits and mail them from Georgia for the cost of postage and an envelope. (I expect this to be between $1-2, which you can send to me via paypal upon receipt.)

Several people are interested in getting assembled boards. Ordinarily, I'd be glad to offer to do this, but because the parts are surface mount and I don't have the equipment and skills to do this work reliably, I won't make that offer, at least not until I've had some practice and successes myself. My eyes are old and my hands are a little shaky, among other complaints.

Thanks Harald, and everyone who has shown interest!
JP

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1...sp=sharing

[Jaco@cocoon-creations.com]

(10-15-2019 04:04 PM)jpcuzzourt Wrote:  

(10-05-2019 10:01 AM)Christobaldo Wrote:  Fantastic news ...
How do we confirm that we are interested by those boards , and the number we would like to order ?

Regards

C.Dubreuil

Attached is a document with all the kit requests I see in the forum since I first posed the question.
(Initially I assumed everyone wanted the boards+all components, including the 32.768 kHz crystal and caps.)
Anyone should be able to comment on the google sheet and suggest additions or changes.
Sometime soon, (perhaps next Monday 10/21), I suggest we release the final request to Harald to order boards and components if necessary.

For the US orders, Harald will send one package to me, and I will repackage the kits and mail them from Georgia for the cost of postage and an envelope. (I expect this to be between $1-2, which you can send to me via paypal upon receipt.)

Several people are interested in getting assembled boards. Ordinarily, I'd be glad to offer to do this, but because the parts are surface mount and I don't have the equipment and skills to do this work reliably, I won't make that offer, at least not until I've had some practice and successes myself. My eyes are old and my hands are a little shaky, among other complaints.

Thanks Harald, and everyone who has shown interest!
JP

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1...sp=sharing

Thank you. Mine is correct.
Jaco

[burkhard]

Agh, I didn't realize Deutschepost had changed their rules such that a Brief (letter) can now only be documents! That's terrible news.

Over the past 5 years or so I have bought (for other hobbies) a lot of merchandise off the German version of that auction site and had it shipped as Großbriefe or as Maxibriefe. The Großbrief would let you ship 0.5 kg for 3.45€ and the Maxibrief was up to 1 kilo for 7€. It was quite a deal compared to most European shippers. Sigh.

Also, I've had orders (larger boxes) of stuff with stated value of a few hundred US$ multiple times. I've never been hit up by US Customs for import duty. I think they don't start caring until it's into 4 digits somewhere $1000? Or maybe the $2500 stated up above. In any case, it won't be an issue here.

[EDIT]
My desired order was correct on the Google Document, but I think I'd actually like to now increase the quantities from 2 of everything to 3.
So, please +1 me :-)

[rprosperi]

I intended to post an "order", however got busy and totally forgot.

I'd like to order 2 sets of boards + components + crystal + IR, so €26.00 plus shipping to NY, as required.

I would have added that to the Gdoc but could not access it (I guess you sent that info to the folks that did this properly?)

If I've misunderstood and/or you'd like me to ask, just advise on what's best for you.

Thanks for offering to do this for the US community!

[mwthomasjr]

I also meant to post an order.

If it is not to late, I would like to add my name to the list for 3 sets of boards + components + crystal +IR plus shipping to Michigan.

If an option for them to be assembled comes to be, I would also be interested in that.

[jpcuzzourt]

(10-15-2019 06:18 PM)rprosperi Wrote:  I intended to post an "order", however got busy and totally forgot.

I'd like to order 2 sets of boards + components + crystal + IR, so €26.00 plus shipping to NY, as required.

I would have added that to the Gdoc but could not access it (I guess you sent that info to the folks that did this properly?)

If I've misunderstood and/or you'd like me to ask, just advise on what's best for you.

Thanks for offering to do this for the US community!

Hi Bob - I have the doc set so everyone with link can add comments, but not edit it.
Also, I set the pricing up as a guess based roughly on what I think Harald had asked for previously. Harald will need to give us final price numbers, but I wanted to set the sheet up to easily accept his numbers.
Thanks for jumping in - the more the better at this point.
JP

PS - Just so I don't create a bunch of posts on this subject:
I've also made the modifications for burkhard, Christobaldo, mwthomasjr.
If the Google spreadsheet is working I'll leave it as is, and respond to the comments on it as needed. If anyone has trouble, just post here.

[brierand]

(10-15-2019 04:04 PM)jpcuzzourt Wrote:  Attached is a document with all the kit requests I see in the forum since I first posed the question.
(Initially I assumed everyone wanted the boards+all components, including the 32.768 kHz crystal and caps.)
Anyone should be able to comment on the google sheet and suggest additions or changes.
Sometime soon, (perhaps next Monday 10/21), I suggest we release the final request to Harald to order boards and components if necessary.

Hello jpcuzzourt,
The information is correct for me except the county: Canada (Montreal) instead of US. I do not know though if this affects the freight...