Europe to USA shipping: Delays and duty?

[Jeff_Birt]

(12-04-2023 01:03 PM)rprosperi Wrote:  There are no charges for customs/duties/import fees/etc. for buying in USA from international sellers for anything under about $2500.00.

Shipments vary from EU between as little as 4 days to 2-3 weeks depending on seemingly random factors, but no doubt where you are (East vs. West coast, near a big city or in the sticks), seasonal traffic (i.e.amount of overall shipping traffic) and COVID activity can be major factors. I live near NYC and most often a shipment from EU is 10-14 days, including from SwissMIcros.

The only modification I would make to this is that certain items from China are subject to tariffs if the total value is above $800 and the broker feels like it. The broker can also then decide how to categorize the products, no matter how the manufacturer labels them, and you can really get stuck with a huge bill. FedEx and UPS love to screw people over by inflating duties while holding your goods hostage.

I tend to only have things shipped (importing) with duties prepaid now to avoid getting ripped off. I also only tend to ship anything valuable with duties prepaid to avoid the receiver getting ripped off.