Ordering from abroad

[collie2011]

Hi,

Have any of you ordered spares/supplies etc from abroad?? Are there customs charges involved?? Is it worth doing it? I generally like the idea of supporting the local guys with their businesses but was wondering about doing it?

Part of me is thinking it's only worth it if you do it as a bulk/wholesale order?

What are your experiences, good or bad??

[Scylla]

If you order from the EU you have no worries about customs.

If you order from the US it is likely that customs will grab your package, delay it, and charge you UK tax, then Royal Mail will add on about £10 for collecting the customs charge

If you order from China, you have to build in the cost of delivery on top of their bargain prices - it's often still a bargain Chinese suppliers are extremely inventive when it comes to filling in customs labels - their stuff usually sails thru customs.

Chrissie did our first ever bulk order with Amy @ Health Cabin, it was a great success. Since then Perpy has taken it over, again with great success.

Note - we all agree to be honest and tolerant human beings when we entrust someone with our bulk orders. It can be extremely onerous dealing with faulty goods from the far east. As you may see from the LR901!!!!! thread, Perpy managed to get a refund for quite a few members when she collected up and returned faulty atties from one batch. But it's not easy, and the odd faulty item from a bulk order must be... swallowed, if you see what I mean

That'll do for now, I need a nap

scylla x

[grizwald56]

It all depends on the size of your order.

I ordered 100 x 801 carto's from Eastmall in China, the carto's were $1 each so $100, plus I had to pay shipping of $17, a total of $117.
Converted to British Pounds it was £73.46 which made the cost of each carto 73p. For me this was excellent value for money.

So you really have to weigh up your total cost as it may not be worthwhile.

Also when ordering from abroad it can take anything from 10 days to 3 weeks to get your stuff.

I've never personally incurred any customs charges as yet, but others have, so you take your chances.

[collie2011]

Just tried the eastmall link in the suppliers forum and it isn't working?? Wonder if the dodgy 901 attys put them out of business lol

I think i'll just stick to ordering from our uk suppliers for now and maybe some EU suppliers if they work out cheaper.

[foxy9212]

If your order is less than £18 not including postage, then no charges are levied. I have a 'running' order from Health Cabin and my postage is only $3 to $5 (depending upon weight). I've occasionally exceeded my £18 allowance with no consequences. At the prices charged I have no problem waiting a couple of weeks and sometimes less.

Fox

[Chrissie]

Collie, it looks like there has been a problem with Eastmall's website on & off today - some folks on ECF have reported the same issue.

As Scylla said, I did the first group order with health Cabin & Amy's customer service was next to none. Plus if you do a large order shipping is free. The orders I've placed with them have only taken between 5-10 days to get to me & have been packaged so well

www.healthcabin.net/

[ian]

I was thinking of ordering from Eastmall soon,my unflavoured nic is running seriously low again I think i might try health Cabin as they seem to have a great selection of nice products to try.

[collie2011]

Those prices healthcabin are good, even when you factor in the cost of postage. It is tempting but i'm always really dubious about ordering from China!!

[Chrissie]

Collie, what are you dubious about out of interest?

[collie2011]

I just think it comes from the ebay warnings of don't order from Hong Kong. I suppose it getting lost in the post, being faulty, not up to standard. That sort of thing. It's a long way for a parcel to come and I wouldn't know my rights if something went wrong. Also there is the customs/vat thing how much extra that's gonna cost if it got caught.

[l15a]

I have ordered from HC and have had no problems :-)

[vereybowring]

Jun 12, 2011 21:11:40 GMT collie2011 said:

I just think it comes from the ebay warnings of don't order from Hong Kong. I suppose it getting lost in the post, being faulty, not up to standard. That sort of thing. It's a long way for a parcel to come and I wouldn't know my rights if something went wrong. Also there is the customs/vat thing how much extra that's gonna cost if it got caught.

I order stuff every fortnight from the far east and apart from 2 orders everything has shown, and I got replacements sent FOC.
Delivery sometimes has taken 5 weeks but mostly only 2 or 3 weeks.
80% my components come from there and quality has not been an issue with anything I have bought from over there for the last three years, I will admit you have to carefully choose vendors that have 99% positive feedback but then that's the same with any sellers.
In all that time I've had more issues with UK ebay vendors than the far east ones.
Have got one successful delivery from Heaven Gifts that arrived in two weeks and no customs issues and have another enroute to me.

[Chrissie]

Collie, if you pay via paypal you will be covered for most events. OK, if you got for instance a dud atomiser in your order it wouldn't be worth sending it back.

Amy at health cabin really is lovely to deal with. Way back in our old eBay e-cig group, she joined in fully with the forum, chatting about her everyday life, posting pics etc. When I organised the first group bulk order she knew I was worried about it as it was for a heck of a lot of money due to so many people joining in. But it felt like Amy held my hand all the way. Lol, one day when I was finalising the order, we were sending emails back & forth ( no PM system back then on the eBay group) & she finally said, sorry she really had to get to bed as it was 2.30am her time

[collie2011]

I might give it a try at some point then. When I can afford to wait 2-3 weeks for my order to arrive lol. I assume most of the vendors we use in the UK but from places like eastmall and health cabin etc anyway and the stuff does look the same.