Orphek FedEx Customs charges?! Did I get screwed??

[DracoKat]

Doesn't sound like you ordered from Orphek or BRS... if that is the case then the blame unfortunately falls on you. Orphek now distribute in the US so there is no need to buy from sources abroad.

I ordered directly from Orphek

and evidently it was shipped from China.

 

[Be102]

I ordered directly from Orphek

and evidently it was shipped from China.

That’s bizarre. My order from orphek came from Hong Kong.

 

[DracoKat]

That’s bizarre. My order from orphek came from Hong Kong.

I don't have the shipping details with me (At work), but I am pretty sure it wasn't from Hong Kong. I will have to recheck again when I get home

 

[alton]

My shipping label says Hong Kong. The way I look at it is, if he was shipped as COD you are responsible, if you payed James at Orphek, then I am not sure why fedex is contacting you?

 

[DracoKat]

My shipping label says Hong Kong. The way I look at it is, if he was shipped as COD you are responsible, if you payed James at Orphek, then I am not sure why fedex is contacting you?

I will have to pay regardless. I am tryin gto make sense of all of this

 

[Be102]

I will have to pay regardless. I am tryin gto make sense of all of this

Can I ask who you ordered it from, who you contacted and what they have said if anything about this? Like I said it’s unlike orphek to not reply.

 

[DracoKat]

they did reply (Thought I posted it). they said in their experience an order of $160 should not be taxed.

Tommy is the sales rep I bought from.

 

[Potatohead]

they did reply (Thought I posted it). they said in their experience an order of $160 should not be taxed.

Tommy is the sales rep I bought from.

So what they are saying is, usually orders of this size go under the radar. Yours apparently did not, which bites for you...

 

[DracoKat]

So what they are saying is, usually orders of this size go under the radar. Yours apparently did not, which bites for you...

that seems to be what has happened. ugh

 

[Be102]

that seems to be what has happened. ugh

Sorry for your experience. My order was like $350 .I have not worked with your rep, but say james@orphek is great, responsive and extremely helpful!

 

[MnFish1]

To me, the issue isnt the charges - they are going to the government - not Orphek. Its the 'law' of the US - it has nothing to do with China or Orphek or FedEx (at least I dont think FedEx gets 'much' if anything from these fees).

Its always interesting buying from overseas - we bought some art - in Europe some years ago - 3 years later we got a bill from US customs and the state saying we owed duties and tax on the entire amount - as well as penalties and interest. The truth is - these fees should probably be being charged on more items than they are (by US law) - what I do think is unfair is that it seems kind of random as to who gets charged.

BTW - if you had bought them from a US company - they would have already paid those fees - and either 'eaten them' or added them to the price and you would never have known. Im curious - why did you buy directly from Orphek in the first place?

 

[Be102]

To me, the issue isnt the charges - they are going to the government - not Orphek. Its the 'law' of the US - it has nothing to do with China or Orphek or FedEx (at least I dont think FedEx gets 'much' if anything from these fees).

Its always interesting buying from overseas - we bought some art - in Europe some years ago - 3 years later we got a bill from US customs and the state saying we owed duties and tax on the entire amount - as well as penalties and interest. The truth is - these fees should probably be being charged on more items than they are (by US law) - what I do think is unfair is that it seems kind of random as to who gets charged.

BTW - if you had bought them from a US company - they would have already paid those fees - and either 'eaten them' or added them to the price and you would never have known. Im curious - why did you buy directly from Orphek in the first place?

I still wonder why if he bought it from orphek directly it came from China. I have had 3 orders from orphek over time and it’s all from Hong Kong and I haven’t paid any shipping or import fees / taxes

 

[MnFish1]

I still wonder why if he bought it from orphek directly it came from China. I have had 3 orders from orphek over time and it’s all from Hong Kong and I haven’t paid any shipping or import fees / taxes

Well - Hong Kong is 'part' of China - though somewhat independent. And often good produced in China are sent through Hong Kong before coming to the US - so this could be part of it.

But - this is going to be a bigger problem - having nothing to do with tariffs, etc. Customs also sometimes reports these 'duties' transactions to whatever state you're living in. Then you owe state sales tax on top of it. As every company gets more computerized - expect more - not less of this type of thing IMHO

 

[DracoKat]

I couldn't find anywhere else that sold the lights I wanted that Orphek had (BRS and other popular vendors did not have), so I went right through them. I also thought getting lights from the source was the best bet when it comes to customer service and such than a 3rd party vendor (like BRS). Lesson learned huh?

Makes me wish more LFSs stores sold better higher-quality lighting where we do not have to order online. There's some amazing LFS's here, but they don't sell much of supplies and if they do, it's common cheaper stuff.

 

[Be102]

I couldn't find anywhere else that sold the lights I wanted that Orphek had (BRS and other popular vendors did not have), so I went right through them. I also thought getting lights from the source was the best bet when it comes to customer service and such than a 3rd party vendor (like BRS). Lesson learned huh?

Makes me wish more LFSs stores sold better higher-quality lighting where we do not have to order online. There's some amazing LFS's here, but they don't sell much of supplies and if they do, it's common cheaper stuff.

I mean I assume that is because they make more money off of cheap stuff with a easy markup. I mean I wouldn’t order from anyone else than the company itself as I feel it is cheaper direct. I think the situation here is with all the trade war stuff and whatnot and not really anyone’s fault other than our government or fedex for not being clear.
i feel if orphek said they would cover shipping costs then I would email them the bill and ask what can be done (maybe the’ll give you a credit for that amount idk) I would not expected this to happen but in all reality is you got a light you wanted at a time that was convenient for you (not waiting till brs stocked it or another reseller) and in all honesty I don’t know what light would have been better if you spent that extra fees for a light.

I’m sorry I just am an advocate for @Orphek as they have done everything right by me as well as helped whenever I had problems.
I wish you the best my friend! Maybe a Christmas miracle!

 

[alton]

How can I Order Orphek LED lights ?

1. E-mail us and get a free consultancy from our sales representative near your location.
2. we will send you a PayPal invoice and you can pay with your PayPal account or credit card.
3. Free shipping -Withour Door to Door worldwide Express Delivery, your Orphek solution(s) will arrive any place in the world!

Orphek needs to pick up these charges! They invoiced you and you paid them that amount. There is nothing in their website that states you maybe have to pay additional charges. Can you imagine buying three Alantik V4 fixtures for $3000 and then getting stuck with an additional $300 at time of delivery. If they don't correct this issue it will hurt their business. And BRS does not have the OR2 LED Bars on their website. The only way I know how to get them is through Orphek.

 

[djray77]

I ordered an OR120 from them directly, got it Friday 12/06/2019. I hope I don't receive a bill.

 

[mikeintoronto]

I couldn't find anywhere else that sold the lights I wanted that Orphek had (BRS and other popular vendors did not have), so I went right through them. I also thought getting lights from the source was the best bet when it comes to customer service and such than a 3rd party vendor (like BRS). Lesson learned huh?

Makes me wish more LFSs stores sold better higher-quality lighting where we do not have to order online. There's some amazing LFS's here, but they don't sell much of supplies and if they do, it's common cheaper stuff.

The thing is, US vendors who sell Orphek stuff should be able to get you other Orphek items, even if they aren’t listed on their site. I don’t know if you did this but it’s always a good idea to exhaust all your local sources before importing. Canada thing again: most of the local stores can get me stuff off-list and our market is small. Anyway, no point dwelling on this. Next time

 

[i_am_mclovin]

Our founding fathers went to war with their own government over less. Just sayin.

 

[DracoKat]

How can I Order Orphek LED lights ?

1. E-mail us and get a free consultancy from our sales representative near your location.
2. we will send you a PayPal invoice and you can pay with your PayPal account or credit card.
3. Free shipping -Withour Door to Door worldwide Express Delivery, your Orphek solution(s) will arrive any place in the world!

Orphek needs to pick up these charges! They invoiced you and you paid them that amount. There is nothing in their website that states you maybe have to pay additional charges. Can you imagine buying three Alantik V4 fixtures for $3000 and then getting stuck with an additional $300 at time of delivery. If they don't correct this issue it will hurt their business. And BRS does not have the OR2 LED Bars on their website. The only way I know how to get them is through Orphek.

That was exactly what had me surprised to see this bill! I was not expecting it at all. When they said shipping was free, I thought it covered everything. An average (Stupid) customer like me would not know these potential customs charges- especially if I've ordered a lot of things from china in the past and first time gotten customs charges.

I ordered an OR120 from them directly, got it Friday 12/06/2019. I hope I don't receive a bill.

I'd be interested to know if you get a bill too