Japan-European connection wanted
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I have a favour to ask: is anyone going from the EU (or ideally even Germany) to Japan in the foreseeable future? I've very unreasonably fallen in love with a pair of jeans that cost half the price there…..
So if anyone should make such a trip and might be willing to carry a piece of denim over for me, I'd be hugely grateful. Thought asking can never hurt...
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While this may sound dumb (since I am sure you put much thought into it): why not simply using a proxy service as anyone else would do?
10-12% on top of an item that costs half the price is still a good deal (IMO)(okay yeah, risk of additional custom fees..but you probably get the item faster than waiting for someone doing a trip to Japan)
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Was thinking the same myself. Use Stylistics he is great. I have used him many times myself.
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Guys: first, my thanks for replying. And while I'm not sure I've given "much thought" to the matter, it wasn't entirely without thinking either.
I've never used a proxy service, and the acquisition of these particular jeans is so highly unreasonable that I sort of wanted to leave it to fortune whether or not I find that personal "courier".
Plus I did have this maddening (for BF: "zur Weissglut getrieben") experience with German customs (took over a full year to resolve and those fucking bastards threatened me with penal consequences, all because of THEIR mistake) that I made the personal resolution to never, really never buy anything from outside of the EU again. Only then to buy something from a member here from Norway, not thinking that it's not EU, and being put through the madness again and made to pay for a used item as if it was a new one, since the greedy bloody idiots refused to acknowledge it was used. Enough rant about that, just trying to explain myself and not seem like a total moron asking this without thinking about the proxy option.
Thanks for your patience, and I'll "wait and see" a little, I got a PM from a new, so far post-less member about this, but I entertain certain fears that I know who it is, someone banned here under more than one name already…..
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Which jeans are these? Just curious
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Yeah, I remember that story of your hassle with German customs. Guess I was just lucky every time I had to deal with customs during the last 6 years.
Depending on the jeans you might don't need a proxy at all.
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Yeah, it is as you say, BF. With the Norwegian story as an added unpleasant experience.
As I said, I wait and see. If someone does the right travel and may be willing to help, great, if not, this perhaps saves me from an imprudent expense…..
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@501/IH:
As I said, I wait and see. If someone does the right travel and may be willing to help, great, if not, this perhaps saves me from an imprudent expense…..
hahaha i like that thought. i'd do that sometimes too. leave it to 'fate'
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@501/IH:
Yeah, it is as you say, BF. With the Norwegian story as an added unpleasant experience.
As I said, I wait and see. If someone does the right travel and may be willing to help, great, if not, this perhaps saves me from an imprudent expense…..
I thought, that Norway was part of EFTA, i.e. European FREE TRADE.
But apparently not.
Switzerland is probably the same. -
It surely wasn't treated anything like "free trade" by bloody Berlin customs.
Just today I wrote a forum friend a summary of my enraging experiences with these extortionist bastards, reminding myself how violently incompetent (always to the disadvantage of the citizen who was so daft as purchasing something from a non-EU country), greedy, and openly hostile they are.
Hence this thread….
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Yeah, I was also very surprised when I had to go to customs a few years back.
After all, with all the news on free trade I didn't think we still had to pay any tariffs.
And in Germany one needs to go to the customs office, draw a number, wait for up to an hour, etc..
Apparently in other places like Austria and Denmark everything is done online. I don't know about other countries.
But I have to say that my experiences with the people working there have been good. The payments suck obviously, but they're very friendly. -
Then you haven't been at the Berlin customs barracks, right? I would be utterly surprised if anyone would describe the officers, both male and female, working there as even remotely friendly.
I heard from JCMx800 that he made good experiences in Hannover. Perhaps this atrocious behaviour is a sad Berlin specialty….. -
No, haven't had the pleasure in Berlin yet
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When I look at the custom employees I've encountered so far and add the (often witnessed) sharp tongue of the berliners, I can imagine what it's like dealing with them.
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Thanks for the moral support @Max Power.
My last foray to Berlin Customs was yesterday, and while I did (a true first!) not pay a cent this time, I reliably left the awful place in anger, it really never fails…. I had waited for Qinhan's parcel to arrive from Australia, which took quite a bit longer than expected. Had a notification concerning a letter from the USA, that WAS at customs. Content? Some newspapers/magazines concerning the election there in November, sent by a good friend who knows about my interest in US politics.
Old newspapers! And the customs vulture idiots require me to visit their ugly den, wait there excruciatingly long, to be told that the storage term had expired and they had sent it back. Thus no payment due.... All my fault for not reading the fine print carefully enough, but words fail me to express my hate for them..... not to mention the crazy fucking impudence how long they make you wait and the absolute provocation of their deliberate slowness, one bored officer "working" at an excessively leisurely pace where five breezy people would have been called for.
Qinhan's shipment miraculously cleared customs at Frankfurt airport and was sent to me quarrel and quibble free. I guess the people there are much more competent, not so hostile and not so "the worst of Berlin" style impudent.
Okay. Topic missed, this is a "random rant". Sorry.
As the trade shows start tomorrow here in Berlin, and the I hope to see a rep. of the brand in question for the said jeans this thread is all about, perhaps something can be done about my original wish, and if so, only if absolutely definitely 100% with no customs involved!!!!!
