Mistake #1 - I got some amazon.com gift certificates from Swagbucks.
I really like Swagbucks - it's easy and fun to collect and redeem for gift certificates. But I should have gone for the amazon.ca ones they also have! I was enticed by all that amazon.com has to offer, even though they really only ship certain items to Canada. Bad Emily.Mistake #2 - I ordered Teva sandals. Through amazon.com.
I have an identical pair of the Teva Olowahus that is 2 years old. I have worn them to the ground. The soles are quite thin and flat where my feet have worn footprints in. They have been super comfortable, they stay on, they are stylish and I loved them. But they are expensive for flip flops, and when I wrote an email to the company to say that I was disappointed that the soles deteriorated while the straps were still fine, I got the response that I could ship them at my cost to the States, where they would evaluate if the product was defective. That didn't address my complaint that the soles were simply not as durable as I would have liked for the price.Okay. I'm not happy about that. But I still like them and I found some on amazon.com (through an affiliated seller, Deckers Outdoor) that I went ahead and ordered with my gift certificates. Doh!
Mistake #3 - I watched the costs add up and just... paid them.
I had $10 in gift certificates and allowed myself the splurge of an additional $14 (this is USD) for the shoes. Shipping was $9.95 (again USD). Ouch. Okay. Fine. I paid it. We're going to Mexico in 2 weeks and I need sandals to wear. Grand total $33.95 - $10 in gift certificates = $23.95 USD. This all translates to $26.51 Canadian on my Mastercard.Mistake #4 - I didn't check what company Deckers Outdoor shipped with.
Yesterday I got a notice on my door... from UPS. Now if you have ever shipped cross-border, you will know that UPS is the worst of the worst for charging ridiculous brokerage fees. The notice said there was a COD charge of ... wait for it... $26.56. Let's break it down. The shoes had a value for duty of $25.81. The duty was $4.65. The GST was $3.96. Fine. I'm not thrilled about customs and duty charges, but I accept them. But the brokerage fee was $17.10. WTF? $17.10 just bought me... what? Somebody at UPS taking it through customs? Seriously?! Is that not part of the shipping (to Canada) that I already paid $9.95 for? More than doubling the cost of the actual product?!ARGH! I HATE YOU, UPS!
Grand total for a pair of flip flops: $53.07 - plus $10 in gift certificates.
Oh, my gosh. I am a fool.
Geez... That's horrible! Can you tell UPS to send the item back? I hate their fees with a passion. I have had them return items to the sender in the past and asked the sender to re-ship using USPS (which fortunately they were willing to do, although they did still keep the original $10 shipping fee.. no big deal). I know you were able to do that before with the yoga mat that you won.. Hopefully there's something you can do this time!
ReplyDeleteI had an issue a while back with UPS. I actually called and complained. They told me they would do a one-time price adjustment and I got my brokerage fee back. Maybe you could give it a try?
ReplyDeleteouch!!
ReplyDeleteOh I hate getting suckered too - sorry!
ReplyDeleteYikes! Sorry hon!
ReplyDeleteYes... I too hate UPS for that very reason. DRIVES ME CRAZY!! I can't tell you how many times I have had to pay ridiculous fees for free products that I get to review!
ReplyDelete