It is a fantastic way to buy products when you can order it from your office chair! Unfortunately you have to consider the postal service in your area; there is a fee that might be even more than the item you purchased and you have custom fees to pay once you finally receive the package. So if you decide to buy something online, check the rates first and find out from customs how much it would cost you. It is not that much depending on what you are receiving a from where. Have you been lumbered with high fees and postal strikes that took your package almost two months to get to you?
Customs fees are a nightmare! I hate when I buy something for cheap from abroad, and get charged almost the equivalent in the local currency. I think it's daylight robbery. We bought a keyboard from the UK for £38, and when Fedex delivered it there was no charge. Fast forward about two weeks later, they rock up demanding payment! The fee was just under the sum we'd paid for the keyboard. I refused point blank to pay because I've never known a courier service to charge you retrospectively. As far as I know; if there's a fee to be paid, you pay it before taking receipt of your item.
The customs fees are real high here too. The thing is, here, they hold your package and just send you a notice of it. You can not get you package until you pay these criminal fees. If you don't pay in a certain time period, they send it back. So, I am hesitant to send for things from abroad. I have never been the victim of a postal strike though, that would just add insult to injury.
I once took a gamble, and ordered a shoulder mount from India. Wasn't sure if it was going to get cleared by customs, but it got here, and I had no extra-fees to pay. I guess it depends on where the item is coming from, and how big it is... You really should read up on these things before you order. I've also had this happen to me... Can't remember what I ordered at the time, but something like two weeks later, I also got a letter from the courier service charging me extra. Didn't pay of course...
One experience I had was ordering items from Japan. Due to the shipping rates, it ended up costing more than the item itself! I guess it all make senses though because of the process the package goes through.
Postal strikes are a headache and especially when you have been waiting so long for the package to arrive. Yes you should make sure that all the costs are covered before you get the item and find out how much customs will be too before you order. I got a hulla doll from Hawaii and the customs and transport cost triple what the doll did.
